Expert: Maria - 7/31/2008

Question
Hello I hope you are well,
I was wondering if you could give me some information on Octavian's lost Legions. I believe it was three legions that crossed the Rhine river into Germany and never returned. I think I read that later their bones were seen by other legions which responded to the area, but what happened was not fully known. If you can tell me what happened I do appreciate it. Also the Latin words that Octavian said when given the news of the destruction of his legions. I think it was something to the nature of my legions I want them back. I thank you for your time and consideration on this mater

Cassius

Answer
Hello,

First of all here are the Latin words  that Octavian, i.e. Emperor Augustus, said when given the news of the destruction of his legions, as we read in Suetonius, Life of Augustus, chapter 23 :

"Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" meaning “Quintilius Varus, bring me back my legions!”.

The legions Octavian Augustus referred to were the XVII, the XVIII and  the XIX,  which were defeated and massacred by Arminius' Germanic tribes on a summer day, maybe in 2nd half August or in the 1st half September 9 AD, since the historian Velleius Paterculus in his 'Roman History', book II, chapter 117, tells of a 'summer campaign' in Teutoburg Forest in the north-west of Germany (now approximately 70 miles from Osnabrück).

Such a battle which lasted about three days and ended with the defeat and destruction of  the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth legions fallen into an ambush, and  suicide of their commander Publius Quintilius Varus, although this is impossible to verify, since there were no survivors, led to Rome losing all its possessions east of the Rhine, making this river the most north-easterly border of the Roman Empire.


In short, what really happened  was that three Roman  legions , i.e. the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth,  never returned because unfortunately they fell into an ambush and were massacred by some German tribes led by Arminius who was trained as a Roman military commander, but later began plotting to unite various Germanic tribes against the Romans.


The precise location of Varus' final stand is believed to be at Kalkriese (near Osnabrück), where in the mid 1980s a British soldier discovered large numbers of bronze coins and lead slingshot "bullets".

Further archaeological excavations have revealed fragments of armour, numerous coins which all pre-date AD 9 and are stamped "VAR" (for "VARUS") as the issuer, and even the face mask from a legionary helmet.
Over 3000 items were discovered, along with human remains, which supports the theory that Kalkriese has been  the spot of the massacre.


Finally I have to point out that after the  battle of Teutoburg,  which was one of the few defeats suffered by the Romans in many centuries, they took the decision that never again would any other legion be named the XVII , the XVIII or the XIX, as if they were afraid of dire portents.
The Germans in fact  had taken the Eagles (battle standards) of the legions, a major insult to Roman pride, since the standards were considered minor deities.

Best regards,
Maria
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-Suetonius, Roman biographer(c.71-c.135 AD)

-Velleius Paterculus, Roman historian ( c.20 BC-35 AD)