Editing Germanicus (section)

==Career==
[[File:Bust of Germanicus, front - Getty Museum (2021.66).jpg|thumb|Bust of young Germanicus at the time of his adoption by Tiberius in AD 4]]

===Batonian War===
{{main|Bellum Batonianum|l1=Great Illyrian Revolt}}
[[File:Great Illyrian Revolt (English).svg|thumb|Map of the uprising]]
Germanicus became a [[quaestor]] in AD 7, four years before the legal age of 25.<ref>{{harvnb|Pettinger|2012|p=65}}.</ref> He was sent to [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] the same year to help Tiberius suppress a rebellion by the [[Pannonia]]ns and [[Dalmatia]]ns.<ref group="note">According to [[Cassius Dio]], Augustus sent Germanicus to Illyricum because Tiberius' lack of activity led to suspicions that he was deliberately dragging his feet, using the pretense of war to remain under arms as long as possible.{{harvnb|Pettinger|2012|p=97}}.</ref> He brought with him an army of levied citizens and former slaves to reinforce Tiberius at [[Siscia]], his base of operations in Illyricum. Towards the end of the year, additional reinforcements arrived; three legions from [[Moesia]] commanded by [[Aulus Caecina Severus (suffect consul 1 BC)|Aulus Caecina Severus]], and two legions with Thracian cavalry and auxiliary troops from Anatolia commanded by [[Marcus Plautius Silvanus (consul 2 BC)|Silvanus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Crook|1996|p=107}}.</ref><ref name="Dzino151">{{harvnb|Dzino|2010|p=151}}.</ref>

By the time Germanicus had arrived in Pannonia, the rebels had resorted to raiding from the mountain fortresses to which they had withdrawn. Because the Roman legions were not so effective at countering this tactic, Tiberius deployed his auxiliary forces and divided his army into small detachments, allowing them to cover more ground and conduct a [[war of attrition]] against the rebels in their strong defensive positions. The Romans also began to drive the rebels out of the countryside, offering amnesty to those tribes that would lay down their arms, and implemented a [[scorched earth]] policy in an effort to starve the enemy out. During this period, Germanicus' detachments were in action against the [[Mazaei]], whom he defeated.<ref name=Dzino151/><ref>{{harvnb|Radman-Livaja|Dizda|2010|pp=47–48}}.</ref>

The rebel position in Pannonia collapsed in AD 8 when one of their commanders, [[Bato the Breucian]], surrendered their leader [[Pinnes (Pannonian chieftain)|Pinnes]] to the Romans and laid down his arms in return for amnesty. This was nullified when Bato the Breucian was defeated in battle and subsequently executed by his former ally [[Bato the Daesitiate]], but this left the Pannonians divided against each other, and the Romans were able to subdue the Breuci without battle. The pacification of the Breuci, with their large population and resources, was a significant victory for the Romans, who would be reinforced by eight cohorts of Breuci auxiliaries towards the end of the war. Bato the Daesitiate withdrew from Pannonia to Dalmatia, where he occupied the mountains of [[Bosnia]] and began conducting counter-attacks, most likely against the indigenous people who sided with the Romans. Later in the year, Tiberius left [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 6)|Lepidus]] in command of Siscia and Silvanus at Sirmium.<ref>{{harvnb|Dzino|2010|pp=151–152}}.</ref><ref name=Dzino151/>

Roman forces took the initiative in AD 9, and pushed into Dalmatia. Tiberius divided his forces into three divisions: one under Silvanus, which advanced south-east from Sirmium; another commanded by Lepidus, which advanced north-west along the Una Valley from Siscia toward [[Burnum]]; and the third led by Tiberius and Germanicus in the Dalmatian hinterland. The divisions under Lepidus and Silvanus practically exterminated the Perustae and Daesitiate in their mountain strongholds.<ref>{{harvnb|Swan|2004|p=239}}.</ref> Roman forces captured many cities, and those commanded by Germanicus took Raetinum, near Seretium (although it was destroyed in a fire set by the rebels during the siege), Splonum (in modern-day northern [[Montenegro]]) and Seretium itself (in modern-day western Bosnia). The Roman forces under Tiberius and Germanicus pursued Bato to the fortress of Andretium near [[Salona]], to which they laid siege. When it became clear Bato would not surrender, Tiberius assaulted the fortress and captured him. While Tiberius negotiated the terms of surrender, Germanicus was sent on a punitive expedition across the surrounding territory, during which he forced the surrender of the fortified town of Arduba and surrounding towns. He then sent a deputy to subdue the remaining districts and returned to Tiberius.<ref>{{harvnb|Swan|2004|pp=239–241}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dzino|2010|pp=152–153}}.</ref>

