Quote:Thanks for that, I was under the impression Caesar invented a non existent [major ] threat. Are you saying the Germanic tribes were a significant threat to Rome during Julius Caesar's time?
I suspect you have two questions run together there, Pad, so let me try to sort it out. YOu can correct me if I've mis-read you.
One, Caesar was consul in 59 BC and upon completion of his one-year term was appointed proconsul in Gaul beginning in 58. His province included Cisalpine Gaul (today, Northern Italy) and Provence, which is southern France around Marseilles. As proconsul Caesar had command of a few legions and the right to raise more if needed. As he arrived at his command word came of a Gallic tribe, the Helvetii and perhaps a few Germanic allies who had abandoned their homelands and were seeking passage across Roman territory. To make a long story short, Caesar denied them passage. The Helvetii then decided not to fight the Romans and instead tried to make their passage to the north of the Roman domain. A Gallic tribe in their path, the Aedui, appealed to Caesar for assistance and he graciously accepted them as "allies" and attacked the Helvetii. While the numbers mentioned in The Gallic Wars are patently absurd (as absurd as the numbers of Assyrians in G/C's silly bible) the fact remains that the Helvetii were an entire community on the move and had their women and children with them. Caesar made an example out of them and the carnage must have been brutal. Now, if this is what you mean by Caesar "inventing" a threat, you have a good point, except they were Gauls not Germans. There was no threat to "Rome" and no real threat even to "Provence." The Helvetii were going around. Caesar needed a casus belli to build his army and reputation. It was a stunning political move, giving him an ally in the Aedui and letting the Gauls know that there was a new sheriff in town. Yes, it was a little tough on the Helvetii but the Romans considered them barbarians anyway.
The second part about the Germans is somewhat more hazy. There were many German tribes and only a few of them had been involved in the wars which ended when Gaius Marius crushed them. There is speculation that the cause of the Helvetii's move was pressure from Germanic tribes. It makes some sense. People do not migrate without a good reason. In addition to that provocation there had been German intervention ( a king by the name of Ariovistus figures into this) in Gaul in the period immediately preceding Caesar's arrival as proconsul. As soon as he finished the Helvetii Caesar, again at the instigation of the Aedui, provoked a conflict with Ariovistus and defeated him. Perhaps Caesar's goal was to demonstrate the Rome was the protector of Gaul from the Germans? Eliminating the German presence west of the Rhine in 58, Caesar some years later gave the Germans a demonstration of Roman engineering by constructing a bridge across the Rhine and marching around Germany in a kind of parade militaire designed to awe the Germans and show them that they were not safe from Rome on the East bank of the Rhine.
The fact is that by 50 BC, Caesar had conquered Gaul and the fear of a Gallic invasion of Italy (Gauls had captured and sacked Rome in 390 BC) was erased. Governments need enemies from whom to keep the people "safe." Perhaps in the aftermath of the defeat of the Gauls it was necessary to conjure up the Germans for that role?
