What If Rome Conquered Germany?
During his campaigns through the region Gaul, Julius Caesar had written extensively on the Gallic tribes, that is, the Celtic tribes of Gaul. While describing them as a barbaric and superstitious people, he expressed interest in just how quickly they seemed to progress in civility and development. This optimism was not present in his observations of the Germanic tribes, however, whose savagery, lack of noteworthy settlements, and warlike nature painted a picture in his mind of chaos incarnate; a people who, unless civilized or controlled, would become an ever growing threat to the security of newly conquered Gaul, and Rome as a whole. Thus, it seemingly became Rome’s duty to subdue Germania; to fully integrate it’s ferocious lands, and bring this robust people into the culture of the Roman Empire, of course, in the interest of the Roman people.
Caesar’s successor, Augustus, was a believer that the future security of the empire depended strongly upon the pacification of immediate neighboring threats, and shortening of the eastern frontier, ideally moving it as far as the Elbe or Vistula rivers.
Forts were built, armies were raised, and finally, in response to uprisings within Gaul, and clashes with Germanic tribes, Rome’s armies crossed the Rhine river under general Drusus, who managed to advance as far as the river Elbe before succumbing to an infection. Tiberius would take his place, finding Drusus did well to pacify most of the tribes between the two rivers. The land is regarded as very inhospitable; littered with bogs and dense woodland which only became worse during the winter; despite this, roads, bridges, shelters, and other forms of infrastructure were built to make traversing the land all the easier; troublesome tribes were often diminished to minuscule number, and relocated to lands within the empire where Roman soldiers could more easily observe and manage them. Soon Eastern Magna Germania came under near total Roman sway.
Tiberius was eventually called away from the region to put down an uprising elsewhere in the empire. Augustus, assuming Germania had been successfully pacified, sent in General Varus to begin the integration process, imposing upon the subjected Germans Roman law and taxes, neither being met very favorably by the native population. On route back to the Rhine from deep within Germania, Varus and three legions were betrayed by a believed friendly German who had led them into an ambush infamously remembered as the battle of Teutoburg Forest. Marching through muddy wetland in close formation between wooded hills, the Romans were helpless against the initial barrage of spears coming at them from the trees, before being set upon by the German warriors in full force. Isolated and caught off guard, only a fraction of the some 20,000 Romans survived.
Tiberius would then return to the Rhine, strengthening fortifications to prevent a German invasion of Gaul, and though this was accomplished, the loss of the legions, not to mention losing the thought conquered territory itself had struck a major blow to Roman morale.
Tiberius was recalled to Rome just as Augustus was nearing his final days. Tiberius would be named Augustus’s successor, while Germanicus would assume Tiberius's prior role as commander of forces in the Rhine. It’s believed Augustus left a final message with Tiberius to cease further military expansion, however this may as easily have been fabricated by Tiberius, motive being to prevent any further loss of Roman soldiers for a relatively worthless territory. Regardless, Germanicus, after winning over the support of several soldiers then in mutiny, set out into Germania intent on exacting revenge, and restoring Roman pride; adopting a policy of taking no prisoners, claiming that the German betrayal and savagery was worthy only of extermination.
Germanicus saw tremendous success throughout his campaigns which took him as far as the Elbe; he successfully recovered the eagle standards of the fallen legions, gave many of the legionaries proper burials, and crushed nearly every foe he encountered. Publicly, Germanicus was hailed as a hero by Rome’s citizens and government, some have even come to liken Germanicus to an Alexander the Great-like figure; Privately, on the other hand, Tiberius was critical of Germanicus for continuing these wars, and disregarding Augustus’s wishes, to which Germanicus asserted it was not a matter of expansion, but a matter of retribution and honor. Tiberius would ultimately recall Germanicus to Rome, praising him for his achievements, but relocating him far away from the Rhine to instead command the East.
Some have speculated that Tiberius was perhaps fearful or envious of Germanicus, whose achievements had come to overshadow him, and worse yet, might inspire a usurping of the throne. Germanicus had, after calming a mutiny of legionaries, been offered their support in taking the role of emperor by force, however Germanicus rejected the offer out of loyalty to Tiberius, and instead requested that they follow him in his campaigns against the Germans. Although Germanicus had refused to take the throne, he still inspired his legions to act against the Emperor’s judgments; this, paired with his wide-spread fame across the empire certainly could be intimidating.
