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"The Early Emperors." //The Roman Empire//. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. [].


 * 1) Gaius Julius Octavius, a relative of Julius Caesar, took his throne as the first Emperor of Rome or Augustus
 * 2) he Created a 150,000 strong standing army
 * 3) in 20 B.C. he forced the parthians to return roman captives and legionary eagles from their past wars
 * 4) Augustus' sons then pursued a policy of expansion for a short period of time
 * 5) all of them died but on, so his choice of heir reluctantly fell to a son from an earlier marriage, Tiberius
 * 6) Tiberius then planned to lead an invasion of Germany
 * 7) then a revolt sprung up in the balkans unexpectedly
 * 8) it would embroil most of Rome's soldier for three years
 * 9) After the revolt, the General Varus led three Roman legions into the teutoberg forest, very few would leave
 * 10) at the height of its Power, three legions were utterly annhilated in the forests of Germany
 * 11) the defeat was so humiliating that Varus and his entire staff committed suicide
 * 12) Augustus is said to have wondered his palace shouting "Varus, give me back my legions!" after he heard of the disaster.
 * 13) needless to say, the Romans decided that they didnt need to conquer Germany anyway
 * 14) It also may have influenced Roman foreign policy for the rest of its existence
 * 15) Augustus himself said that only the conquest of civilized territories were worth Roman blood.