Download Can you describe a Roman Massacre

You are a
young
officer in
the
Roman
army.
You are
going to
fight
these
people.
How does
this make
you feel?
Title: Otto Albert Koch: Varusschlacht,
1909 (Lippisches Landesmuseum
Detmold)
Author: Otto Albert Koch:
Source: www.lwl.org
License: The author died in 1920, so this
work is in the public domain in its
country of origin and other countries
and areas where the copyright term is
the author's life plus 80 years or less.
The Roman army won many battles over
hundreds of years to gain their vast empire.
Much of the time things went well.
But occasionally things went wrong.
Horrifically wrong…
The Roman army was very
successful. It conquered
much of what was called
the known world – what
do you think this phrase
means?
Look at the Roman empire.
All the coloured in parts
show the empire, the
different colours show
years that territory was
added. Which countries do
you know? Recognise on
this map? Don’t forget
there were no phones,
internet, cars, planes. How
vast would this empire
have seemed?
Lost legions of Rome
Title: The Roman Empire
under Augustus Caesar
(31 BC - AD 6)
Author: Cristiano64
Source: Lavoro proprio,
self-made
License: This file is
licensed under the
Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike
3.0 Unported licence.
Roman armies on the edge of the empire
would be sent on dangerous missions
And sometimes they disappeared forever!
Which we will find out about later…
And sometimes…
Like the time P Q Varus led three legions into
the Teutoburg forest in Germany.
We know the full horrific spine curdling
details of what happened to them
Here is their story…..
The key players:
Publius Quinctilius Varus was appointed governor
of Germania and given the job of continuing the
expansion of the Roman empire into the tribal
lands of what is now Germany.
He had put down revolts from people who didn’t
want to be ruled by Rome in countries that are
now called Lebanon and Israel. He was cruel and
severely punished and tortured the defeated
rebels.
The key players:
Arminius was a German
who had been sent to
Rome as a child. To the
Germans he is known as
Hermann. He had learnt
much about the Roman’s
civilisation and was
working as an advisor to
the Romans. He told P Q
Varus that the German
tribes over the border
were fighting and
causing problems which
could affect the empire.
Title: Johannes Gehrts: Armin verabschiedet sich von Thusnelda, 1884 (Lippisches Landesmuseum
Detmold)
Author: Johannes Gehrts (1855–1921)
Source: http://www.lippische-wochenschau.de
License:Thiis s a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art.
The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: The author died in 1921, so
this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the
copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less.
But it was a trick.
What do you
think the romans
thought of him?
And the German
tribes?
Do you think this
painting shows
the German or
the Roman view
of Arminius?
You are a young officer in P Q
Varus’ invading Roman army. You
are far from home, on the edges
of the empire and entering a
forest full of German tribes
people. The Cherusci, Marsi,
Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci, Sicambri,
and remaining warriors of the
Suebi all tribes that normally
fought each other but now united
by Arminius to fight off the
Romans. Arminius was trusted b
Varus and persuaded him to take
a short cut through this forest.
You have been told that this forest
might be full of German warriors.
All your men are looking for
reassurance. How do you feel?
What can you see? Hear? What
are you thinking?
Title: Fog in Teutoburg Forest near Oerlinghausen, Germany
Author: Own work
Source: Nikater
License: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version
published by the Free Software Foundation; This file is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0
Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Suddenly the German tribes attacked.
The Roman army of Varus was huge, made up of 3
legions and other support units totalling somewhere
between 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers. The column of men
was 12 miles long.
But the Germans isolated a section at a time. One
section would be attacked but the generals up the front
wouldn’t know about it because the column was so
long.
The Romans liked to form a shield wall on open ground
but in the forest there was no room. Their usual tatics
were useless here.
And then it was your
turn. You would have
been able to hear the
screams and shout of
war miles away as the
rear of the army was
attacked. Imagine you
are a Roman here.
Pick out a Roman –
What can you see?
Hear?
Feel?
Smell?
What happened here?
Act it out with a friend
– describe being here
using the prompts
above.
Title: Manifestement, tableau de la bataille de Teutoburg entre les
légions de Varus et les Germains d'Arminius en 9 ap. J.-C.
Author: unknown
Source: Келли Девриз, Мартин Догерти, Йен Дикки, Филлис
Джестайс, Роб Райс «Великие сражения Древнего Мира. 1285 год
до н.э. - 451 год н.э.». — Москва: Эксмо, 2008. — С. 223. — ISBN
978-5-699-25961-8
License: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and
other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's
life plus 70 years or less.