===Interim===
[[File:Otto Albert Koch Varusschlacht 1909.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|''Battle of Teutoburg Forest'', by Otto Albert Koch (1909)<ref>{{harvnb|Chrystal|2015|p=153}}.</ref>]]
After a distinguished start to his military career, Germanicus returned to Rome in late AD 9 to personally announce his victory. He was honored with a triumphal insignia (without an actual triumph) and the rank (not the actual title) of [[praetor]]. He was also given permission to be a candidate for [[Roman consul|consul]] before the regular time and the right to speak first in the Senate after the consuls.<ref>{{harvnb|Bowman|Champlin|Lintott|1996|p=110}}.</ref><ref name=Swan249/> According to Cassius Dio, Germanicus was a popular quaestor because he acted as an advocate as much in capital jurisdiction cases before Augustus as he did before lesser judges in standard ''quaestiones'' (trials). He successfully defended, for example, a quaestor accused of murder in AD 10 in which the prosecutor, fearing the jurors would find in favor of the defense out of deference for Germanicus, demanded a trial before Augustus.<ref>{{harvnb|Swan|2004|p=276}}.</ref>

In AD 9, three Roman legions commanded by [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]] were destroyed by a coalition of German tribes led by [[Arminius]] in the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. As [[proconsul]], Germanicus was dispatched with Tiberius to defend the empire against the Germans in AD 11. The two generals crossed the [[Rhine]], made various excursions into enemy territory and, in the beginning of autumn, recrossed the river. The campaigns of Tiberius and Germanicus in Germania in the years AD 11–12, combined with an alliance with the [[Marcomanni|Marcomannic federation]] of [[Marbod]], prevented the German coalition from crossing the Rhine and invading [[Gaul]] and Italy. In winter, Germanicus returned to Rome, where he was, after five mandates as quaestor and despite never having been [[aedile]] or praetor, appointed consul for the year AD 12. He shared the consulship with [[Gaius Fonteius Capito (consul AD 12)|Gaius Fonteius Capito]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wells|2003|pp=202–203}}.</ref><ref name="Seager37">{{harvnb|Seager|2008|p=37}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Gibson|2013|pp=80–82}}.</ref><ref name="Swan285">{{harvnb|Swan|2004|p=285}}.</ref> He continued to advocate for defendants in court during his consulship, a popular move reminiscent of his previous work defending the accused in front of Augustus. He also courted popularity by ministering the ''Ludi Martiales'' (games of Mars), as mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]] in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'', in which he released two hundred lions in the [[Circus Maximus]].<ref name=Swan285/><ref name="Gibson82">{{harvnb|Gibson|2013|p=82}}.</ref>

On 23 October AD 12, Tiberius held a triumph for his victory over the Pannonians and Dalmatians, which he had postponed on account of the defeat of Varus at Teutoburg Forest. He was accompanied, among his other generals, by Germanicus, for whom he had obtained the triumphal regalia. Unlike his adoptive brother [[Drusus Julius Caesar|Drusus]], who received no recognition beyond being the son of a triumphator, Germanicus played a distinguished part in the celebration and was given the opportunity to display his consular insignia and triumphal ornaments.<ref name=Seager37/><ref name=Gibson82/>

===Commander of Roman campaigns in Germania===
{{further|Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16)}}
[[File:Germania 10-12 Tiberio.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Campaigns of Tiberius and Germanicus in the years AD 10/11-13. In pink the anti-Roman Germanic coalition led by Arminius. In dark green, territories still directly held by the Romans, in yellow the Roman client states]]
In AD 13, Augustus appointed him [[Roman campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16)|commander of the forces at the Rhine]], which totaled eight legions and was about one-third of Rome's total military force.<ref name="Wells204" /> The next year in August, Augustus died and on 17 September the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] met to confirm Tiberius as [[princeps]]. That day the Senate also dispatched a delegation to Germanicus' camp to send its condolences for the death of his grandfather and to grant him proconsular ''[[imperium]]''. The delegation would not arrive until October.<ref>{{harvnb|Levick|1999|pp=50–53}}.</ref>

