Rome divides Illyricum into two Provinces. Tiberius defeats Bato in Dalmatia. Varus loses three Legions in Germany.
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In January of 9 AD, the Son of God was 15 years and 7 months old. Jesus, Israel’s Messiah was still a young man living in Nazareth of Galilee. But nobody knew he was special.
People in town knew who he was – Joseph & Mary’s boy! But that was all they knew. There was nothing about Jesus (at this time) that drew people’s attention.
At age 15 & 16, Jesus kept a low profile with his parents, in Nazareth. Meanwhile, he kept up his secret relationship with his true Father, the God of the Universe. Jesus also kept his true mission a secret, at this point, even from Joseph & Mary.
Of course, while Jesus went on living peacefully in Nazareth…
The rest of the world was in various stages of chaos.
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At Passover in Jerusalem this year, something happened that was truly odd.
Several hours before dawn, on the Preparation Day (Friday, March 29th, in 9 AD), the priests had just opened the gates to the Temple Courtyard. Each year, people would come so early that the Temple grounds would normally be full of people by dawn.
This year, when the priests opened the gates, some uninvited guests snuck in, under darkness. It was a large group of Samaritans holding sacks. And the sacks were full of human bones! Quickly and quietly, the Samaritans went all around the courtyard, scattering bones until they’d covered the grounds.[1]
As soon as the priests noticed what was happening, they called out for the city guards. The guards ran off the Samaritans, while the priests shut down the Temple!
For several hours, that morning, the Temple courts were closed while the priests worked hard to clear and purify the area. Once the gates finally re-opened, the priests worked twice as hard to finish their duties on the year’s busiest day. Somehow, they still managed to sacrifice tens of thousands of lambs before sunset, when the Passover Sabbath began.
From that day on, the Sanhedrin & the priests found ways to be extra careful about Temple security.[2]
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By the way, the inner and outer courts were still under re-construction, since the fire at Pentecost, in 4 BC. This is the last time we get to see anything happen at the Temple for another twenty years. So just remember that – on the Sanhedrin’s small city budget – the re-construction project is less than half-way done![3]
Now, here’s what was going on in 9 BC, in the rest of the empire.
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About three months after the human bones incident, Rome sent a new Procurator to govern Judea. Around July, Coponius left Israel after three years in Caesarea-by-the-Sea. His replacement, Marcus Ambibuls, had just arrived from Rome.
Augustus was wise to send Romans, not Greeks, as Procurator. Judea was mostly Jewish, but there were many Greeks in Samaria and some other cities, like Caesarea. Whenever the Italian Procurator judged against someone in a case, they couldn’t say he was just siding with his own race. So being an Italian was an advantage for Ambibulus (like it had been for Coponius).
Ambibibulus now begins a quiet three years as Procurator of Judea. Before winter, Ambivulus visited Jerusalem and met the Sanhedrin. Wisely, the Procurator decided to let Annas the High Priest keep his post. (See 6 AD.)
Southern Israel stayed perfectly stable this year, and learned to live under a new commander without any problems.
In Judea, in 9 AD, the Roman Peace was three years old and growing strong.
But this same year, Rome’s War in Europe got a lot, lot worse!
***************
From Northwest Illyricum, Tiberius Caesar rode back to Rome in the Spring of 9 AD, after the Alps had thawed. The old General had wanted to stay with his Army, but Augustus was calling him home.[4]
Back in Illyricum, Germanicus Caesar[5] was preparing to help Marcus Lepidus finish the war. At least, that was the plan. But Lepdidus & Germanicus soon found out things this year were going to be harder than anyone had thought.
Early in the year, most of Rome’s Legions stayed in Pannonia, mopping up small bands of rebels that were still causing trouble. Germanicus took some troops down into northern Dalmatia and took one city,[6] but stalled out trying to take the next one.
Meanwhile, most of Dalmatia had rallied around Bato and his Rebel Army since their return from Pannonia, last year. It turned out the Dalmatians had occupied several strong fortresses in the Illyrian Mountains, during the winter. The Romans knew these positions were going to be very difficult to take.[7]
Suddenly, the war they’d thought was almost over now looked like it was just getting started. Lepidus and Germanicus finally noticed the Southern Illyrians were the stronger group of rebels.
All thru Spring, the Generals sent letters to Rome with more news.
