Editing Suebi (section)

===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>