Two years later, Germanicus would, while in Asia, become ill, and pass away; his death has most commonly been attributed to poisoning, with Tiberius himself being a key suspect to have at least had a role in the act. This is reinforced by the fact that the family of Germanicus was quietly blocked from any chance of taking the throne, seeing banishment, imprisonment, or worse, all but one who quietly remained a non-threat in the eyes of Tiberius, one Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, perhaps better known, as Caligula, who would in fact succeed Tiberius.
Germania would be left unconquered by Rome, and over the decades give rise to tribes more dangerous than those which Rome had faced prior; the Angles, Saxons, Franks, Lombards, Vandals, Goths, and Burgundians, tribes who would contribute to Rome’s collapse, and later serve as the building material for many of the European countries we know today…but what if that changed? What if in an alternate timeline Rome was able to successfully conquer, hold, and assimilate Germania?
Perhaps greater than the how question, is the “why”. Many wonder exactly why Rome would invest so much effort into not merely conquering, but assimilating a land which had little to offer but slaves, soldiers, and of course the land itself, which, as Tacitus put it, “nobody would desire to migrate to given it’s horrid climate”.
As we’ve already mentioned, since even before the days of Caesar, it wasn’t so much what Germania could offer, but rather, what it might prevent… of the various people which occupied Rome’s periphery, the Germans stood as the most immediate outside threat to sustained Roman security. This had been the case for the Gauls before them, who even still proved rebellious, in good measure thanks to the ever present possibility of German support. In summary, Germania did not bear great wealth, but it certainly wasn’t without it’s great value; given how far Germanicus had come along, it’s not a stretch to say that had he continued, he could well have brought even the whole of Magna Germania under Roman control, the issue then is how to hold onto the territory.
If Tiberius had in fact recalled Germanicus in order to prevent a full occupation of Germania, the justification may lie closer to the cost of holding the land, rather than taking it; the Romans had briefly subdued Germania before, however, if Germanicus did succeed in a conquest, most likely at the cost of several more Roman lives, how many more lives would need to be invested into the land, and just how much would it cost to both develop and Romanize what was in essence untouched wilderness, even still, assuming the tribes don’t at some point manage to overpower them again.
Ironic, given the reputation of Germany in the modern day, it was their lack of advancement at the time which made them and their environment so difficult to tame. The Romans had long made a practice of seizing enemy cities and resources to fuel their own war efforts, as well as exploited the convenience of already present roads, ports, and other structures; the Germans, as you might expect, lacked these factors which even the neighboring Gauls possessed. A sustainable Roman occupation would mean all this would need to be built from scratch, no doubt taking a toll on the Roman economy. Expenses might be reduced if slave labor was exploited, however this level of subjugation prior to the establishment of at least basic Roman presence might instigate an overwhelming violent reaction too great to put down. Ultimately, the initial period of occupation would prove a hefty economic loss for the empire, however, as time moves on, taxes, laws, and labor could be more efficiently enforced upon the Germans without worry of an unmanageable uprising, as by then a basic level of necessary infrastructure would be laid out, giving the Romans a strategic upper-hand, while pacifying many tribes whose lives would be made easier by Roman developments.
Permanent settlements created by the Romans within Germania would begin to attract a small population both from the tribes and Rome proper, the tribals being educated in the Roman fashion to aid the integration process. These settlements which over several decades would grow into cities, would be strategically placed for defense, trade, and commutability, ports being established along the North West coast, connecting to the Rhine and Elbe rivers; multiple communities arising between the Elbe and Oder acting as connective nodes for trade and resupply. Isolated tribes are able to maintain a level of autonomy and traditional customs, however most would eventually be subject to the scrutiny of Roman-allied tribes, possibly being consolidated into larger client states paying tributes of soldiers and wealth to Empire; the Germans of the time were infamously poor in regard to large-scale coordination, primarily in battle, meaning these client kingdoms would probably require a greater level of Roman oversight, or at least possess an understanding of Roman practices, as was the case for the leader of the Teutoburg forest attack. The assimilation process would be long and perhaps grueling; many Roman citizens opposing the concept of integrating what amounted to their most savage neighbors, whilst a significant number of Germans resisted what they perceived as a corrupting of their traditions and customs; the embracing of hardship had been a chief value of the Germans, something which might make them immediately averse to the comparably decadent Roman lifestyle, although this might just mean that the Germans in large part pursue laborious or military professions in the new Roman order, roles which the Empire was certainly in need of.
