Its possible that during his younger years, Maroboduus may have served as a prefect of auxiliaries in the Roman Army. This could explain the formidability of the disciplined Marcomanni army during his reign.
Augustus planned in 6 AD to destroy the mighty kingdom of Maroboduus, which he considered to be too dangerous for the Romans. The later Emperor Tiberius commanded twelve legions to attack the Marcomanni. But the outbreak of the Great Illyrian revolt in the back of the Romans forced Tiberius to conclude a treaty with Maroboduus and to recognize him as king.
However, according to the 1st century AD historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus, Arminius sent Varus' head to Maroboduus. But the king of the Marcomanni sent it to Augustus. In the revenge war of Tiberius and Germanicus against the Cherusci Maroboduus stayed neutral.
In 17 AD, war broke out between Arminius and Maroboduus, and after an indecisive battle Maroboduus withdrew into the area now known as Bohemia in 18 AD. In the next year Catualda, a nobleman, who had been exiled by Maroboduus, returned – perhaps by a subversive Roman intervention – and defeated Maroboduus. The deposed king had to flee to Italy and Tiberius detained him 18 years in Ravenna. There Maroboduus died in 37 AD.
Category:37 deaths Category:Ancient people Category:Ancient Germanic people Category:Germanic Romans Category:1st-century BC births Category:1st-century deaths
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