Battle of The Teutoburg Forest - Aftermath

Aftermath

Upon hearing of the defeat, the Emperor Augustus, according to the Roman historian Suetonius in his work De vita Caesarum ("On the Life of the Caesars"), was so shaken by the news that he stood butting his head against the walls of his palace, repeatedly shouting:

"Quintili Vare, legiones redde!“ ('Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!')

The three legion numbers were never used again by the Romans after this defeat, unlike other legions that were restructured – a case unique in Roman history except for the XXII Deiotariana legion, which may have been disbanded after heavy losses against the Jewish rebels in the Bar Kokba revolt (132–136) in Israel.

The battle abruptly ended the period of triumphant Roman expansion that had followed the end of the Civil Wars 40 years earlier. Augustus' stepson Tiberius took effective control, and prepared for the continuation of the war. Legio II Augusta, XX Valeria Victrix, and XIII Gemina were sent to the Rhine to replace the lost legions.

Arminius immediately sent Varus' severed head to Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, the other most powerful Germanic ruler with the offer of an anti-Roman alliance. Maroboduus declined the offer, sending the head on to Rome for burial, and remained neutral throughout the ensuing war. Only thereafter did a brief, inconclusive war break out between the two Germanic leaders.