Rome had just emerged from the Civil Wars that followed the assassination of Caesar and stabilised under the rule of Augustus. It had also just undergone one of its greatest periods of expansion. The whole Mediterranean Basin had been conquered and, with Caesar's conquest of Gaul and Augustus' conquest of what is now the Balkans, was on the borders of what it referred to loosely as "Germania".

The Germanic tribes had long been raiding over the Rhine into Gaul and now that Gaul was Roman, this had continued. The Romans were caught off guard when a raiding army of Germanics caught the Governor of eastern Gaul, Marcus Lollius, on the hop and destroyed an entire legion, capturing its Eagle.

Stung by this defeat, Augustus prepared a huge campaign of revenge, also aimed at "pacifying" the eastern bank of the Rhine. He sent one large army across the northern Rhine under his nephew Drusus and another over the upper Danube under (the later Emperor) Tiberius.

Over the next two years, in a huge pincer movement campaign, these two generals effectively conquered western Germania. Drusus made it as far as the Elbe, before his army turned back when he died after being thrown from his horse.

By the time Arminius was a boy, his people - the Cherusci - was one of dozens of western Germanic tribes who had been conquered by the Romans.

The Cherusci attempted several rebellions while the Romans consolidated their gains east of the Rhine, but all were put down. As the Romans began to consider the territory between the Rhine and the Weser effectively conquered territory, the Cherusci and other tribes began to see the benefits of Roman domination.

Arminius' father, Segimerus, saw the sense in co-operating with Rome. In the warrior society of the Germanics there was a great respect for strong warriors and the Romans seemed unbeatable. Like several other chiefs Segimerus decided to ally his family with the newcomers. He sent his sons, Arminius and 'Flavus" (we don't know his Germanic name - the Latin nickname means "Blondie"!) to join the Roman army as auxiliaries, along with many young Cheruscian warriors.

Arminius served with Tiberius in campaigns to consolidate the conquest of the Balkans. The Illyrian tribes had risen in revolt and he saw first hand how the Romans dealt with rebels (not nicely!)

He also proved himself an able commander and tactician. He rose to the rank of Prefectus of cavalry, was granted Roman citizenship and elevated to the level of "Knight". This was as high as a non-Roman could go in Augustus' time, so he must have made quite an impression. He was also still in his early twenties.

Augustus was concerned about the ongoing rebellion in the Balkans and wanted the Germanic tribes along the Rhine to stay quiet while his armies dealt with that problem. He needed a Governor for the fledgling province of Germania who would keep things under control.

Enter Publius Quinctilius Varus ...

Varus was one of the Quinctili - a member of one of Rome's most ancient and aristocratic families. One of his ancestors had gained fame by being one of the few Roman generals to manage to inflict a (minor) defeat on Hannibal during his campaign in Italy during the Second Punic War and many a Quinctili had served as consul.

More recently the family had fallen on hard times. Varus' father - Sextus Quinctilius Varus - had been one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. He had then chosen the wrong side in the Civil War, fighting alongside Cassius and Brutus against Mark Anthony and Octavian (later "Augustus") and being defeated in their final battle. Like a good noble Roman, Sextus fell on his sword.

Despite his father's unfortunate politics and the general genteel poverty of his family, the young Varus rose quickly in the hierarchy of Augustus' new Rome.

Augustus was a "New Man" - ie not from one of the old political elite families. He needed to ally himself with some blue blood, and marrying his family off to fallen aristocratic houses like the Quinctili was a good way to do it. This was how Varus came to marry one of the Emperor's nieces and gain some key appointments in the Imperial hierarchy.

He eventually rose to be elected consul, serving alongside Tiberius, and then took the post-consular appointment of Governor of Africa. This was a great honour, because much of the wheat which sustained Rome came from there.

Having proved himself an able administrator, he took up a new appointment - Governor of Syria. Given that the province of Syria bordered with the Romans' main enemies, the Parthians, this was another strategic appointment. The troubled territories of Judea and Galilee were also part of Syria and Varus marched south late in his Governorship and quelled a rebellion by the Jews. He crucified 2000 people in one day as part of this campaign.

After his return from Syria (fabulously rich, apparently) he was picked as the new Governor of Germania Magna. Given that he was a good administrator and someone who could use terror to keep rebels in line, he seemed like an excellent choice. Germania was, after all, increasingly pacficied and co-operative.

Or so it seemed ...