#tencteri

[germanicseidr]

Cologne During The Batavi Revolt

In the year 70AD, during the Batavi revolt, Civilis managed to capture Castra Vetera, a Roman fort in modern day Xanten. He promised the Roman soldiers free passage out but the Germanics attacked them only a few kilometers outside of the fort and destroyed the Roman garrison. The most important Roman officers were captured and gifted to Veleda, the unmarried and deeply respected seeress, for she predicted that the Batavi would win this revolt. 

Civilis was spurred on by his success to move towards Agrippina, (Rome already lost two legions by now because of this revolt) but he was hesitant to let the Germanics plunder the Roman city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (modern day Cologne, Germany). 

Plundering the city would not be good for Civilis' reputation and at the start of the Batavi rebellion, his son was captured and treated with honour in Agrippinensium. But this Roman city was however hated by the tribes above the Rhine. The Tencteri sent envoys into Agrippina in order to let their demands be known. The fiercest of the Tencteri spoke and delivered one hell of a speech:

"You belong to the greater part once more, you are Germanic again! We therefore thank all of our  Gods and Tyr, our main God, and congratulate you. Finally you shall be free amongst the free. Until today the Romans closed off the rivers, land and in a certain way the sky, to stop all contact and traffic with us. Or it was to humiliate, us men born for weapons, further. Unarmed, practically naked, we would live under supervision and meet for a fee.

But so that our friendship and alliance may be everlasting, we demand that you tear down the walls of your colony, the bulwark of your slavery (even wild animals forget their virtue when locked up), that you slaughter all Romans within your bounderies. Freedom and slave masters do not easily mix. Let the goods of those killed be coded into a common store, so that no one hides anything or separates his own interest.

We and you must have the right to settle on either bank of the Rhine, as our forefathers did in the past. Nature has granted every man the privilege of light and day, not less has she given brave warriors access to every land.

Take back the traditions and customs of your own land again and cast out this luxery. This comfort gives the Romans more power over their subjects than their weapons! In this way you become a pure and unspoiled people, you forget slavery and become equally entitled, if not more powerful than others."

The inhabitants of Agrippina however couldn't accept or refuse these demands. They replied as follow:

"When the first opportunity for freedom was given, we took it up more eagerly than cautiously, so that we would be joined to you and all other Germanics, our kinsmen.

This is the fatherland for those colonists who at one time came and united with us by marriage and for those who were the offspring soon after. We do not judge you to be so prejudiced that you would wish our fathers, brothers and sons to be killed by us."

The citizens of Agrippina exclaimed to be supportive of the Germanic cause but refused to kill the Roman colonists for they already married and had families with Germanic people, they couldn't possibly kill their own families. 

They allowed the Germanics free entrance through the city but only when they were unarmed. Further they wanted to confirm the agreements with Civilis and Veleda. This is how the citizens of Agrippina managed to calm the Tencteri down and prevent the plunder of the city. In return the city would join Civilis and his Batavi revolt.

This speech and the recorded events were written down by Tacitus. Pictures of: Colonia Agrippina, Statue of Civilis, Embroidered depiction of Civilis from the 1800s, Map that shows the location of Agrippina in 70AD,

[germanicseidr]

Massacre at the river Maas

When the Germanic people invaded Gaul in 55BC, Caesar saw this as an opportunity to present himself as the 'protector' of the Gauls. He sent eight legions and the upcoming battle would result in the biggest slaughter of the entire Gallic war which I briefly wrote about in my post about the Tencteri last September.

The Tencteri and the Usipetes crossed the Rhine in 55BC searching for new lands to settle. The tribes appealed to Caesar for asylum but it was refused. The two parties met for negotiations during which the Germanics asked for three days time in order to send envoys to the nearby Ubii. Caesar however believed that the Germanics were only buying time to regroup their cavalry.

Caesar decided to attack the Germanic camp instead to the great surprise of the Germanics. Chaos ruled in the camp as the Romans attacked the unaware Germanics, they stood no chance to win so many started to flee towards the river. The Romans chased them down and killed as many as they could.

Caesar even seemed proud in his work when he described how his men killed every woman and child that they could find. Some fled into the river Maas but the current was strong so they got either killed by the river or by Roman troops.

The exact amount of people killed is unknown but we do know that Caesar's numbers are way too exaggerated. He claimed that he destroyed a population of 430,000 people. This however seems unlikely since there weren't that many people living in the low countries around 55BC. An estimated guess of the amount of people killed now lies around 150,000 people. A true genocide that took place in the Netherlands.

