Arminius (in German improperly called Hermann), prince of the Cherusci, a German tribe, and the liberator of Germany, born about 16 B. C. In his youth he became a Roman citizen of the equestrian order, and served on the Danube as leader of an auxiliary body of the Cherusci. On his return, finding his country smarting under the oppressions of the Roman commander Varus, he organized an extensive conspiracy. Professing great friendship for Varus, and admiration for Roman civilization, he induced the general to distribute a large part of his force in small detachments among different tribes, under the plea of maintaining better order among the Germans. The news, true or false, of an insurrection having reached the Romans, Varus marched in October, A. D. 9, from the Weser toward the Teutoburg forest (now partly in the principality of Lippe and partly in Prussia). Arminius, against whom Varus had in vain been warned, now gave the signal for insurrection. The Romans scattered in the interior were murdered, and the main body, which was encumbered with vast trains of baggage and camp followers, found itself surrounded on all sides. The Romans fought their way for three days, until almost all were exterminated, Varus taking his own life.

From among the prisoners, the chiefs, civil and military, were sacrificed to the gods, the rest enslaved. This destruction of three Roman legions filled Rome with grief and shame. For several days Augustus would only utter the words, " Varus, give me back my legions! " More than four years elapsed before Germani-cus marched from Gaul to avenge the fallen; he advanced into Germany, but returned, after a short campaign, the same year. Among the Germans dissensions soon prevailed. Arminius carried off' Thusnelda (celebrated afterward in German minstrelsy), (laughter of Segestes, a Germanic chief friendly to the Romans, and married her, but she soon fell again into the hands of her father. Next year (15) Germani-cus entered with fresh troops, relieved Segestes, who was besieged by Arminius, and liberated him, but Thusnelda was made a Roman slave. Arminius now called the Cherusci and other tribes to arms. Germanicus led against him 80,000 men in three divisions, and a large fleet on the Weser and the Ems. Arminius retreated until he had drawn the Romans into narrow passes, and then attacked them with such fury that Germanicus, having lost his cavalry, was obliged to retreat, and reached his vessels with difficulty; four legions under CAecina scarcely escaped total destruc-tion previous to crossing the Rhine. The next spring Germanicus returned with an army of 100,000 men and about 1,000 vessels onthe rivers.

Beyond the Weser, between the present towns of Hameln and Rinteln, on a plain called Woman's Meadow, was fought the greatest battle between the Germans and Romans. The Germans were beaten, but nevertheless renewed the struggle the next day, and obliged the victorious Romans to retreat. This was the last time that Roman armies invaded Germany beyond the Rhine, and Arminius is therefore justly called the liberator. According to a le-gend, he disappeared in a mysterious manner during an interview on a half-built bridge with his brother Flavus, who remained attached to the Romans and tried to persuade Arminius to return to them. But history says that Arminius, being proclaimed chief by the Cherusci and nu-merous other tribes, attacked Marbod (Marobo-duus), chief of the Marcomanni, his rival in pretensions to supreme power, who was supported by Inguiomer, the uncle of Arminius. After a terrible struggle in Saxony, and a great undecided battle, Marbod was abandoned by many of his partisans, returned to Bohemia, and finally fled to the Romans, leaving Arminins in undisputed possession. Arminius finally excited discontent by the strictness of his rule, and perished by the treachery of one of his relations.

His wife Thusnelda, their son Thu-melicus, born in captivity, and Segmund, brother of Thusnelda, appeared as prisoners in the triumphal cortege of Germanicus in Rome, A. D. 16. The lineage of the Cheruscan princes was extinct, with the exception of Italicus, son of Flavus, who in 47 was given up by the Romans to the Cherusci at their request. Tacitus says that the name of Arminius was alive in the songs of the "barbarians of his time," and it still lives in Germany. It was the theme of many patriotic songs during the rising in 1813 against the domination of Napoleon.