It was long said that after the Teutoburgerwald that the Romans paid no interest to events on the far side of the Rhine but this has turned out to be totally false. Tiberius and Germanicus campaigned extensively against the Germans but it does seem fair to think that close examination of the terrain convinced them it was really was not suitable to the normal type of development which the Romans did. Then came this find:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germ...96720.html
I'm sure the Romans looked to find certain Germanic chieftains they could support, financially or militarily, just as we do with insignificant dictators all around the world. Sometimes, a little direct military support was probably required. It would not have been enough to attract the interest of historians who, in the third century, were probably far more interested in the Parthian threat.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germ...96720.html
Quote:The wilds of Germany may not have been off-limits to Roman legions, archaeologists announced on Monday. At a press conference in the woods near the town of Kalefeld, about 100 kilometers south of Hanover, researchers announced the discovery of a battlefield strewn with hundreds of Roman artifacts dating from the 3rd century A.D.
I'm sure the Romans looked to find certain Germanic chieftains they could support, financially or militarily, just as we do with insignificant dictators all around the world. Sometimes, a little direct military support was probably required. It would not have been enough to attract the interest of historians who, in the third century, were probably far more interested in the Parthian threat.