In [[History of Germany|Germany]] and Illyricum, the legions were in mutiny. In Germany, the legions in mutiny were those of the Lower Rhine under [[Aulus Caecina Severus|Aulus Caecina]] (the [[Legio V Alaudae|V Alaudae]], [[Legio XXI Rapax|XXI Rapax]], [[Legio I Germanica|I Germanica]], and [[Legio XX Valeria Victrix|XX Valeria Victrix]]). The army of the Lower Rhine was stationed in summer quarters on the border of the [[Ubii]].<ref name="Wells204" /> They had not been paid the bonuses promised them by Augustus and, when it became clear a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming, they revolted. Germanicus dealt with the troops in Germania, and Tiberius' son Drusus dealt with Illyricum.<ref>{{harvnb|Pettinger|2012|p=190}}.</ref>

The army of the Lower Rhine sought an increase in pay, the reduction of their service to 16 years (down from 20) to mitigate the hardship of their military tasks, and vengeance against the centurions for their cruelty. After Germanicus arrived, the soldiers listed their complaints to him and attempted to proclaim him emperor. His open and affable manners made him popular with the soldiers, but he remained loyal to the emperor. When news of the mutiny reached the army of the Upper Rhine under [[Gaius Silius (consul)|Gaius Silius]] (the Legions [[Legio II Augusta|II Augusta]], [[Legio XIII Gemina|XIII Gemina]], [[Legio XVI Gallica|XVI Gallica]], and [[Legio XIV Gemina|XIV Gemina]]) a meeting was held to meet their demands. Germanicus negotiated a settlement:<ref>{{harvnb|Pettinger|2012|p=189}}.</ref><ref name="Alston 1998 25">{{harvnb|Alston|1998|p=25}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shotter|2004|p=23}}.</ref>
*After 20 years of service, a full discharge was given, but after 16 years an immunity from military tasks, except to take part in actions (''missio sub vexillo'').
*The [[Donativum|donative]] left by Augustus to the troops was to be doubled and discharged.

====First campaign against the Germanic tribes====
[[File:Limes1.png|thumb|Map of the Lower (Northern) Germanic ''[[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]]''. Shows the legion camps and forts in Germania Inferior.]]
To satisfy the requisition promised to the legions, Germanicus paid them out of his own pocket. All eight legions were given money, even if they did not demand it. Both the armies of the Lower and Upper Rhine had returned to order. It seemed prudent to satisfy the armies, but Germanicus took it a step further. In a bid to secure the loyalty of his troops, he led them on a raid against the [[Marsi (Germanic)|Marsi]], a Germanic people on the upper [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]] river. Germanicus massacred the villages of the Marsi he encountered and pillaged the surrounding territory. On the way back to their winter quarters at [[Castra Vetera]], they pushed successfully through the opposing tribes ([[Bructeri]], [[Tubantes]], and [[Usipetes]]) between the Marsi and the Rhine.<ref>{{harvnb|Attema|Bolhuis|Lanting|Prummel|2010|pp=63–65}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dando-Collins|2010|p=183}}.</ref>

Back at Rome, Tiberius instituted the ''[[Sodales Augustales]]'', a priesthood of the cult of Augustus, of which Germanicus became a member.<ref>{{harvnb|Rowe|2002|p=89}}.</ref> When news arrived of his raid, Tiberius commemorated his services in the Senate. The Senate, in absence of Germanicus, voted that he should be given a triumph.<ref>{{harvnb|Dando-Collins|2008|p=6}}.</ref> [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' dates the Senate vote of Germanicus' triumph to 1 January AD 15.<ref>{{harvnb|Herbert-Brown|1994|p=205}}.</ref>

====Second campaign against the Germanic tribes====
[[File:Hermannsdenkmal statue.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|''Hermannsdenkmal'' Memorial to Arminius near [[Detmold]], Germany]]
For the next two years, he led his legions across the Rhine against the Germans, where they would confront the forces of [[Arminius]] and his allies. [[Tacitus]] says the purpose of those campaigns was to avenge the defeat of Varus at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, and not to expand Roman territory.<ref name="Wells204">{{harvnb|Wells|2003|p=204}}.</ref>

