What is Arminius?
'''Arminius''', also known as '''Armin''' or '''Hermann''' (b. 18 BC/17 BC in Magna Germania; d. [[21|AD 21]] in Germania) was a chieftain of the [[Cherusci]]. He was able to unite a group of Germanic tribes together to fight the Romans. They destroyed a [[Roman army]] in the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. This was the greatest military disaster the Romans had ever suffered. After the battle, Arminius immediately sent Varus' severed head to [[Maroboduus]], king of the [[Marcomanni]], the other most powerful Germanic ruler. Arminius offered an anti-Roman alliance. Marobod declined the offer, sending the head on to Rome for burial, and remained neutral throughout the ensuing war. Only later did a brief, inconclusive war break out between the two Germanic leaders.<ref>Velleius 2,119,5.</ref> == Rome's response == Later, in 14 AD, the Roman general [[Germanicus]], nephew of the Emperor [[Tiberius]], led a huge 8-legion army (a legion was up to 5,000 men) into Germania against the coalition of tribes led by Arminius. After visiting the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where 15/20,000 Romans had been killed in 9 AD, and burying their remains, he launched a massive assault on the heartland of Arminius' tribe, the Cheruscans. Arminius initially lured Germanicus' cavalry into a trap and inflicted minor casualties, until successful fighting by the Roman infantry caused the Germans to break and flee into the forest. This victory, combined with the fact that winter was fast approaching, meant Germanicus's next step was to lead his army back to its winter quarters on the Rhine. In spite of doubts on the part of his uncle, Emperor Tiberius, Germanicus managed to raise another huge army and invaded Germany again the next year, in 16. He forced a crossing of the [[Weser]] near modern [[Minden]], suffering heavy losses. Then he met Arminius' army in an engagement often called the Battle of the Weser River. Germanicus's superior tactics and better trained and equipped legions inflicted huge casua