Napoleon III wrote a book about Julius Caesar in 1865 and mentioned that this particular battle must have taken place around fort Sint Andries near Heerewaarden, the Netherlands. This fort was strategically placed between the rivers Maas and the Waal which agrees with Caesar's comment on how the battle took place on the spot where the Maas and the Waal flow together.

In 1975, during dredging work, several artifacts were found at this spot which date from Caesar's time. This only seemed to confirm the suspicion that the battle took place here. But because not all found objects date from this time period, many archeologists had their doubts.

Another more possible location is the Dutch place of Kessel. Several belt hooks, swords, spearheads, a helmet and human remains were dredged out of the river Maas that belong in the same time period as the battle took place. According to Roman sources, Kessel lies 80 Roman miles away from the North sea, the same distance that is also mentioned by Caesar.

The human remains found at Kessel belonged to 70 individuals, 8 of these bones show signs of trauma, per example a skull with a hole near the left eye socket caused by a spear, this skull belonged to a 40-60 year old woman. Another skull shows an axe injury and a third skull has a sword injury. Many of the remains belonged to women and children which fits the narration of Caesar.

Here are photos of: Human remains found Drawings of the found helmet and Germanic cavalry swords A depiction of the battle by an unknown artist Kessel in the 21st century

[germanicseidr]

Tencteri

The Tencteri were a Germanic tribe who lived East around the lower Rhine river. Archeologists found Tencteri remains in the Netherlands. Their location is probably modern day south-Germany and East Netherlands.

The Tencteri were first described by Julius Caesar. In 55BC, they were searching for a new homeland and crossed the Rhine river. Celtic tribes who lived in these territories fled. Menapii lands were occupied by the Germanics causing quite some unrest. Julius Caesar feared this unrest because it might provoke other Gauls. He hurried to the area with his army. The Tencteri and Usipetes, sent ambassadors to Julius offering an alliance with the Romans. Caesar refused as long as these two Germanic tribes remained in Gaul.

The negotiations didn't lead to any outcome and eventually the Germanics attacked the Romans, forcing them to retreat. This of course did not sit well with Caesar and he took his revenge. Even after the Tencteri asked for asylum, Caesar with his 8 legions absolutely massacred the tribes in what you can describe as a genocide.

Archeological evidence of this mass slaughter has been found in the Netherlands in 2015. This is also the first concrete evidence that we have of Caesar actually setting foot in the Netherlands. An estimated 150,000 people were killed. In the Dutch village of Kessel, skeletons, swords, spearheads and armour has been found dated to this era.

The tribes however survived this genocide and in 16BC the Tencteri once again crossed the rhine. They battled the Romans who were under command of Marcus Lollius. The Tencteri together with the Sicambri and Usipetes managed to defeat this Roman army and even took a standard of the 5th legion as prize.

The Tencteri have also been mentioned around the time of the Batavian revolt. Veleda, the wise woman, of the Bructeri was called upon to provide arbitration in an argument between the Tencteri and a Roman settlement called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (which is now modern Cologne). The Veleda's solution was accepted by both sides. This shows how much influence these wise women had.

Not much later in 69AD the Tencteri joined the Batavian revolt, two Roman legions were lost in the conflict which lasted until a peace had been accepted by Civilis.

Around 150AD Ptolemy, an Egyptian born mathematician, astronomer and geographer, mentioned the Tencteri tribe as well. He placed the tribe's location in the same location as Tacitus did, to the east of the Rhine river. He also mentions a fortress called Asciburgium which is located between the Bructeri and Tencteri. Tacitus has also described this fort and stated that it had been originally built by the God Thor.

Eventually the Tencteri were absorbed into the Franks around the third century. During the great migration period, they did not move from their homeland.

photo of the map by Karwansaray Publishers

[archaeologicalnews]

Location of Caesar’s genocidal slaughter announced

Archaeologist Nico Roymans from VU University Amsterdam, announced the probable location where Julius Caesar in 55 BC annihilated two Germanic tribes. Caesar wrote at length in Book IV of his De Bello Gallico of the events surrounding the slaughter. The conclusions reached by the archaeologists are based on a combination of historical, archaeological and geochemical data.

The Tencteri and Usipetes were two Germanic tribes who came from an area east of the Rhine. Their request for asylum in new territory was refused, and Caesar with his full force of eight legions and cavalry went to war against them. After the conquest the fleeing remaining population was pursued by Roman troops. Read more.