Maroboduus (d. AD 37) was a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the

Marcomanni The Marcomanni were a Germanic people * * * that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian. Origin ...

, who were a Germanic

Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

an people. He spent part of his youth in Rome, and returning, found his people under pressure from invasions by the

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

between the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. He led them into the forests of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, near to the

Quadi The Quadi were a Germanic * * * people who lived approximately in the area of modern Moravia in the time of the Roman Empire. The only surviving contemporary reports about the Germanic tribe are those of the Romans, whose empire had its bord ...

who already lived nearby, and established a large alliance.

Name

The name appears in Latin and Greek texts spelt variously: ''Maroboduus, Marobodus, Maraboduus, Meroboduus, Morobuduus, Moroboduus, Marbodus'' and ''Marabodus'' in Latin sources; ''Maroboudos'' and ''Baroboudos'' in Greek ones. Different etymologies have been proposed, as follows: 1) The name is Celtic, specifically the compound name ''*Marobodwos'', consisting of the stem ''*mar-o-'' ‘great’ (cf. Welsh ''mawr'') and ''bodwos'' ‘raven, war god’ (cf. Old Irish ''bodb'' ‘idem’). 2) The name is Germanic, specifically the compound ''*Marabadwaz'', consisting of the stem ''*mar-a-'' ‘great’ from Proto-Germanic ''*mēr-i/a-'' and a masculine form of ''*badwō'' ‘battle, fight’ (cf. Old English ''beadu'' ‘idem’). The actual forms found in the Graeco-Latin texts are then accounted for by assuming a Celtic intermediary who ‘translated’ the name. 3) The name is Germanic, specifically the compound ''*Marabodwaz'', consisting of the stem ''*mar-a-'' ‘great’ from Proto-Germanic ''*mēr-i/a-'', the onomastic element ''-bod-'' treated here as a ''-wa-'' stem. It is to be noted that the thematic vowel of the first element in Germanic compound names is often rendered as ''-o-'' in Graeco-Latin texts: e.g., ''Langobardi'' for ''*Langabard-'', ''Theodoricus'' for ''*Þeudarīk-'', etc. Moreover, the adjective stem ''*mēr-i/a-'' straddles two declensional classes. The element ''-bod-'' is found in other later Germanic names as well: Continental Germanic ''Mar(e)bod, Merebot, Meriboto, Merbodo,'' and preserved in the New High German name ''Meerbott.'' The ''-wa-'' suffix is also found, perhaps used as a kind of diminutive marker, in other early Germanic names: cf. the Latinized Suebian name ''Nasua'' (= Germanic ''*Nas-wan-'', cf. the Old English name ''Naso'' and Continental Germanic ''Nasco''), and the Latinized Herulian ''Suartuas'' (= Germanic ''*Swart-wa-'').

Biography

Maroboduus was born into a noble family of the Marcomanni. As a young man, he lived in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and enjoyed the favour of the Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. The Marcomanni had been beaten utterly by the Romans in 10 BC. About 9 BC, Maroboduus returned to

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

and became ruler of his people. To deal with the threat of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

expansion into the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

basin, he led the Marcomanni to the area later known as

to be outside the range of the Roman influence. There, he took the title of king and organized a confederation of several neighboring Germanic tribes. He was the first documented ruler of Bohemia with a government. Augustus planned in 6 AD to destroy the kingdom of Maroboduus, which he considered to be too dangerous for the Romans. The future emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

commanded 12 legions to attack the Marcomanni, but the outbreak of a

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

, and the need for troops there, forced Tiberius to conclude a treaty with Maroboduus and to recognize him as king.

War with Arminius and death

His rivalry with

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 ...

, the Cheruscan leader who inflicted the devastating defeat at the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius ...

on the Romans under

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus (Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes l ...

in 9 AD, prevented a concerted attack on Roman territory across the Rhine in the north (by Arminius) and in the

basin in the south (by Maroboduus). However, according to the first-century AD historian

Marcus Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

, Arminius sent Varus's head to Maroboduus, but the king of the Marcomanni sent it to Augustus. In the revenge war of Tiberius and

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...

against the Cherusci, Maroboduus stayed neutral. In 17 AD, war broke out between Arminius and Maroboduus, and after an indecisive battle, Maroboduus withdrew into the hilly forests of Bohemia in 18 AD. In the next year,

Catualda Catualda (flourished in 1st century AD) was a Marcomannic exile who deposed the Marcomannic king Maroboduus in 18 AD. Catualda is mentioned in ''The Annals'' of the Roman historian Tacitus. Following the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, while Germ ...

, a young Marcomannic nobleman living in exile among the

Gutones The Gutones (also spelled Guthones, Gotones etc) were a Germanic people The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th ce ...

, returned, perhaps by a subversive Roman intervention, and defeated Maroboduus. The deposed king had to flee to Italy, and Tiberius detained him 18 years in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. There, Maroboduus died in 37 AD. Catualda was, in turn, defeated by the

Hermunduri The Hermunduri, Hermanduri, Hermunduli, Hermonduri, or Hermonduli were an ancient Germanic tribe, who occupied an inland area near the source of the Elbe river, around what is now Bohemia from the first to the third century, though they have also ...

Vibilius Vibilius or Vibillius (flourished in 1st century AD) was a powerful king of the Hermunduri in the 1st century AD, mentioned in The Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus. According to Tacitus, Vibilius deposed the Marcomannic king Catualda, who had ...

, after which the realm was ruled by the

Vannius Vainius (flourished in 1st century AD) was the king of the Germanic tribe Quadi. According to The Annals of Tacitus, Vannius came to power following the defeat of the Marcomannic king Catualda by the Hermunduri king of Vibilius, establishing the ...

. Vannius was himself also deposed by Vibilius, in coordination with his nephews

Vangio and Sido Vangio and Sido (flourished in 1st century AD) were two Quadian brothers who were the co-rulers of a Roman client kingdom in Bohemia in the 1st century AD. According to The Annals of Tacitus, Vangio and Sido were the sons of a sister of Vannius, w ...

, who then ruled as Roman client kings.Germania
UNRV History

References

External links

Gaulish English Dictionary
{{Authority control 37 deaths Germanic warriors Marcomannic rulers 1st-century BC births

Name

Biography

War with Arminius and death

References

Further reading

External links