Germania: the Nation that Defeated Rome 1 | Military Channel Documentary Documentary, coverage, everything about you search ! Look this video, like it and check my other videos and more about other thing ! Lot of thing ! Follow me on twitter and like the video ! DESCRIPTION : Germania (Greek: Γερμανία) was the Greek and Roman term for the geographical regions inhabited mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube. The areas west of the Rhine were mainly Celtic (specifically Gaulish) and had become part of the Roman Empire.[1][2] Some Germani, perhaps the original people to have been referred to by this name, had lived on the west side of the Rhine. At least as early as the 2nd century BC this area was considered to be in "Gaul", and became part of the Roman empire. These were the so-called germani cisrhenani, who in modern terms lived in the region of modern eastern Belgium, the southeastern Netherlands, and stretching into Germany towards the Rhine. During the period of the Roman empire, more tribes were settled in areas of the empire near the Rhine, in territories controlled by the Roman Empire. Eventually these areas came to be known as Lesser Germania, while Greater Germania (Magna Germania; it is also referred to with names referring it being outside of Roman control: Germania libera, "Free Germany") was the larger territory east of the Rhine. The Roman parts of Germania, "Lesser Germania", eventually formed two provinces of the empire, Germania Inferior, "Lower Germany", which came to eventually include the region of the original germani cisrhenani and Germania Superior, which in modern terms comprised an area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon (Besontio), Strasbourg (Argentoratum), Wiesbaden (Aquae Mattiacae), and Mainz (Mogontiacum). Origins of the term : The name came into use after Julius Caesar and whether it was used widely before him amongst Romans is unknown. The term may be Gallic in origin. Caesar reports hearing from his Remi allies that the term germani was the term used for the germani cisrhenani, and that these tribes had historically come from over the Rhine. So the name Germania seems to have been extended to cover the similar tribes in the area understood to be their homeland.[3][4] Some generations later, Tacitus claimed that this is precisely what happened, saying that the Tungri of his time, who lived in the area which had been home to the germani cisrhenani, had changed their name, but had once been the original Germani. Tacitus wrote in AD 98: For the rest, they affirm Germania to be a recent word, lately bestowed. For those who first passed the Rhine and expulsed the Gauls, and are now named Tungrians, were then called Germani. And thus by degrees the name of a tribe prevailed, not that of the nation; so that by an appellation at first occasioned by fear and conquest, they afterwards chose to be distinguished, and assuming a name lately invented were universally called Germani.[5] The Germania of Caesar and Tacitus was not defined along linguistic lines as is the case with the modern term "Germanic". They knew of Celtic tribes living in Magna Germania, and Germanic tribes living in Gaul. It is also not clear that they distinguished the tribes into linguistic categories in any exact way. The language of the germani cisrhenani, as well as their neighbours across the Rhine, is still unclear. Their tribal names and personal names are generally considered Celtic, and there are also signs of an older Belgic language which once existed between the contact zone of the Germanic and Celtic languages. Germania in its eastern parts was likely inhabited by early Baltic and Slavic tribes. These parts of eastern Germania are sometimes called "Germania Slavica" in modern historiography.

• published: 09 Dec 2013
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