In early spring AD 15, Germanicus crossed the Rhine and struck the [[Chatti]]. He sacked their capital [[Mattium]] (modern Maden near [[Gudensberg]]), pillaged their countryside, then returned to the Rhine. Sometime this year, he received word from [[Segestes]], who was held prisoner by Arminius's forces and needed help. Germanicus's troops rescued Segestes and took his pregnant daughter, Arminius's wife [[Thusnelda]], into captivity. Again he marched back victorious and at the direction of Tiberius, accepted the title of [[Imperator]].<ref name=Wells204/><ref>{{harvnb|Seager|2008|p=63}}.</ref>

Arminius called his tribe, the [[Cherusci]], and the surrounding tribes to arms. Germanicus coordinated a land and riverine offensive, with troops marching eastward across the Rhine, and sailing from the [[North Sea]] up the [[Ems River]] in order to attack the Bructeri and Cherusci.<ref name="Wells1">{{harvnb|Wells|2003|pp=204–205}}.</ref> Germanicus' forces went through Bructeri territory, where a general, Lucius Stertinius, recovered the lost [[aquila (Roman)|eagle]] of the [[Legio XIX|XIX Legion]] from among the equipment of the Bructeri after routing them in battle.<ref name="Wells42">{{harvnb|Wells|2003|p=42}}.</ref>

Germanicus's legions met up to the north, and ravaged the countryside between the Ems and the [[Lippe River|Lippe]], and penetrated to the Teutoburg Forest, a mountain forest in western Germany situated between these two rivers. There, Germanicus and some of his men visited the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and began burying the remains of the Roman soldiers that had been left in the open. After half a day of the work, he called off the burial of bones so that they could continue their war against the Germans.<ref>{{harvnb|Wells|2003|pp=196–197}}.</ref> He made his way into the heartland of the Cherusci. At a location Tacitus calls the ''pontes longi'' ("long causeways"), in boggy lowlands somewhere near the Ems, Arminius's troops [[Battle at Pontes Longi|attacked]] the Romans. Arminius initially caught Germanicus's cavalry in a trap, inflicting minor casualties, but the Roman infantry reinforced the rout and checked them. The fighting lasted for two days, with neither side achieving a decisive victory. Germanicus's forces withdrew and returned to the Rhine.<ref name=Wells1/><ref group="note">Tacitus claims that the Romans won the battle at ''pontes longi'' ({{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|p=39}}); however, Wells says the battle was inconclusive ({{harvnb|Wells|2003|p=206}}).</ref>

====Third campaign against the Germanic tribes====
[[File:Idistaviso.png|thumb|Photograph of the field of Idistaviso by Dr. Paul Knötel ({{Circa|1895}})]]
In preparations for his next campaign, Germanicus sent [[Publius Vitellius the Younger|Publius Vitellius]] and Gaius Antius to collect taxes in Gaul, and instructed Silius, Anteius, and Caecina to build a fleet. A fort on the Lippe called ''[[Aliso (Roman camp)|Castra Aliso]]'' was besieged, but the attackers dispersed on sight of Roman reinforcements. The Germans destroyed the nearby mound and altar dedicated to his father Drusus, but he had them both restored and celebrated funerary games with his legions in honor of his father. New barriers and earthworks were put in place, securing the area between Fort Aliso and the Rhine.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|pp=52–53}}.</ref>

Germanicus commanded eight legions with Gallic and Germanic auxiliary units overland across the Rhine, up the Ems and [[Weser River|Weser]] rivers as part of his last major campaign against Arminius in AD 16. His forces met those of Arminius on the plains of [[Idistaviso]], by the Weser River near modern [[Rinteln]], in an engagement called the [[Battle of the Weser River]]. Tacitus says that the battle was a Roman victory:<ref name="Wells2">{{harvnb|Wells|2003|p=206}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|p=57}}.</ref> {{blockquote|the enemy were slaughtered from the fifth hour of daylight to nightfall, and for ten miles the ground was littered with corpses and weapons.}}

Arminius and his uncle [[Inguiomer]] were both wounded in the battle but evaded capture. The Roman soldiers involved on the battlefield honored Tiberius as [[Imperator]], and raised a pile of arms as a trophy with the names of the defeated tribes inscribed beneath them.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|p=58}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Seager|2008|p=70}}.</ref>

