This was the end of the Roman war in North Germany. In the midst of great schemes for a fresh campaign against the Germans, which the emperor’s brave son regarded as the glorious task of his life, he was recalled by a letter from Tiberius to the effect there had been enough of success and disaster; and he was to come home for the triumph the emperor had designed in acknowledgment of his exploits. Now that the honour of the Roman arms had been vindicated and enough done for Rome’s vengeance, the Cherusci and the other rebellious tribes of Germany might be safely left to their own dissensions. In vain did Germanicus beg the emperor to grant him but one year more, promising that by then he would bring the war to a glorious end. The answer came that he was to return to assume the consulate; if it were necessary to continue the war his brother Drusus might win laurels and the fame of a commander on the Rhine. Germanicus obeyed. In the following year he celebrated at Rome his triumph over the German tribes, in which the ensigns and weapons which had been captured or recovered were carried through the gaily decorated streets of the city, together with pictures of rivers, mountains, and battles in Germany. In front of the gorgeous triumphal car in which the stately imperator sat enthroned, surrounded by his five blooming children, marched many men, women, and children of high rank, captive and in fetters. Among them was Thusnelda, the wife of Arminius, and her son Thumelicus, whom she had borne in captivity. Both died in slavery in a foreign land. From the obscure hint given by Tacitus that the son of Arminius grew up at Ravenna and was reserved for a shameful fate, modern inquirers and poets have concluded that the boy was brought up as a gladiator. According to Strabo, Segimund, the brother of Thusnelda, and his cousin Sisithacus, with his princely consort Rhamis, were of the train in the chains of slavery. But Segestes stood in a place of honour and looked down upon the holiday of the Romans and the misery of his children. It was his reward for betraying his country. END OF MARBODUUS AND ARMINIUS