Dieter Timpe

Essays from four decades on the German policy of the Romans are assembled here to give a general picture of the encounter between the Romans and the Germans from the migration of the Cimbri to the early imperial age. Within the framework of contemporary knowledge and understanding of the Romans, and with regard to the effects in Antiquity and later of the events described, the author examines the Roman expansion into central Europe, its political aims, strategic possibilities and historical consequences. Of central interest are the conflict with the Cimbri, the Roman occupation of the area between Rhine and Elbe, an appraisal of Arminius who fought against Varus, and an assessment of the Roman relationship to Germany at the time when Tiberius abandoned his offensive expeditions and later. Analysis of the historical events is combined with interpretation of the Roman view of the Germans and the influence of this view in modern times. The introduction contrasts the ethnographical model of constant confrontation between Romans and Germans with a different conception of German history which emphasises the comparative unity of the tribal regions of central Europe as an area under the influence of the Roman Empire.

This public lecture is staged annually in memory of the ecclesiastic historian Hans Lietzmann (1875–1942), Adolf von Harnacks’s successor as director of the Academy project The Greek Christian Authors of the First Centuries (GDS). The invited speaker is an internationally renowned scholar from the field of archeology, classical studies, history of religion, and patristics. The lectures address central topics of the history of ancient religion that are of relevance to the present day.