The sight of the Roman trophy constructed on the battlefield enraged the Germans who were preparing to retreat beyond the [[Elbe]], and they launched an attack on the Roman positions at the [[Angrivarian Wall]], thus beginning a [[Battle of the Angrivarian Wall|second battle]]. The Romans had anticipated the attack and again routed the Germans. Germanicus stated that he did not want any prisoners, as the [[genocide|extermination]] of the Germanic tribes was the only conclusion he saw for the war. The victorious Romans then raised a mound with the inscription: "The army of Tiberius Caesar, after thoroughly conquering the tribes between the Rhine and the Elbe, has dedicated this monument to [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], and [[Augustus]]."<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|pp=58–60}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dyck|2015|p=154}}.</ref>

Germanicus sent some troops back to the Rhine, with some of them taking the land route, but most of them took the fast route and traveled by boat. They went down the Ems toward the North Sea, but as they reached the sea, a storm struck, sinking many of the boats and killing many men and horses.<ref name=Wells2/>

Then Germanicus ordered [[Gaius Silius (consul)|Gaius Silius]] to march against the Chatti with a mixed force of 3,000 cavalry and 33,000 infantry and lay waste to their territory, while he himself, with a larger army, invaded the Marsi for the third time and devastated their land. He forced [[Mallovendus]], the defeated leader of the Marsi, to reveal the location of another of the three legion's eagles lost in AD 9. Immediately Germanicus despatched troops to recover it. The Romans advanced into the country, defeating any foe they encountered.<ref>{{harvnb|Tacitus|Barrett|2008|p=61}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Seager|2008|p=72}}.</ref>

Germanicus's successes in Germany had made him popular with the soldiers. He had dealt a significant blow to Rome's enemies, quelled an uprising of troops, and returned lost standards to Rome. His actions had increased his fame, and he had become very popular with the Roman people. Tiberius took notice, and had Germanicus recalled to Rome and informed him that he would be given a triumph and reassigned to a different command.<ref name="Shotter">{{harvnb|Shotter|2004|pp=35–37}}.</ref>

====Result====
The effort it would have taken to conquer [[Germania Magna]] was deemed too great when compared with the low potential for profit from acquiring the new territory. Rome regarded Germany as a wild territory of forests and swamps, with little wealth compared to territories Rome already had.<ref>{{harvnb|Wells|2003|pp=206–207}}.</ref> However, the campaign significantly healed the Roman psychological trauma from the Varus disaster, and greatly recovered Roman prestige. In addition to the recovery of two of the three lost eagles, Germanicus had fought Arminius, the leader who destroyed the three Roman legions in AD 9. In leading his troops across the Rhine without recourse to Tiberius, he contradicted the advice of Augustus to keep that river as the boundary of the empire, and opened himself to potential doubts from Tiberius about his motives in taking such independent action. This error in political judgment gave Tiberius reason to controversially recall his nephew.<ref name=Shotter/> Tacitus attributed the recall to Tiberius' jealousy of the glory Germanicus had acquired, and, with some bitterness, claims that Germanicus could have completed the conquest of Germania had he been given full operational independence.<ref>{{harvnb|Bowman|Champlin|Lintott|1996|p=209}}.</ref>