Back in Rome, Augustus dealt with some civic matters[8] and hoped the news from Dalmatia would improve soon. Meanwhile, the Senate voted to honor Tiberius with a Triumphal Parade, but the parade was just as quickly postponed![9]
All of Rome knew a hundred thousand Soldiers were still in Illyricum. The whole city expected Rome’s Legions to conquer Dalmatia very soon. But it was barely late Spring before Rome found out how badly they’d misjudged the Dalmatians!
When the first reports coming back said that Dalmatia had actually grown stronger over the winter, Augustus got worried again. Everyone wanted the war to be over. The city was ready, Rome’s food supply was strained again,[10] the Legions were getting frustrated, and Augustus was half-past age seventy! The Emperor and Senate were definitely ready to end the Illyrian war, and there was only one way to do that quickly.
From Rome, Augustus sent Tiberius Caesar back to Illyricum. To Dalmatia, that is. And the Emperor even changed Rome’s Empire maps to reflect their new view of the Northern & Southern Illyrians.[11]
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This change in maps is not a small issue.
Augustus, his Generals & his Senate had all finally recognized the profound differences in North and South Illyricum. The Pannonians were defeated, but the Dalmatians were finally proving to be the stronger enemies. Simply put, the Emperor now saw this as a separate war against a separate people. So he separated the two regions.
Augustus had the Senate rename North Illyricum “Pannonia”, and South Illyricum became “Dalmatia”. Rome even sent a Governor for the new Province of Dalmatia – the Proconsul Vibius Postumus went over this year and joined in the fighting. At the same time, Caesar sent orders that Marcus Lepidus – already serving well in the North as the Governor of Illyricum – was now to stay on as Governor of Pannonia.[12]
This is important for understanding events in the decades to come. From now on (for another three centuries) there is no more “Provincia Illyricum” in the Roman Empire. Officially, Illyricum was replaced by “Provincia Pannonia” and “Provincia Dalmatia”. Un-officially, of course, some people are going to keep using the name “Illyricum” for quite a while! [13] (This is going to be important when we get to the 50’s.)
Now back to the action!
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By now, it was early Summer. Tiberius Caesar sent new instructions to his Legions (who were mostly still up north in Pannonia) to join him at some place. The Legions marched down into Dalmatia separately and reunited under Tiberius there. At that point, the old General split them up into three groups again, but now with a new plan.
Tiberius, of course, took the biggest part of the rearranged army. Lepidus, now Governor of Pannonia, led a smaller force back north. We don’t know which part of Illyricum Silvanus took his forces into, but we know he was successful there. And then General Caesar himself marched his Legions all over Dalmatia, trying to find the Rebel Leader, Bato.
Even now, it took some real doing to win this war! Tiberius, Lepidus & Germanicus[14] spent several months of hard fighting, with the General’s personal leadership at the front. It helped that the Rebels no longer vastly outnumbered Rome’s Legions (like in 6 AD). And also this year, Rome totally cut off the Rebels supplies. Altogether, it worked.
Tiberius’ main strategy was to besiege city after city, fortress after fortress. One by one, the Dalmatian strongholds fell. But the General still had to chase Bato all over the region.
Finally, somewhere around mid-summer, the Rebel Leader decided to make his stand at the Dalmatians’ strongest fortress (Andetrium, near Salonae by the coast). Tiberius began a long, difficult siege of the mountain base, but won it by Autumn. After some time, the General took the fortress.
Dalmatia was conquered, but Bato escaped. And then Bato came back! The Rebel Leader surrendered to Tiberius at the Roman camp near Salonae. Bato told the General to kill him, but spare the Southern Illyrian peoples.
Tiberius didn’t know whether to be impressed or furious. The General asked Bato why on earth he and his Dalmatians had fought so hard and for so long. And then the Illyrian Chief said something truly memorable. Bato said: “You Romans are to blame! Because you don’t send dogs or shepherds to guard your flocks. You send wolves!”
Amazingly, almost at the moment Bato said that, another Roman wolf was under attack by his flock! But no one in Italy or Dalmatia knew that yet…
For now, Tiberius & Germanicus kept Bato alive and left some Legions in Dalmatia. Back in Italy, Germanicus announced the victory. The Emperor-to-be was planning to display Bato[15] in chains during his Victory Parade, just as soon as it could be re-scheduled. But that parade was about to get re-postponed!
Just days after the Victory announcement, Rome got word of a massive defeat up in Germany. The Proconsul Publius Quinctillius Varus was dead. Three Roman Legions had been destroyed, with him.
