Arminius (18 bc?- ad 19), chief of the Cherusci, a Teutonic tribe inhabiting parts of what is now Germany. German nationalists of the 19th century celebrated him as a national hero, under the name of Hermann, for having freed Germany from Roman control. He served in the Roman army (ad 1-6), obtaining Roman citizenship and an insight into the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. Returning home about ad 7, he found his people oppressed by the Roman governor Publius Quintilius Varus. Arminius organized a rebellion of the Cherusci, annihilating three Roman legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in ad 9 and forcing the Romans back to the Rhine River. The defeat of his legions led Varus to commit suicide. In ad 15 the Romans, under the general Germanicus Caesar, invaded Germany and in ad 16 defeated Arminius. Germanicus was recalled to Rome, however, and the advantages of his victories were lost. After this time, no Roman army ventured to penetrate the interior of Germany. After the expulsion of the Romans, internal feuds broke out among the Teutonic tribes, and Arminius was slain by his relatives. A colossal statue of him was set up in 1875 near the spot where he defeated Varus.
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