The Batavians were an old German nation which inhabited a part of the presentHolland, especially the island called Batavia, formed by that branch of the Rhine which empties itself into the sea near Leyden, together with the Waal and the Meuse. Tacitus asserts them to have been a branch of the Catti. They were subdued by Germanicus, and were granted special privileges for their faithful services to the Romans, but revolted under Vespasian. They were, however, again subjected by Trajan and Adrian, and at the end of the third century the Salian Franks obtained possession of the island of Batavia. Research Batavians
Ceasar Germanicus was a distinguished Roman. The son of NeroClaudiusDrusus and the younger Antonia, a niece of Augustus, he was born in 15 BC and died in 19 AD. He was adopted by Tiberius, his paternal uncle, and married Agrippina, the granddaughter of Augustus. When Augustus died, in 14 AD, Germanicus was invited by the rebellious legions on the Rhine to assume the sovereignty, but refused, and quelled the revolt. He then crossed the Rhine, surprised and defeated the Marsi with great slaughter. Next year a campaign against the Catti and the Germans, led by Arminius, resulted in a series of victories. The following year he again made his way into Germany, defeated the Cherusci twice, and made an incursion into the country of the Marsi. Tiberius now became jealous of the glory of Germanicus, called him home under pretence of granting him a triumph, then, to get rid of him, sent him into the East to compose the disturbances in Armenia and Cappadocia. This he performed in 18 AD, visited Egypt the following year, and died on his return to Syria under some suspicion of having been poisoned by Cn. Piso, the governor of Syria. Research Caesar Germanicus
The Catti, or Chatti one of the most renowned of the ancient German tribes. They inhabited what is now Hesse, also part of Franconia and Westphalia. Research Catti
Domitian (fully Titus Flavius Domitianus Augustus) was a Roman emperor. He was the son of Vespasian, and brother of Titus. He was was born in 51 and died in 96. In 81 succeeded to the throne. At first he ruled with a show of moderation and justice, but soon returned to the cruelty and excesses for which his youth had been notorious. He was as vain as he was cruel, and after an ineffective expedition against the Catti, carried a multitude of his slaves, dressed like Germans, in triumph to the city. He executed great numbers of the chief citizens, and assumed the titles of Lord and God. He established the most stringent laws against high treason, which enabled almost anything to be construed into this crime. At length a conspiracy, in which his wife Domitia took part, was formed against him, and he was assassinated in his bed-room. Research Domitian
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Abbreviations
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