Once again, Augustus put Rome on alert…
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Here’s what happened in Germany.
Since last year, Governor Varus had been trying to Romanize the Germans (across the Rhine). Full of himself, he was trying to do it too quickly! Varus was treating the Germans like slaves, but the tribes had just been playing along, until the right moment.
So, for over a year, the German chiefs Arminius & Segimerus earned Varus’ complete trust. And then – around late September – they led their fool of a Governor right into a trap! Arminius & Segimerus convinced Varus to march deeper into Germany with three Legions. (They told him German tribes needed his protection there.) But once Varus’ forces were spread out, marching into the thick, Bavarian forest, the chiefs took action.
Deep inside the darkness of the trees, Varus' Legions were stretched out for miles in one long column. Ahead of them, Arminius’ German Auxilliaries (forces trained by the Romans) were waiting in ambush.
Varus never saw it coming. The Germans attacked from behind the trees, out of nowhere! The Legions were surprised, unprepared, and had no space to regroup in. Then weather became a factor. The chiefs had picked a rainy season, and sure enough, the heavens opened up. Heavy rain made the dirt road difficult, while the Germans ran in and out of the woods, attacking at will. Supply carts were caught in the mud, blocking the retreat. With wind and rain, word was slow to reach the rear of the column, and communication was cut off. Besides, wherever the Germans picked on one portion of the Roman column, the Legionnaires were grossly outnumbered. And the lightly armed Germans were faster, while the Romans had to bear wet gear that got heavier as the rains kept falling.
The word horrible doesn’t even come close. It was total disaster.
The rains (and the German attacks) lasted for three or four days. The Romans never really had any hope. By the fourth day, nearly every one of Varus’ men – more than 10,000 soldiers and helpers[16] – were killed. A few escaped, to get word back to Rome. But the Governor himself refused to escape, and refused to be taken alive.
Near the end of the 3-4 day ordeal, Publius Quinctillius Varus took his own life by the sword. Rome’s 17th, 18th & 19th Legions were completely destroyed. Even their marching banners were lost in the mud – those bright red flags with Rome’s golden eagles on top. That’s how totally the Legions were destroyed. Even their standards fell, right there in the mud.
This was huge. These lands (claimed by Drusus in 9 BC) were lost to Rome forever.
Nobody anywhere could believe it. Germany had beaten the Romans![17]
***************
The death of Varus was big news. Before long, it was all over the Empire.
In Israel, it had been 12 years since Varus put down their rebellions after Herod’s death. (See 4 BC.) Now this year, if any of the Jews felt a sense of justice about the Governor’s death, they sure didn’t do much about it.
Varus’ legacy in Judea was still in effect. The 2,000 crucifixions he ordered were still doing their job. In other words, the Southern Jews were still leading quiet obedient lives.
To this day, Varus is mainly remembered for his European defeat. But history should also remember his Eastern victories. For the next several decades, they were just as important! So then, as we say goodbye to the tragic Governor, keep this in mind, too.
It’s largely thanks to P. Quintus Varus that Israel stayed rebellion free for 70 years.[18]
And that affected so many other, very important events.
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Varus’ dead body was abused by the Germans. Arminius cut off the head and sent it to Marobroduus, chief of Bohemia. (See 5/6 AD). Arminius wanted an alliance, but the Bohemians stayed independent, and sent the head on to Rome. There, Caesar buried it.
Rome was lucky the Germans had no allies. They were even luckier the Dalmatians went down before Germany rose! Still, Germany alone is going to be enough trouble for the next several years.
Arminius stays a major threat until 19 AD.
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Now, Rome heard about Varus around early October.
Augustus’ first reactions were harsh and the city mood sank deeply. The Emperor was trying to find more citizens into his army, but almost every man of fighting age had already been drafted during the Illyrian Wars! When no one else volunteered, Caesar punished every tenth man – severely. And before long, somehow, Augustus pulled together more new soldiers from the city, to send up to Germany.
Winter was coming soon, so the new troops were trained near Rome. Tiberius, also, waited for spring. But Augustus was afraid the Germans would try to cross the Rhine before Summer… so he made a few late Autumn changes.
Caesar ordered all 25 Legions, around the Empire, to be on alert. He warned all Governors to look out for rebels, and delayed all replacements for at least a year. Finally, Augustus moved four Legions into Germany – one from Spain and three from Illyricum. So these four Legions went up to eastern Gaul to guard the Rhine.[19]
Now, that was the Emperor's public reaction. In private, the great Caesar actually sank into a deep depression!
