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were the retrieval of two of the lost standards. The loss of any army's standard has always been perceived as the greatest dishonour and their retrieval helped to regain some of the Roman army's loss of face. One of Germanicus' officers, Lucius Stertinus recovered the Eagle of the XIX Legion in 15AD from the Bructeri. The following year after the Battle of the Weser River, the hiding place of the second standard was revealed by the leader of the Marsi to Germanicus. It took a further twenty five years for the final Eagle to be recovered from the Chauci.

Arminius only survived a further ten years after the death of Varus, and 19AD following tribal rivalries saw him assassinated by members of his own family. Despite initial success in unifying Germanic tribes other tribes, such as the Marcomanni, refused to join and remained neutral in the ensuing war. Arminius also failed to gain independence for Germania as a whole.

The final significant note in relation to the battle came in 50AD. A band of Chatti raided across the Rhine, they were chased by Roman forces and allies under Lucius Pomponius. A small battle ensued and following the defeat of the Chatti, soldiers from Varus' legions were discovered and liberated from 40 years of slavery.

The defeat was one of the worst in Roman history. In sheer numbers it rates after the 50,000 to 70,000 killed by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae in 216BC or the Battle of Arausio where 80,000 soldiers were killed by the Cimbri and Teutones. It says much for the superior strategy of Arminius, superior numbers and the false sense of security that Varus had, that the Roman losses amounted to so much in comparison to the Germanic ones. More importantly though than the pure numbers was the affect it had on the Empire as it brought an end to the glory period of expansion, and effectively ended any possible hope of conquering the whole of Germania. Since the 18th Century the Battle of Teutoburg Forest has become a symbol of German nationalism and unification, with Arminius used as a symbol of freedom.

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