Rome's GENIUS border defense strategy | 3D modeling the Rhine frontier
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Published 2024-02-17
Our channel’s Merch: historiamilitum.com/
We covered Roman frontiers in Britain, Jordan, Egypt, and the Neverlands... We thought its time for the largest one; the Rhine frontier! It is often said that Augustus founded and built the Roman border with the Rhine, that he installed stone forts along it, and that it was an unshakable border meant to repel any invasion. This video aims to dispel the above myths and shed some light on Roman borders. It wasn't one emperor who built it, it took decades for the wooden forts to slowly become permanent stone ones, and the border was very dynamic network that shifted through the centuries! This video covers the grand strategy of the Rhine frontier and explains how Roman borders worked, as well as how Rome built its largest border. (Defense in depth - How Rome guarded its LARGEST border)
Primary Sources:
O. Krok. 93
O. Krok. 6
O. Krok. 14
Secondary Sources:
Baatz, D. ‘Zur Funktion der Kleinkastelle am Obergermanisch-Raetischen Limes’, in A. Thiel (ed.) Forschungen zur Funktion des Limes Bad Homberg: Deutsche Limeskommission, 2007, 9–25.
Breeze, D. J. The Frontiers of Imperial Rome. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. 2011.
Kortüm, K. Zur Datierung der Römischen Militäranlagen im obergermanisch-raetischen Limesgebiet. Chronologische Untersuchungen anhand der Münzfunde, Saalburg, Jahrbuch, 1998 , 49: 5–65.
Planck, D. ‘Das Kleinkastell Rötelsee nördlich von Welzheim, Rems-Murr-Kreis’, Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg, 1974, 40–43.
Reuter, M. and Thiel, A. Der Limes: Auf den Spuren der römer Darmstadt: Konrad Theiss. 2007.
Sommer, C.S. ‘Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marc Aurel...? – Zur Datierung der Anlagen des 'Raetischen Limes’, Bericht der Bayerischen Bodendenkmalpleg 52: 137–180.
Symmonds, M. Protecting the Roman Empire: Forts, Fortlets, and the Quest for Post-Conquest Security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2018.
Thiel, A.‘The Odenwald limes and its relation to the Antonine Wall’, in W.S. Hanson (ed.) The army and frontiers of Rome: papers offered to David J. Breeze on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday and retirement from HistoricScotland Portsmouth: Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2009, 134–141.
Woolliscroft, D.J. 1997 ‘Signalling and the design of the German limes’, in W. Groenman-van Waateringe, B. van Beek, W. Willems and S. Wynia (eds.) Roman Frontier Studies 1995 Oxford: Oxbow, 595–602.
Intro (0:00)
Creation of the Frontier (1:55)
The Roman thought process (5:37)
The watchtowers (9:17)
The fortlets (11:21)
The Roman Grand Strategy (13:28)
Fighting Invaders (14:32)
Impressive self-sufficiency! (16:07)
The frontier's death (17:51)
All Comments (21)
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Download Opera for free with our special link: opr.as/Opera-browser-Historia-Militum
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After years of studying Roman military history videos like this one with this kind of detail are so important. Thank you friends .
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That letter from "Bassus to Galatus" made me think of my brother. I have many qualms with modernity, but I am glad I don't have to worry about him like that. Doubt I'd ever leave my family's locality if I lived in such a troubled world.
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Now that you know how chaotic and complicated Roman borders were, something equally impressive is how they managed to outfit EVERY soldier with state-of-the-army equipment and supply it to them. Check out their GENIUS weapon production industry here: https://youtu.be/DSdztU469Vs
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The soundtrack from the Praetorians is a nice touch, brought back memories.
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Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The 3D models help so much in visualizing how life was!
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Love how this channel provides in depth coverage of the ancient world by focusing on a case example of a specific section of the roman border
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Wow I’m impressed. I thought the Roman defences were on the Roman side of the Danube and Rhine. I never realised they projected so far forward into Garmania
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Very neat to be able to visualize day to day life in the frontiers so well!
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Its a good day when Historia Militum uploads a Roman Fort video!
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Incredible the complexity of such defenses, not only locally, but the regional strategy done, they were truly advanced and sophisticated. Great video as usual, excellence is the cognomen if this channel 👌🏼
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Incredible seeing more focus on my home region. The agri decumates and the other border regions are the most interesting thing for me in roman history. The way the roman culture merged and organically adapted the germanic and celtic influences seems kind of like a return to a panindoeuropean conciousness like parts of a whole that were torn apart and now put together again. I would appreciate more focus on these topics.Thank you for this interesting video.
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I'm going to leave this video for tomorrow to enjoy next to my morning cup of hot stuff. Thank you for amazing content! <3018
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Howdy, love your content
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Oh my god finally! A rare gem of a channel that is not same ol! Thank you and keep up the great content!
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3:56 Hadrian's love of walls continues into the modern day in all those RTS players that build three rows of walls around their entire base, cover every inch of said walls with towers, and keep a decent mobile response force handy in case of long-ranged attacks. It's possible to break those defenses, but it will be painful for any attacker.
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...and thank YOU, Historia Militum, for your time and effort in creating this interesting, thought-provoking video for us. Super graphics. Good flow in the story. Cheers from Denmark.
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Thank you for this great educational video!
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Epic video man! I can‘t believe the quality. Simply lovely 👊🏼
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Man, imagining Rome with an Industrial Revolution would've been wild to see. Same with what if the Eastern Roman Empire had continued on, with aid from the West to stand up to the Turkish armies.
