Flavus was a member of the royal family of the Germanic

Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...

tribe who served in the Roman military. He is chiefly remembered as the younger brother of

Arminius Arminius ( 18/17 BC – 21 AD) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, in which three Roman legions under the command of ge ...

, who led the Germans to victory over the Romans at Teutoburg Forest in AD9.

Name

Neither nor are Old Germanic

names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

. is simply Latin for " yellow", " golden", or "

blond Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

" and presumably indicates that Flavus had fair hair. His original name is unknown.

Life

Flavus was the son of the Cheruscan chieftain Segimer and the younger brother of

. His father was a Roman

ally An ally is a member of an alliance. Ally may also refer to: Place names * Ally, Cantal, a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France * Ally, County Tyrone, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Ally, Haute-Loire, a com ...

under Augustus and both boys were given Roman citizenship and served in the Roman military. As an equite

auxilia The (, lit. "auxiliaries") were introduced as non-citizen troops attached to the citizen legions by Augustus after his reorganisation of the Imperial Roman army from 30 BC. By the 2nd century, the Auxilia contained the same number of inf ...

ry, Flavus lost one of his eyes at the siege of

Andetrium Andetrium was an ancient city in Illyria, located in modern day Muć or Gornji Muć in the interior of Dalmatia, Croatia. Andetrium was the location of a Roman cohort in the territory of the Delmatae. During a Roman siege there in AD9, Arminius' ...

in AD9 during the

Illyrian Revolt The (Latin for 'War of the Batos') was a military conflict fought in the Roman Empire, Roman province of Illyricum (Roman province), Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Roman D ...

. In the same year, his father Segimer and brother Arminius defeated three Roman legions at Teutoburg Forest. Flavus seems to have remained loyal to Rome and continued serving in its army. Under Tiberius, he was involved in the Roman reprisal campaigns in Germany and he defeated his brother at Weser River. After this battle, the Romans withdrew across the Rhine. Flavus seems to have died before AD47 when the Cherusci are recorded appealing to Rome to send his son Italicusthe last surviving member of their royal familyto lead them.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Tacitus. Annals
Chapter 2
Ancient Roman soldiers Cherusci warriors {{AncientRome-bio-stub