Changes

==Conclusion==

The Romans recognized that the Battle of Teutoburg Forest was a devastating defeat and one of the most significant suffered by Rome. Few could have understood that the battle was of great historic importance. The battle was to lead to the end of any serious attempt to conquer Germania. There were to be no further invasions of Germania after the punitive expedition of Germanicus and the Romans were content to simply keep the Germans out of the Empire. It seems that even if Varus had not been defeated by Arminius it seems likely that they would have lost it to another rebellion. This had a profound impact on the Roman elite and it demonstrated to them that there was a limit to their power. They simply did not have the resources to conquer all the known world and that they came to accept that there was a limit to their empire. This ironically may have been a positive for the Romans, because it helped to usher in a period of peace and prosperity. If the Romans had been able to secure Germania they would have been able to secure their borders much more effectively. From the mid-second century, the Germans periodically menaced the frontiers of the Roman Empire. If Varus had not been defeated the Germans could have become loyal citizens such as the Franks and the Celts. Instead, the Germans would prove to be mortal enemies of the Empire for centuries and greatly contribute to the fall of the Empire.

==References==