Arminius
The Latinized form of
Hermann, “the chieftain.” Son of
Sigimer, and chief of the tribe of the Cherusci, who inhabited the country to the north of the
Hartz Mountains, now forming the south of Hanover and Brunswick. He was born in B.C. 18; and
in his youth he led the Cherusci as auxiliaries of the Roman legions in Germany, where he
learned the Roman language, was admitted to the freedom of the city, and enrolled among the
equites. In A.D. 9, Arminius persuaded his countrymen to rise against the Romans, who were now
masters of this part of Germany. His attempt was crowned with success. Quintilius Varus, who
was stationed in the country with three legions, was destroyed, with almost all his troops
(see
Varus); and the Romans had to relinquish all
their possessions beyond the Rhine. In A.D. 14, Arminius had to defend his country against
Germanicus. At first he was successful, but Germanicus made good his retreat to the Rhine. It
was in the course of this campaign that Thusnelda, the wife of Arminius, fell into the hands
of the Romans. In A.D. 16, Arminius was defeated by Germanicus, and his country was probably
only saved from subjection by the jealousy of Tiberius, who recalled Germanicus in the
following year. At length Arminius aimed at absolute power, and was in consequence cut off by
his own relations in the thirty-seventh year of his age, A.D. 19. A colossal statue of
Arminius by Bandel was erected in August, 1875, near Detmold in Germany. See
Böttger, Hermann der Cheruskerfürst (1874), and
the article
Germania.