Augustus tore his clothes and went into mourning. Caesar was terrified the Germans would invade Italy. Paranoid, he exiled all Germans and Gauls from Rome. Superstitious, he offered new games to Jupiter. Off and on, Augustus swore he could see “signs” of the gods’ displeasure all around him. So the Emperor took turns blaming Varus, blaming the gods, and blaming himself for whatever he must have done to deserve this!
Caesar worried about all these things daily for the rest of the winter. He didn’t shave his beard or cut his hair for several months. And sometimes he would beat his head against the wall and scream out, “Quintus Varus, give me back my Legions!”
Augustus has just five years left to live. He turned 71 just days after Varus’ disaster. From this point, the Emperor’s active days are pretty much over.
Caesar had gained the whole world, and then he lost Germany. Now he was losing his mind, with no peace in his soul. But the world was still his.
And it kept right on spinning…[20]
Next Year Book: 10 AD
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Begin Footnotes to 9 AD:
[1] We don’t know what this was supposed to mean. One theory (cited in Loeb 433), says the assigned readings for the Synagogues that night was Ezekiel 37, about the valley of dry bones. Resurrection was a theme of Passover. It’s likely the Samaritan bone spreaders were making some kind of statement about that.
[2] This must be the main reason Josephus mentions the episode. Temple Security becomes a big issue during the rebellion of the late 60’s AD. It also shows that tensions between Samaritans & Jews were still ongoing despite Rome's occupation.
[3] What Herod built in 14 years (between 18 and 4 BC), the Sanhedrin needed 32 years (from 4 BC to 29 AD) to finish. That’s a total of 46 years, by the way! (See John 2:20 and also footnotes in 4 BC & 29 AD.) It’s also worth asking how the priests were able to lock people out of a courtyard whose walls were only partly finished! The answer is that the only public entrances were either at a bridge crossing [actually, one of two] or up stairs through the mountain, inside the western wall (the modern “wailing wall”, a retaining wall built up from the mountain’s foot.) So the walls at those three points must have been rebuilt early, for security at the entry locations.
[4] See last year. Swan did a very good job of clearing up the chronology here, blending the account of Dio with Suetonius and Velleius Paterculus. From this year to the death of Augustus, I rely very gratefully on Professor Swan’s extensive commentary.
[5] Germanicus had spent some time in Rome over the winter, but returned to the battlefront by Spring.
[6] Germanicus went back to the region of Splonum, where he’d fought in 7 AD. It was a rookie or sophomore level assignment, at best. Marcus Lepidus was clearly the commanding officer of the war, at this point.
[7] These are the Balkan Mountains in the former Yugoslav Republics.
[8] The Emperor called a meeting of every young single nobleman in Rome. He made a long speech about the importance of marriage and child rearing. His concern was largely for the future of the state, but Dio portrays the speech as being morally based, also. This same year, Augustus also strengthened the laws and penalties against confirmed bachelorhood, among the nobility. The speech came first, in the spring.
[9] Tiberius’ Triumph was awarded for his defeat of the Pannonians, last year, but the old General refused to be honored while his Legions were still busy fighting. Later this year, that postponement is going to get stretched out yet again, and Tiberius won’t actually celebrate the Triumph of Pannonia until October of 12 AD!
Incidently, the Senate also voted (this year, sometime) to let Tiberius’ son Drusus (now about 20 years old) attend Senate meetings without being a Senator, along with other honors similar to those granted to young Gaius Caesar at age 15. Of course, the Senate voted greater honors to Germanicus, this year, than it did to Drusus. Still, the honors voted for Drusus were as a gift to his father Tiberius. At any rate, both young men’s political careers were advanced significantly this year.
[10] Rome had been in and out of famine since 6 AD, partly because of sending supplies to the Army.
[11] This entire episode is more evidence, yet again, of Bato the Desidiatian’s significance and his prowess in leadership. In 6 AD, it was his vision and direction that united the Illyrian Rebels. In 7 & 8 AD, the Rebels in Pannonia had little to no significant success apart from his involvement. Bato the Desidiatian showed leadership in executing his namesake, the traitorous Breucian. Now, it seems, Rome finally realized how big a factor Bato the Desidiatian was and had been all along!
