Editing Suebi (section)

==Historical events==

===Ariovistus and the Suebi in 58 BC===
[[File:Julius Caesar.jpg|thumb|Marble bust of Julius Caesar, first century C.E.; recent discovery on the [[Pantelleria|Island of Pantelleria]].]]

{{Wikisource|Commentaries on the Gallic War/Book 4}}
Julius Caesar (100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) describes the Suebi in his firsthand account, ''[[De Bello Gallico]]'',<ref>Book IV, sections 1–3, and 19; Book VI, section 10.</ref> as the "largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans".

Caesar confronted a large army led by a Suevic King named [[Ariovistus]] in 58 BC who had been settled for some time in Gaul already, at the invitation of the Gaulish [[Arverni]] and [[Sequani]] as part of their war against the Aedui. He had already been recognized as a king by the Roman senate. Ariovistus forbade the Romans from entering into Gaul. Caesar on the other hand saw himself and Rome as an ally and defender of the Aedui.

The forces Caesar faced in battle were composed of "[[Harudes]], [[Marcomanni]], [[Tribocci]], [[Vangiones]], [[Nemetes]], [[Sedusii]], and Suevi". While Caesar was preparing for conflict, a new force of Suebi was led to the Rhine by two brothers, Nasuas and Cimberius, forcing Caesar to rush in order to try to avoid the joining of forces.

Caesar defeated Ariovistus in battle, forcing him to escape across the Rhine. When news of this spread, the fresh Suebian forces turned back in some panic, which led local tribes on the Rhine to take advantage of the situation and attack them.

===Caesar and the Suebi in 55 BC===

Also reported within Caesar's accounts of the Gallic wars, the Suebi posed another threat in 55 BC.<ref>Book IV sections 4–19.</ref> The Germanic [[Ubii]], who had worked out an alliance with Caesar, were complaining of being harassed by the Suebi, and the Tencteri and Usipetes, already forced from their homes, tried to cross the Rhine and enter Gaul by force. Caesar bridged the Rhine, the first known to do so, with a [[pile bridge]], which though considered a marvel, was dismantled after only eighteen days. The Suebi abandoned their towns closest to the Romans, retreated to the forest and assembled an army. Caesar moved back across the bridge and broke it down, stating that he had achieved his objective of warning the Suebi. They in turn supposedly stopped harassing the Ubii. The Ubii were later resettled on the west bank of the Rhine, in Roman territory.

===Rhine crossing of 29 BC===
[[Cassius Dio]] (c. 150 – 235 AD) wrote the history of Rome for a Greek audience. He reported that, shortly before 29 BC, the Suebi crossed the Rhine, only to be defeated by [[Gaius Carrinas (consul 43 BC)|Gaius Carrinas]] who, along with the young [[Octavian Caesar]], celebrated a triumph in 29 BC.<ref>{{cite web | first=Lucius Claudius Cassius | last=Dio | author-link=Cassius Dio |translator=Herbert Baldwin Foster | title=Dio's Rome | work=Project Gutenberg | url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10162/10162-8.txt | pages=Book 51 sections 21, 22}}</ref> Shortly after, they turn up fighting a group of [[Dacia]]ns in a gladiatorial display at Rome celebrating the consecration of the Julian hero-shrine.

===The victory of Drusus in 9 BC===
[[Suetonius]] (c. 69 AD – after 122 AD), gives the Suebi brief mention in connection with their defeat against [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] in 9 BC. He says that the Suebi and [[Sugambri]] "submitted to him and were taken into Gaul and settled in lands near the Rhine" while the other Germani were pushed "to the farther side of the [[Elbe|river Albis]]" (Elbe).<ref>{{cite web | first=Gaius | last=Suetonius Tranquillus | author-link=Suetonius | title=The Life of Augustus | work=The Lives of the Twelve Caesars | publisher=Bill Thayer in LacusCurtius | pages=section 21 | url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html}}</ref> He must have meant the temporary military success of Drusus, as it is unlikely the Rhine was cleared of Germans. Elsewhere he identifies the settlers as 40,000 prisoners of war, only a fraction of the yearly draft of militia.<ref>{{cite web | first=Gaius | last=Suetonius Tranquillus | author-link=Suetonius | title=The Life of Tiberius | work=The Lives of the Twelve Caesars | publisher=Bill Thayer in LacusCurtius | pages=section 9 | url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Tiberius*.html}}</ref>

[[Florus]] (c. 74 AD – c. 130 AD), gives a more detailed view of the operations of 9 BC. He reports that the [[Cherusci]], Suebi and [[Sicambri]] formed an alliance by crucifying twenty Roman centurions, but that Drusus defeated them, confiscated their plunder and sold them into slavery.<ref>{{cite book | first=Lucius Annaeus | last=Florus | author-link=Florus | title=Epitome of Roman History | pages=Book II section 30 | no-pp=true}}</ref> Presumably only the war party was sold, as the Suebi continue to appear in the ancient sources.

Florus's report of the peace brought to Germany by Drusus is glowing but premature. He built "more than five hundred forts" and two bridges guarded by fleets. "He opened a way through the [[Hercynian Forest]]", which implies but still does not overtly state that he had subdued the Suebi. "In a word, there was such peace in Germany that the inhabitants seemed changed ... and the very climate milder and softer than it used to be."

