German History

Germanic Tribes and the Romans

After all the migrations and intermingling of different tribal groups, by approximately 100 BC three major Germanic tribal groups could be identified:

• The eastern Germanic peoples lived along the Oder and Vistula rivers.


• The northern Germanic peoples settled in what today is the southern part of Scandinavia.


• The western Germanic peoples inhabited the region found between the North Sea and the Elbe, Rhine and Main rivers.

Between the 2nd Century BC and 5th Century AD there was frequent contact between the Germanic tribes and the Romans. It was the Rhine River that set a temporary border between Roman and Germanic territory. The warlike tribes presented a threat to the Romans and prompted them into pursuing an expansion campaign into Germanic territory to rid themselves of problematic rivals and continue increasing their Empire. This expansion was stopped by the Germanic victory at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D. and much of Germany was freed from Roman domination. However, this was not to last. The Romans re conquered Germanic territory, this time building the Limes, a fortification that stretched 300 km.

Tensions between the Romans and the various tribes always ran high. Conflict was constant and involved tribes such as the Cimbri, the Teutons, the Suevi, the Franks, the Alamanni and the Burgundians. As time passed the golden age of the Roman empire passed on to a stage of decline and in the 4th and 5th Centuries AD the thoroughly weakened Romans succumbed to the pressure exerted by tribes such as the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, Lombards, among others, and the Roman Empire was overrun.

Roman Gaul was conquered by Frankish tribes and this marked an especially significant event in European history. The Franks were to become the founders of a civilized German state.