The facts line up very well, chronologically. Before winter, Augustus & Tiberius acted as if they could leave marching orders for mopping things up. And it wasn’t until this point that Rome reassessed the war and started calling it a Dalmatian one. Augustus’ quick re-dispatching of Tiberius shows that he had previously been expecting a quick victory – which again shows that Rome had still viewed the southern Rebels as a remnant of the Northern activities and expected Dalmatia to be a mopping up operation.
Dio says the surge of strength thru winter is what surprised Rome (Dio 56:12:1, “the remainder of the Dalmatians rose and the war kept dragging on”). This is the point in the records at which the war in Illyricum becomes the war in Dalmatia. So we see that Rome’s sudden recognition of Bato’s strength and the power of Dalmatia was the main reason why, at this point, Rome begins to respect Illyricum’s Northern and Southern halves as two separate regions – not only in war strategy and in government (this is the year we have separate governors/legates named in Pannonia & Dalmatia) – but also in Geography. Wilkes agrees. The division of Provincia Illyricum into Provincia Pannonia & Provinicia Dalmatia took place this year. Evidentely, this division also took place before the war ended, instead of after.
Finally, remember, the reason this matters for the New Testament is because Paul says he went to “Illyricum”. That might sound like a toss-away reference, but Paul’s distance (and time spent) traveling in those years (55-56 AD) is actually a major lynchpin of Pauline chronology. (See notes since 6 AD and Bonus Materials.)
[12] Vibius is named the Governor of Dalmatia (Velleius 2.116), and Lepidus (evidently made Governor of Illyricum after Messallinus) had his assignment reduced to Pannonia alone. Prior to this three way rendezvous, Silvanus was aggressively subduing the remnants of guerrilla resistance in Pannonia, having success at it, and yet facing continued raids by certain brigands that would take a long time to stamp out (Dio 55.34.7). Neither Dio nor Velleius mentions Lepidus or Silvanus after their meeting with Tiberius, suggesting that Silvanus went back to Pannonia with Lepidus..
Before this division, Lepidus had command over the brigands in Pannonia AND the strongholds in Dalmatia, which was all just too much, and that was a major reason why the war was “dragging on”. In fact, Lepidus was so incapable of addressing two regions at once that – clearly – he was still in the north when Tiberius sent word about the rendezvous. The whole land of Illyricum had become too much for one man to subdue. The split had to happen this year.
So this is why, even though there were active military operations in both regions, Augustus went ahead and made them both official Provinces before the war was fully over. This was not poor timing, but excellent timing – the split was a deliberate “divide and conquer” strategy. Even though the southern Bato had already divided things for them, de facto, it was still Rome’s prerogative and responsibility to address it that way, and make two campaigns out of one. So Augustus chose to leave Lepidus (with Silvanus) in charge of searching out and mopping up the Pannonian brigands, while Vibius was sent full scale into the Dalmatian War.
[13] Another “Provincia Illyricum” will be formed by Diocletian, about 300 years later. Until then, the name “Illyricum” will still be used occasionally in official and unofficial documents, by Italians, to refer to various parts of Pannonia and/or Dalmatia – but not as a reference to any Province, officially or properly. These records, however, do not contradict the official change of title. They are merely common use anachronisms, such as how many Americans today (in 2007) still say “the former Yugoslavia”, because most people are more familiar with that name for the region. (It’s also because you can name the place with one name, instead of many, which was exactly the same for the Romans. Sometimes they kept using the word “Illyricum” because it was easier than saying “Pannonia and Dalmatia”.) A final factor may be that the two new provinces seem to have been taxed by the same Imperial Procurator until the Flavian period (Wilkes, Illyricum, Chapter 8.)
As a matter of fact, Romans who kept saying “Illyricum” were just like Paul the Apostle when he called Western Macedonia “Illyricum”. The Romans, westerners, used the word as the name of their old province; and Paul, an easterner, used the word as the name of the ancient Kingdom around Dyrrachium (the former Epidamnus, circa 200 BC). Interestingly, the precise boundary between the provinces of Macedonia and Dalmatia was the Drin (Drillon) River – the same point marked by Octavian & Antony when they split East from the West. So East from West is the perfect difference in mid-first-century use of “Illyricum”! Above the Drin was land that Westerners might call “Illyricum”, and below the Drin was land that Easterners might call “Illyricum”. (At least, this seems secure for the years of focus, which is from “now” until 70 AD.)