By the 3rd day
of battle the
German tribes
were wearing
the Romans
down. They
lured them to a
spot where they
had built walls
they could hide
behind to attack
from.
Title: The Roman Empire under Augustus
Caesar (31 BC - AD 6)
Author: Cristiano64
Source: Lavoro proprio, self-made
License: This file is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
3.0 Unported licence.
The full force of the
German tribes is
being unleashed on
the tired and
beleaguered Romans.
Pick a Roman soldier.
Think about the
soldier you have
picked - what can he
see and hear? What
is he feeling?
Cassius Dio a Roman wrote about what happened to the legions advancing into the forest of
Teutoburg in Southern Germany
2 They had with them many waggons and many beasts of burden as in time of peace; moreover, not a few
women and children and a large retinue of servants were following them — one more reason for their advancing
in scattered groups. 3 Meanwhile a violent rain and wind came up that separated them still further, while the
ground, that had become slippery around the roots and logs, made p45walking very treacherous for them, and
the tops of the trees kept breaking off and falling down, causing much confusion. 4 While the Romans were in
such difficulties, the barbarians suddenly surrounded them on all sides at once, coming through the densest
thickets, as they were acquainted with the paths. At first they hurled their volleys from a distance; then, as no
one defended himself and many were wounded, they approached closer to them.
3 They were still p47advancing when the fourth day dawned, and again a heavy downpour and violent wind
assailed them, preventing them from going forward and even from standing securely, and moreover depriving
them of the use of their weapons. For they could not handle their bows or their javelins with any success, nor, for
that matter, their shields, which were thoroughly soaked. 4 Their opponents, on the other hand, being for the
most part lightly equipped, and able to approach and retire freely, suffered less from the storm. Furthermore, the
enemy's forces had greatly increased, as many of those who had at first wavered joined them, largely in the hope
of plunder, and thus they could more easily encircle and strike down the Romans, whose ranks were now
thinned, many having perished in the earlier fighting. 5 Varus, therefore, and all the more prominent officers,
fearing that they should either be captured alive or be killed by their bitterest foes (for they had already been
wounded), made bold to do a thing that was terrible yet unavoidable: they took their own lives.
Source:This webpage reproduces a Book of
Roman History by Cassius Dio published in Vol. VII
of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1924
License: The text is in the public domain
The Eagle of the ninth.
In the year AD 165 Emperor Marcus Aurelius assembled a list of his legions.
2 legions were missing: the 22nd “Deiotariana” legion and the 9th “Hispana”
legion.
Why?
The Ninth was stationed in Britain. The last record of these 5000 soldiers in
Britain was from AD 108 – they were inscribed in the construction of an
archway in York. Some units of the ninth appeared in records Roman army
records in Germania in the 2nd century. Other historians point to the legion
being moved to take part in the Roman wars against the Parthian empire in
the middle East later in the 2nd century. No-one knows what happened for
sure.
But in effect after AD 108 they disappeared. What happened? 5000
professional, highly trained soldiers. Imagine if that happened now? 5000
soldiers disappearing in one go! No explanation! What would you think?
What would the reaction be? Can you imagine the news headlines?
Reconstructi
on of last
known
record of the
ninth at York
in England.
An intriguing theory
about their fate was
put forward in the
novel: “The Eagle of
the ninth” by
Rosemary Sutcliffe.
The book describes
the ninth
disappearing in to
the north of Britain
to put down a
rebellion of
Caledonian tribes.
Once in the
wilderness and
mists of the north
they were
ambushed and
annihilated by the
combined tribal
armies of the Picts
in Caledonia.
The Romans were not used
to losing. To lose the
Standard and the eagle of
a legion brought great
shame to anyone
associated with such a
defeat. Sutcliffe first got
the idea for the book when
she saw this eagle. It was
recovered from a building
site in Silchester, England.
We now know that it
wasn’t the eagle from the
standard of the ninth.
Nevertheless the actual
eagle would have been
sought after and it’s
recovery from the
wilderness would have
restored some pride to the
memory of the Ninth!
Here you can see
how long
Hadrian’s wall
really is.
The Antonine wall
was also added
later on as you
can see.
What does the
construction of
these wall tell you
about the
northern
Caledonian
tribes?
As you can see the
wall crossed the
whole of the country
from Cumbria to
Newcastle upon
Tyne. Could the
destruction of the
Ninth terrified
Emperor Hadrian so
much that he felt he
had to build this
permanent defence?
What made him do
this? What
happened to the
ninth?
Here are some reconstructions of Hadrian’s
wall.
Imagine what a huge project this was.
Do you think the soldiers who built it knew
what happened to the ninth? Would there
have been rumours about their fate?
