ALISONENSIS - How to discover the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest with Wikipedia and Google Earth

The aim of the historical portal ALISONENSIS is to gain new information about the Roman province Magna Germania, which at the beginning of the 1st century covered large parts of what is now Germany from the Rhine to the Elbe for around 20 years. ALISONENSIS aims to take a holistic approach, in which not only historical sources are evaluated, but also geographical, geological, economic and sociological aspects are examined using new tools provided by the Internet, such as Wikipedia and Google Earth.
The focus of ALISONENSIS is the Roman province Magna Germania, the Roman camp Aliso, and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

My name is Martin Hülsemann, I was born in 1969, I have a degree in electrical engineering and I work as a systems engineer for a telecommunications provider. I live in Darmstadt.

Ever since I was at school I have been interested in the history of the Roman Empire, especially the history of the Western Roman Empire in late antiquity, but also the history of the 20-year lasting Roman occupation of Germania on the right bank of the Rhine, thus the beginning of the establishment of the province of Magna Germania.

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Starting with Drusus’ Germania campaigns in 12 BC the Roman Empire tried to gain control in the general area east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, which the Romans called Magna Germania. The Romans wanted to make new borders along the rivers Elbe in the east and Vltava in the south-east. (Wikipedia: Magna Germania).

Otherwise we have little other information about the province except that Germania Magna was in the process of formation and that the province was abandoned following the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.

The Romans had over 20 years from the beginning of provincialism in 12 BC until the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Thus there must already have been a certain amount of infrastructure (roads, villages), because this was also important for the economic development of the province. Based on the assumption that THE event of the 1st millennium in east of the Rhine Germania/Germany, the Roman occupation, has left cultural, infrastructural and archaeological traces, the aim of ALISONENSIS is to rediscover the whole infrastructure of the province Germania Magna.

ALISONENSIS determines the regions of geographical and geological interest for the Roman Empire in Germania.

ALISONENSIS determines the economic factors that were important for the choice of the location for the construction of Aliso.

The most important place in the emerging province was Aliso. Aliso was an important Roman military camp in nowadays Germany.

It was located near the Lippe River. Aliso was built around the year 11 BC and served as an important base for Roman troops in the region. The exact size and structure of the Aliso are not fully known, but it is believed that it housed a significant garrison and may also have served as a supply point for Roman troops operating along the Lippe and in the Westphalian Lowland. Aliso also played an important role during the Roman-Germanic War.

It was probably destroyed by  Germanic warriors in the year 9 AD after the Battle of the Teutoburg Forst, but in the year 16 during the Germanicus campaigns it served as a base for the Romans again.

Since also women and children lived in Aliso, Aliso also had a civil significance and can be described as the main town of the young province Magna Germania. In a similar way the provinces Tarraconensis (main town Tarraco) and Narbonensis (main town Narbo) were named, this province was possibly named – just like this portal – Alisonensis, from its main town Aliso.

The gain of knowledge of Roman roads, military bases and settlements also makes it possible to start to draw conclusions about the locations of the battles of the Roman-Germanic war, e. g. the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also known as Varus Battle, took place in 9 AD and was a pivotal moment in the history of Central Europe. Germanic tribes led by Arminius defeated three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.

The Battle of the Teuturg Forest marked the end of Roman expansion in nowadays Germany, and thus also had long-term effects on the political and cultural development of Europe.

To determine the location of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, ALISONENSIS compares the events in Germania shortly before the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest with the events at the beginning of the Roman revenge campaigns between 14 and 16 AD.

If you would like to get an initial insight into the topic, you can view the summaries in the various languages. However, if you would like to delve deeper into my documentation, follow the menu that will guide you through the topic step by step.