Of course, when the diplomatic Doctor Luke wrote to Roman officials about Paul’s trip he called the region (properly) “Macedonia”. (Compare Romans 15:19 with Acts 20:1-2.) (See also notes to 6 thru 8 AD, and 55 thru 60 AD.)
By the way, another common use of archaic references is found today all over America when professional sports stadiums are renamed after corporations, but much of the local population continues to use the old, classic stadium name (whether habitually, nostalgically, or just stubbornly)! As of this draft (Fall 2007), I could easily list a dozen examples. But for a more personal experience, see again the footnotes for 6 AD.)
[14] Germanicus, by the way, was joined and helped by the new Governor, Vibius Postumus, who stayed to finish subduing the interior after Germanicus went back to rejoin Tiberius near Salonae.
[15] Here is a final pair of contrasts between the two Batos. First of all, the surrender of the Desidiatian was honorable, and done for the sake of his people, whereas the Breucian’s surrender in 8 AD was clearly treacherous. Moreover, Tiberius had treated the Breucian as a tool, while the Desidiatian was kept alive to display as a worthy adversary in his Triumph. It’s really amazing how many distinctive differences there are (in Dio and Velleius both) showing the impressive nature of Bato the Desidiatian. This one man did so much, envisioned an empire, turned a brief rebellion into a four year long ordeal, and essentially cost Rome Bohemia as well as Germany. Someday, someone should write a book all about Bato and his vision of a united Illyricum!
[16] How many Romans actually died with Varus in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany in 9 AD? Three Legions at full strength would have been more like Twenty Thousand troops, but those German Legions must have sent detachments to Illyricum after 6 AD (Velleius says Tiberius had 100,000 troops in Pannonia, and Suetonius says he had 15 Legions “for three years”, but Suetonius can only be correct if some of those 15 were actually detachments; see notes to 6 AD). Further, those detachments were most likely still in Dalmatia or Pannonia for most of this year.
If this is the case, then Varus’ three Legions were actually at half strength when the disaster occurred. This scenario seems even more likely, given that it would help so much in explaining the totality of the German advantage, and the result. Even with the Germans' many native, natural and strategic advantages on this particular occasion, it’s still much easier to believe they wiped out three half-Legions, than three full ones.
[17] In so many ways, this truly was Rome’s greatest defeat. Thanks to Varus, Over-Rhine Germany was lost forever. (Did any other nation EVER successfully reclaim their own territory from Rome, after Rome conquered them? I can only think of Israel, in the 60’s – but that was so very brief!)
This is a huge turning point of history, in Europe. The Rhine became Rome’s permanent boundary, and that boundary continued to affect European history and culture for fifteen centuries and more, even to the present day.
[18] That is, from 4 BC to 66 AD. The “rebellion” of Judas the Galilean in 6 AD was a failed plot that never broke into actual fighting, and the conflicts from 36 to 65 were brief, isolated events that never gained traction. Indeed, the teachings of Judas took 60 years to produce any sizably significant result.
[19] Four Legions replaced the three that were lost. This is often referred to as a year of major reorganization, but really it was just these four Legions that went anywhere new. The only other changes this year were that detachments (or whole Legions) that had been sent to Illyricum in 6 AD were now sent back where they came from.
If there were still detachments of the 17th, 18th & 19th (that is, if they were still serving in Pannonia or Dalmatia), these must have been absorbed into other Legions, perhaps to replace casualties of the Illyrian Wars. We know the Legions were not reconstituted. Their eagles were gone. So their detachments would have been reassigned – unless they had somehow rejoined Varus before the disaster, which is unlikely. (See notes above.)
This is the last realignment of Legionary positions for 33 years. So here are the assignments: 4 in Lower Germany (I,V,XX & XXI), 4 in Upper Germany (II,XIII,XIV & XVI), 3 in Pannonia (VIII, IX & XV), 2 in Dalmatia (VII & XI), 2 in Moesia (IV & V(b)), 4 in Syria (III,VI,X & XII), 3 in Spain (IV(b),VI(b) & X(b), 1 in Egypt (III(b)), and 2 in Egypt (III(c) & XXII). In years to come, nine other Legions will be created by various Emperors. Nine, that is, up to 70 AD. The next permanent shuffling of Legions comes in 43 AD, when the Emperor Claudius uses three Legions to invade Britain.
[20] One last footnote to 9 AD: of all years, this was the year when the future Emperor Vespasian was born, in November, in Italy. Vespasian and his son, Titus Vespasian, are the ones who will reconquer Israel after the rebellion begins there in 66.
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