Imagine you are in this picture in AD 117
building the wall. Would you have been
scared? Imagine you could noises in the
hills and scrub land. What might you have
imagined these noises were?
Title: Reconstruction of Hadrian's wall
Author: © Copyright Phil Champion
Source: geograph
License: licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons
Licence.
Title: Reconstructed section of Hadrian's Wall,
Vindolanda Vindolanda Roman Fort
Author: © Copyright Phil Champion
Source: geograph
License ; licensed for reuse under this Creative
Commons Licence.
Here are some of the
remains of Hadrian’s
wall. This wall was built
thousands of years ago
in A.D. 122 when
emperor Hadrian visited
Britain. It took around 6
years to complete and
stood for hundreds of
years untouched. The
height of the wall and
the features of the
buildings attached to
the wall were
eventually reduced by
armies and even local
farmers who took the
stone.
Title: The remains of a fort on Hadrian's Wall near Housesteads,
England.
Author:Wilson44691 at English Wikipedia
Source: Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology,
The College of Wooster).
License: This work has been released into the public domain by its
author, Wilson44691 at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.
Pictish warriors awaited the Roman
soldiers in he ancient north of the Isles Of
Britannica.
Imagine coming face to face with one of
these warriors.
Can you see their tattoos?
They were bright blue.
Thousands of these warriors stood ready
to defeat the Romans.
The story focused of the Eagle of the ninth focused on the son of an officer,
Marcus Flavius Aquila. He is injured in a battle and is retired out of the
army. He sees this as an opportunity. He ventures over the border into the
Pictish lands of Scotland. He enlists help of various Britons and Picts to
recover the Eagle of the Ninth and find the truth about his Father’s fate.
Imagine he found the battle field. In their desperation a small contingent of
soldiers could have been given the job of burying the eagle under the
ground and with it other artefacts including a diary written by his father.
What might this diary have said?
Can you write it?
Use the pictures as a starting point. Imagine each pictures tells each part
of your mission to stop the northern tribes. How would each episode be
recounted in his father’s diary?
You depart one morning,
just after sunrise. There
are over 5000 of you. As
an officer you are at the
head of the column.
What can you say about
your mission?
What about the place
you are marching into?
What do your men say to
you? What do they
gossip about? What
stories have you heard
about the Pict warriors?
Do your men hope to
capture fortunes and
land of off the
Caledonian tribes?
What do they think
about this place they are
marching through?
The army marches through a
dark forest. Can you describe it?
What can you hear? See? Smell?
What fears do you have? What
would you write about this
place? What might lurk in the
forest?
The forest may have been dark
but at least there wasn’t this
mist. What would you write
about this place? Think about
the mist. How thick could it get?
Where wold the mist come
from? Who might it hide? What
might your men say about this
mist – do they think it might
have been sent to stop them?
Who might have sent it?
Without knowing it
you find yourself in
the highlands.
It is very different to
the warmer lands of
England and your
home in Italy. You can
hear the wind ripping
across the hills and
whistling as you sleep
at night. One foot out
of place and men fall
to their doom.
What do you write
about this place?
What does it feel like?
Look like?
Smell like?
Sound like?
On a freezing night the aurora
borealis appears. The Romans
would have had no
explanation for this and it is
doubtful that they
encountered it before as it
appears in the most northern
parts of Europe – beyond the
empire’s frontier. What would
they think? What would his
father write? What would the
soldiers say about this vision
to each other?
The mist gets
thicker again and
your men can hear
the distant beat of
feet and drums. You
see groups of men
and women painted
in blue only for
them to disappear
into the mist.
What happens
here? What do you
tell the
commanding
officer? Some of
your men start to
fear this a trap.
You trudge onwards.
The snow is deep and
you are freezing all
the time.
Have the commanding
officers taken you in
the wrong direction?
Can you describe
what it is like here?
What are the men
under your command
saying?
Then a snow
storm appears.
What happens?
Maybe the army
get broken up into
different parts?
Are some men
starting to get so
cold that they are
getting ill? Can
you describe the
effect of the
storm?
You survive the
storm but you are
still on dangerous
and very high
ground. Is your
army still intact?
Have you get
separated? Have
contingents of Pict
warriors attacked
sections at a time?
How do you and
your men feel
now? How long
have you been
here?
You stop to
make camp.
In the next
moment you
can see
thousand of
blue painted
warriors
appearing
from either
side of this
mountain.
What happens
next? How do
you hide the
diary and the
Eagle? Do you
have time to
scribble a few
words before
you hide the
dairy? Can
you describe
the horrific
scene
unfolding
before you?
What happens
to your army?