===Recall===
[[Image:Carl Theodor von Piloty Thusnelda im Triumphzug des Germanicus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|''Thusnelda at the Triumph of Germanicus'', by [[Karl von Piloty]], 1873<ref name="Beard108">{{harvnb|Beard|2007|p=108}}.</ref>]]
At the beginning of AD 17, Germanicus returned to the capital and on 26 May he celebrated a triumph. He had captured a few important prisoners, but Arminius was still at large. And yet, Strabo, who may have been in Rome at the time, in mentioning the name of [[Thusnelda]], the captured pregnant wife of Arminius, draws attention to the fact that her husband, the victor at Teutoburg Forest, had not been captured and the war itself had not been won.<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/teutoburg/thusnelda.html]</ref> Nonetheless, this did not take away from the spectacle of his triumph: a near contemporary calendar marks 26 May as the day in "which Germanicus Caesar was borne into the city in triumph", while coins issued under his son Gaius (Caligula) depicted him on a triumphal chariot, with the reverse reading "Standards Recovered. Germans Defeated."<ref>{{harvnb|Beard|2007|pp=107–109}}.</ref>
[[File:Caligula - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5482995.jpg|thumb|A [[dupondius]] from 37 to 41 CE, showing the Triumph of Germanicus on the obverse, and Germanicus holding an [[Aquila (Roman)|aquila]] on the reverse]]
His triumph included a long procession of captives including the wife of Arminius, Thusnelda, and her three-year-old son, among others of the defeated German tribes.<ref group="note">Captives featured in the triumph include: "Segimuntus, the son of Segestes, the chief of the Cherusci, and his sister, named Thusnelda, the wife of Armenius, who led on the Cherusci when they treacherously attacked Quintilius Varus, and even to this day continues the war; likewise his son Thumelicus, a boy three years old, as also Sesithacus, the son of [[Segimer]]us, chief of the Cherusci, and his wife Rhamis, the daughter of Ucromirus, chief of the Chatti, and Deudorix, the son of Bætorix, the brother of Melon, of the nation of the Sicambri; but Segestes, the father-in-law of Armenius, from the commencement opposed the designs of his son-in-law, and taking advantage of a favorable opportunity, went over to the Roman camp and witnessed the triumphal procession over those who were dearest to him, he being held in honor by the Romans. There was also led in triumph Libes the priest of the Chatti, and many other prisoners of the various vanquished nations, the Cathylci and the Ampsani, the Bructeri, the Usipi, the Cherusci, the Chatti, the Chattuarii, the Landi, the Tubattii." ([[Strabo]], ''Geography'', VII.4.33–38).</ref> The procession displayed replicas of mountains, rivers, and battles; and the war was considered closed.<ref>{{harvnb|Beard|2007|p=167}}.</ref>

Tiberius gave money out to the people of Rome in Germanicus' name, and Germanicus was scheduled to hold the consulship next year with the emperor. As a result, in AD 18, Germanicus was granted the eastern part of the empire, just as [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]] and Tiberius had received before, when they were successors to the emperor.<ref name="Alston 1998 25" />

===Command in Asia===
[[File:Roman East 50-en.svg|thumb|left|Map of Armenia and the Roman client states in eastern Asia Minor]]
Following his triumph, Germanicus was sent to [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]] to reorganize the provinces and kingdoms there, which were in such disarray that the attention of a ''domus Augusta'' was deemed necessary to settle matters.<ref group="note">''Domus Augusta'' (lit. "House of Augustus") was the family of Tiberius including cognate relations {{harv|Cascio|2005|p=140}}.</ref> Germanicus was given ''imperium maius'' (extraordinary command) over the other governors and commanders of the area he was to operate; however, Tiberius had replaced the governor of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] with [[Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 7 BC)|Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso]], who was meant to be his helper (''adiutor''), but turned out to be hostile.<ref name="Lott1">{{harvnb|Lott|2012|p=342}}.</ref> According to Tacitus, this was an attempt to separate Germanicus from his familiar troops and weaken his influence, but the historian [[Richard Alston (classicist)|Richard Alston]] says Tiberius had little reason to undermine his heir.<ref>{{harvnb|Alston|1998|pp=25–26}}.</ref>

Germanicus had a busy year in 17. He restored a temple of [[Spes]],<ref name=Lott1/> and allegedly won a chariot race in the name of Tiberius at the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] that year. However, Eusebius, our main reference for this, does not name Germanicus, and Tacitus makes no reference to this occasion either, which would have required Germanicus to make two trips to Greece within a year.<ref>{{harv|Barrett|1993|p=12}}; Eusebius, Chronicon 70, List of the Olympiad victors, cited also by Golden, M., (2004) Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z, Routledge, London.</ref> Also, not waiting to take up his consulship in Rome, he left after his triumph but before the end of AD 17. He sailed down the Illyrian coast of the [[Adriatic Sea]] to [[Roman Greece|Greece]]. He arrived at [[Nicopolis]] near the site of the [[Battle of Actium]], where he took up his second consulship on 18 January AD 18.<ref>Tacitus, Annals 2.53ff.</ref> He visited the sites associated with his adoptive grandfather Augustus and his natural grandfather [[Mark Antony]], before crossing the sea to [[Lesbos]] and then to Asia Minor. There he visited the site of [[Troy]] and the oracle of [[Apollo|Apollo Claros]] near [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]]. Piso left at the same time as Germanicus, but traveled directly to Athens and then to [[Rhodes]] where he and Germanicus met for the first time. From there Piso left for Syria where he immediately began replacing the officers with men loyal to himself in a bid to win the loyalty of his soldiers.<ref name="Lott1" /><ref>{{harvnb|Barrett|1993|p=12}}.</ref>