We might expect, over the following decades, a series of rebellions, uprisings, and invasions from the Germans both within and outside the Roman domain; we could expect such incursions to be carried out by those who had become the major tribes of our timeline, if so, bringing them into the cross-hairs of a more formidable Roman power. If we assume Germanicus survives to see some of these early reactions by the Germans, he would not hesitate to wipe out these troublesome tribes entirely, and would likely succeed in doing so for the most part. Even if he doesn’t, these tribes would now be either under close Roman supervision, or kept at a distance by a more efficient border; meaning the Germanic cultures which would become French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese never settle in those regions.
In our world, the Roman border wrapped around Germania, making it longer than it needed to be, and thus, required the spreading out of soldiers, fortifications, and resources, and in the long-term, drove Rome to adopt a more defensive strategy. Because in this world the border might by shortened by as much as half, the border itself becomes less territory to defend, and allows these otherwise spread out soldiers to condense into a much tighter defensive line, or be directed elsewhere without compromising Roman defenses. Because the majority of the German tribes are now kept under Roman observation, and the most rebellious are repeatedly crushed thanks to superior roman positioning, the constant threat the Germans posed would in essence be neutralized, and the supporting role they would play in weakening the Empire during major wars is now absent. Germania thus, would have been a costly initial investment for Rome, with seemingly little return, however, would save the Empire a tremendous amount of trouble in the long-run, leaving it in a more advantageous position when it would need to face up against imperial level powers, ensuring that, save for any internal factors, we can expect the Roman empire to survive much longer.
Germania itself wouldn’t be so difficult to govern forever, mind you; the more Rome invested and developed within the region, the easier it would become to administrate, navigate, and direct, as well as the more passive the Germans would become. This added security Rome would now have from outside threats also reflects internally; the public, not needing worry of German invasion during wartime, is more able to trust the wisdom of the present Emperor instead of point to him as the source of Rome’s woes. This prevents the more rash reactions of the citizenry and legions, thus averting many of the destabilizing usurpations which only served to make the empire more vulnerable.
As previously mentioned, this security allows Rome proper to focus less on defense and more on offense, likely directing such efforts at consolidating power in both Britainnia, and Scandinavia, two lands believed to be rich in trade opportunity, as well as bountiful in ore deposits. Greater interaction with the Scandinavians through newly acquired Germania might reopen regular communication with a land which for a time remained relatively disconnected from Western Europe.
The possibility exists for a conquered Germania to help turn the tides of the Roman-Parthian War, freeing up additional soldiers otherwise needed on the border, and providing a new generation of German recruits for the legion. At the very least, we could expect a much better outcome in repelling the Sassanid Empire, who in our world exploited Rome’s recently unstable leadership, economic crisis, and conflict with several Germanic tribes to invade Rome’s eastern provinces; these events being the basis of what is known as the Crisis of the Third Century, the territorial losses of which were eventually undone by Emperor Diocletian, however with internal divides still high. It’s quite possible the securing of Germania might prevent this both directly and indirectly; Immediately, the Germanic tribes which ravaged the Empire are a less significant factor; any hindrance they may create would be minimal, allowing Rome to focus full force on the East. Gaul never breaks away in response to German invasions and Roman instability, leaving the West all the more stable. Indirectly, the development and assets drawn out of Germania, that is, the man power directly drawn from the province, the enhanced mobility afforded by German roads and rivers, and the confidence of the people in the effectiveness of the Emperor and his predecessors all works to slow the decaying processes which made Rome as unstable as it had become in our world. Some emperors might still face assassination, and the economy would still see a decline, but over all, Rome is made more resilient. How long this resilience lasts is a more difficult question to answer; we could easily see this alternate Rome successfully fending off the Huns, and potentially every adversary the Byzantines had faced in our world.
As the centuries pass, and Rome continues to exist, losing or gaining lands on and off, perhaps seeing major changes to it’s government and practices, yet still in large part retaining the bulk of what made it Rome, it could well form a perpetually powerful and sprawling empire much as China has remained in Asia.