In the ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annales]]'' of Tacitus, it is mentioned that after the defeat of 9 BC the Romans made peace with  [[Marbod|Maroboduus]], who is described as king of the Suevians. This is the first mention of any permanent king of the Suebi.<ref name="Book II section 26">Book II section 26.</ref> However, Maroboduus was in most sources referred to as the king of the [[Marcomanni]], a tribal name that had already been distinct from the Suebi in Caesar's time. (As discussed above, it is not sure which Suebi were the Suebi of Caesar, but at least they were distinguished from the Marcomanni.) However, Maroboduus was also described as Suebian, and his association with the Marcomanni more specifically comes after the Langobards and Semnones were specifically said to have left his kingdom, having previously been under his rule. At some point in this period the Marcomanni had come to be settled in the forested regions once inhabited by the [[Boii]], in and around [[Bohemia]], under his rule.

Augustus planned in 6 AD to destroy the kingdom of Maroboduus, which he considered to be too dangerous for the Romans. The later emperor [[Tiberius]] commanded twelve legions to attack the Marcomanni, but the outbreak of a [[Great Illyrian revolt|revolt]] in [[Illyria]], and the need for troops there, forced Tiberius to conclude a treaty with Maroboduus and to recognize him as king.<ref>Velleius Paterculus, ''Compendium of Roman History'' 2, 109, 5; [[Cassius Dio]], ''Roman History'' 55, 28, 6–7</ref>

===Roman defeat in 9 AD===
{{Main|Battle of the Teutoburg Forest}}
After the death of Drusus, the [[Cherusci]] annihilated three legions at the [[Battle of Teutoburg Forest]] and thereafter "... the empire ... was checked on the banks of the Rhine." While elements of the Suevi may have been involved, this was an alliance mainly made up of non-Suebic tribes from northwestern Germany, the Cherusci, [[Marsi (Germanic)|Marsi]], Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci, and Sicambri. The kingdom of the Marcomanni and their allies stayed out of the conflict and when Maroboduus was sent the head of the defeated Roman leader [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]], he sent it on to Rome for burial. Within his own alliance were various Suebic peoples, Hermunduri, Quadi, Semnones, Lugii, Zumi, Butones, Mugilones, Sibini and Langobards.

===Aftermath of 9 AD===
[[File:Germanic limes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Roman limes and modern boundaries.]]
Subsequently, Augustus placed [[Germanicus]], the son of Drusus, in charge of the forces of the Rhine and he, after dealing with a mutiny among his troops, proceeded against the [[Cherusci]] and their allies, breaking their power finally at the battle of Idistavisus, a plain on the [[Weser]]. All eight legions and supporting units of Gauls were required in order to accomplish this.<ref>Book II section 16.</ref> Germanicus' zeal led finally to his being replaced (17 AD) by his cousin Drusus, Tiberius' son, as [[Tiberius]] thought it best to follow his predecessor's policy of limiting the empire. Germanicus certainly would have involved the Suebi, with unpredictable results.<ref name="Book II section 26"/>

[[Arminius]], leader of the [[Cherusci]] and allies, now had a free hand. He accused Maroboduus of hiding in the [[Hercynian Forest]] while the other Germans fought for freedom, and of being the only king among the Germans. The two groups "turned their arms against each other." The Suebic [[Semnones]] and [[Langobardi]] rebelled against their king and went over to the Cherusci. Left with only the [[Marcomanni]] and Herminius' uncle, who had defected, Maroboduus appealed to [[Drusus Julius Caesar|Drusus]], now governor of [[Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum|Illyricum]], and was given only a pretext of aid.<ref>Book II sections 44–46.</ref>

The resulting battle was indecisive but Maroboduus withdrew to Bohemia and sent for assistance to Tiberius. He was refused on the grounds that he had not moved to help [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]]. Drusus encouraged the Germans to finish him off. A force of [[Goths]] under [[Catualda]], a Marcomannian exile, bought off the nobles and seized the palace. Maroboduus escaped to [[Noricum]] and the Romans offered him refuge in [[Ravenna]] where he remained the rest of his life.<ref>Book II sections 62–63.</ref> He died in 37 AD. After his expulsion the leadership of the Marcomanni was contested by their Suebic neighbours and allies, the Hermunduri and Quadi.

===Marcomannic wars===
{{main|Marcomannic Wars}}
In the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni entered into a confederation with other peoples including the [[Quadi]], Vandals, and [[Sarmatians]], against the Roman Empire. The war began in 166, when the Marcomanni overwhelmed the defences between [[Vindobona]] and [[Carnuntum]], penetrated along the border between the provinces of [[Pannonia]] and [[Noricum]], laid waste to [[Flavia Solva]], and could be stopped only shortly before reaching [[Aquileia]] on the [[Adriatic]] sea. The war lasted until Marcus Aurelius' death in 180.

In the third century Jordanes claims that the Marcomanni paid tribute to the Goths, and that the princes of the Quadi were enslaved. The Vandals, who had moved south towards Pannonia, were apparently still sometimes able to defend themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_16 |title=chapt 16 |publisher=Romansonline.com |access-date=2014-05-01 |archive-date=2014-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033048/http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Gth_Goth_16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>