Next Germanicus traveled through Syria to [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] where he installed king [[Artaxias III|Artaxias]] as a replacement for [[Vonones I|Vonones]], whom Augustus had deposed and placed under house arrest at the request of the king of [[Parthia]], [[Artabanus II of Parthia|Artabanus]]. The king of [[Kingdom of Cappadocia|Cappadocia]] died too, whereupon Germanicus sent [[Quintus Veranius (governor of Cappadocia)|Quintus Veranius]] to organize Cappadocia as a province – a profitable endeavor as Tiberius was able to reduce the sales tax down to .5% from 1%. The revenue from the new province was enough to make up the difference lost from lowering the sales tax. The kingdom of Commagene was split on whether or not to remain free or to become a province with both sides sending deputations, so Germanicus sent [[Quintus Servaeus]] to organize the province.<ref>{{harvnb|Barrett|1993|p=14}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Barrett|2015|p=50}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Seager|2008|p=85}}.</ref>

Having settled these matters he traveled to [[Cyrrhus]], a city in Syria between Antioch and the [[Euphrates]], where he spent the rest of AD 18 in the winter quarters of the [[Legio X Fretensis|Legion X Fretensis]]. Evidently here Piso attended Germanicus, and quarreled because he failed to send troops to Armenia when ordered. Artabanus sent an envoy to Germanicus requesting that Vonones be moved further from Armenia as to not incite trouble there. Germanicus complied, moving Vonones to [[Cilicia]], both to please Artabanus and to insult Piso, with whom Vonones was friendly.<ref name="Lott343">{{harvnb|Lott|2012|p=343}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Barrett|1993|p=50}}.</ref>

====Egypt====
[[File:Nicolas Poussin 019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Nicolas Poussin]], ''[[The Death of Germanicus]]'' (1627), oil painting. Collection [[Minneapolis Institute of Arts]].<ref>{{harvnb|Facos|2011|p=33}}.</ref>]]
He then made his way to [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], arriving to a tumultuous reception in January AD 19. He had gone there to relieve a famine in the country vital to Rome's food supply. The move upset Tiberius, because it had violated an order by Augustus that no senator shall enter the province without consulting the emperor and the Senate (Egypt was an [[imperial province]], and belonged to the emperor).<ref group="note">That he violated this order is possibly confirmed by the fact that the trip is omitted in Germanicus' ''[[res gestae]]'' in the ''Senatus Consultum de memoria honoranda Germanini Caesaris'', a commemorative decree issued by the Senate and approved by Tiberius following his death {{harv|Lott|2012|p=343}}.</ref> Germanicus entered the province in his capacity as proconsul without first seeking permission to do so. He returned to Syria by summer, where he found that Piso had either ignored or revoked his orders to the cities and legions. Germanicus in turn ordered Piso's recall to Rome, although this action was probably beyond his authority.<ref name=Lott343/><ref>{{harvnb|Shotter|2004|p=38}}.</ref>

===Illness and death===
In the midst of this feud, Germanicus became ill and despite the fact Piso had removed himself to the port of [[Seleucia Pieria|Seleucia]], he was convinced that Piso was somehow poisoning him. [[Tacitus]] reports that there were signs of black magic in Piso's house with hidden body-parts and Germanicus's name inscribed on lead tablets. Germanicus sent Piso a letter formally renouncing their friendship (''amicitia''). Germanicus died soon after on 10 October of that year.<ref name=Lott343/> His death aroused much speculation, with several sources blaming Piso, acting under orders from Emperor Tiberius. This was never proven, and Piso killed himself while facing trial.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tacitus |title=Annals, 3.15 |pages= |trans-title=}}</ref> Tacitus says Tiberius was involved in a conspiracy against Germanicus, and Tiberius's jealousy and fear of his nephew's popularity and increasing power was the true motive.<ref>{{harvnb|Lott|2012|p=40}}.</ref>

The death of Germanicus in dubious circumstances greatly affected Tiberius's popularity in Rome, leading to the creation of a climate of fear in Rome itself. Also suspected of connivance in his death was Tiberius's chief advisor, [[Sejanus]], who would, in the 20s, create an atmosphere of fear in Roman noble and administrative circles by the use of treason trials and the role of ''[[delator]]es,'' or informers.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|Heichelheim|Yeo|2010|p=297}}.</ref>