58BC - 526AD Flashcards
Germany's Beginnings
When did Julius Caesar first name the ‘Germans’?
58 BC, during the Gallic Wars.
Why did Caesar label certain tribes ‘Germani’?
To distinguish barbaric tribes east of the Rhine from the Romanized Gauls.
What was Caesar’s political purpose in describing the Germans?
To justify Roman conquest by painting Germans as uncivilized and threatening.
What did Caesar claim about German society?
No private land, little agriculture, no real gods or priests, and constant warfare.
What river became Rome’s symbolic frontier?
The Rhine River.
What military feat did Caesar’s legions accomplish in 55 BC?
Built a bridge across the Rhine in 10 days.
Who were the Ubii?
A Germanic tribe that allied with Rome.
What was the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD)?
Arminius ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions, halting Roman expansion east of the Rhine.
What long-term border did Rome build to hold Germania?
The Limes Germanicus, a fortified frontier.
What German cities grew under Roman rule?
Cologne, Mainz, Bonn, Frankfurt, Stuttgart.
What was Tacitus’s view of Germans in Germania?
Noble savages—uncorrupted but warlike and primitive.
How did Roman-German relations change under Constantine (early 300s AD)?
German warriors became Rome’s elite bodyguards and military backbone.
What crisis weakened Rome in the 160s AD?
The Antonine Plague and Germanic pressure on the Danube frontier.
What was the Völkerwanderung?
The Migration Period (300–500 AD), when Germanic tribes moved across Europe.
Who sacked Rome in 410 AD?
The Visigoths under Alaric.
Who ended the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD?
Odoacer, a Germanic general.
Who brought peace and stability back to Italy after 493 AD?
Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogoth who ruled from Ravenna.
What did the Roman name Magna Germania refer to?
The vast tribal lands east of the Rhine known to Rome.
Which Germanic tribe stayed home and built a stable kingdom?
The Franks, who later became the foundation of modern Germany.
