Obotrites
The Obotrites or Obodrites, spelled Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany. For decades, they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against the Germanic Saxons, the Obotrites under Prince Thrasco defeated the Saxons in the Battle of Bornhöved. The still heathen Saxons were dispersed by the emperor, and the part of their land in Holstein north of Elbe was awarded to the Obotrites in 804. This however was soon reverted through an invasion of the Danes, the Obotrite regnal style was abolished in 1167, when Pribislav was restored to power by Duke Henry the Lion, as Prince of Mecklenburg, thereby founding the German House of Mecklenburg. The Bavarian Geographer, a medieval document compiled in Regensburg in 830. The list includes the Nortabtrezi - with 53 civitates, adam of Bremen referred to them as the Reregi because of their lucrative trade emporium Reric. In common with other Slavic groups, they were described by Germanic sources as Wends.
The main tribes of the Obotritic confederation were, the Obotrites proper, the Wagrians, the Warnower, other tribes associated with the confederation include, the Linonen near Lenzen, the Travnjane near the Trave, the Drevani in the Hanoverian Wendland and the northern Altmark. When opportunities arose, for instance upon the death of an emperor, they would seek to seize power, at times they levied tribute from the Danes and Saxons. Under the leadership of Niklot, they resisted a Christian assault during the Wendish Crusade, German missionaries such as Vicelinus converted the Obotrites to Christianity. In 1170 they acknowledged the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire, however, up to the late 15th century most villagers in the Obotritic area were still speaking Slavic dialects, although subsequently their language was displaced by German. The Polabian language survived until the beginning of the 19th century in what is now the German state of Lower Saxony. The ruling clan of the Obotrites kept its power throughout the Germanisation, the rulers of Obotrite lands were the Dukes and Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg.
List of Medieval Slavic tribes Praedenecenti Herrmann, Joachim
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic people, two of whose branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. In the Gothic language they were called the Gut-þiuda, most commonly translated as Gothic people, gut-þiudai, or Gutans Inferred from gen. pl. gutani in Pietroassa inscription. In Old Norse they were known as the Gutar or Gotar, in Latin as the Gothi, the exact origin of the ancient Goths is unknown. Evidence of them before they interacted with the Romans is limited, Modern academics have generally abandoned this theory. Today, the Wielbark culture is thought to have developed from earlier cultures in the same area, archaeological finds show close contacts between southern Sweden and the Baltic coastal area on the continent, and further towards the south-east, evidenced by pottery, house types and graves. Rather than a migration, similarities in the material cultures may be products of long-term regular contacts.
However, the record could indicate that while his work is thought to be unreliable. Sometime around the 1st century AD, Germanic peoples may have migrated from Scandinavia to Gothiscandza, early archaeological evidence in the traditional Swedish province of Östergötland suggests a general depopulation during this period. However, there is no evidence for a substantial emigration from Scandinavia. Upon their arrival on the Pontic Steppe, the Germanic tribes adopted the ways of the Eurasian nomads, the first Greek references to the Goths call them Scythians, since this area along the Black Sea historically had been occupied by an unrelated people of that name. The earliest known material culture associated with the Goths on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea is the Wielbark culture, centered on the modern region of Pomerania in northern Poland. This culture replaced the local Oxhöft or Oksywie culture in the 1st century, the culture of this area was influenced by southern Scandinavian culture beginning as early as the late Nordic Bronze Age and early Pre-Roman Iron Age.
In Eastern Europe they formed part of the Chernyakhov culture and it has been suggested that the Goths maintained contact with southern Sweden during their migration. In the first attested incursion in Thrace, the Goths were mentioned as Boranoi by Zosimus, the first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238. Several such raids followed in subsequent decades, in particular the Battle of Abrittus in 251, led by Cniva, at the time, there were at least two groups of Goths, the Thervingi and the Greuthungs. Goths were subsequently recruited into the Roman Army to fight in the Roman-Persian Wars. The Moesogoths settled in Thrace and Moesia, the first seaborne raids took place in three subsequent years, probably 255-257. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the year by another
Aesti
The Aesti were an ancient people first described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his treatise Germania. According to Tacitus, the land of the Aesti, was located somewhere east of the Suiones and west of the Sitones and this and other evidence suggests that Aestui was in or near the present-day Russian enclave of Kaliningrad Oblast. Geographical and linguistic evidence suggests that the Aesti were and they may have been synonymous with the Brus/Prūsa or Old Prussians – that is, not a Germanic people like modern Prussians, and not a Finno-Ugric people, such as modern Estonians. Tacitus often utilised unreliable, secondary sources, and may not have been aware of such distinctions in any case, Tacitus mention of a cult of the mother of the gods among the Aesti along the eastern Baltic coast does apply to the ancient Estonian and Baltic pagan religions. He refers to the Fenni living next to the Aesti—the Fenni being ancestors to the Finns or the Sámi would situate them closest to the Estonians.
Ultimately, Tacitus use of Aesti could apply equally well to either a people or to a grouping of ethnically diverse peoples across a wider area. In the modern Estonian language, Eesti is the endonym for Estonia, Estonia was known as Estia or Hestia in some early Latin sources, and Eistland in ancient Scandinavian sagas. Estonians themselves used Maarahvas, meaning people of the land, to refer to themselves until the modern era. The etymologies of Aesti and Eesti remain subjects of scholarly conjecture, both may be loanwords from a Germanic language, given their similarity to the Gothic word glas. Therefore, the oldest known name of the body of the water was lagoon of the Aesti, the ancient writers, beginning with Tacitus, who was the first Roman author to mention them in his Germania, provide very little information on the Aestii. They worship the Mother of the Gods, as the characteristic of their national superstition, they wear the images of wild boars. This alone serves them for arms, this is the safeguard of all, rare amongst them is the use of weapons of iron, but frequent that of clubs.
In producing of grain and the fruits of the earth, they labour with more assiduity. Nay, they search the deep, and of all the rest are the only people who gather amber. They call it glesum, and find it amongst the shallows, according to the ordinary incuriosity and ignorance of Barbarians, they have neither learnt, nor do they inquire, what is its nature, or from what cause it is produced. In truth it lay long neglected amongst the other gross discharges of the sea, till from our luxury, it gained a name and value. To themselves it is of no use, they gather it rough, they expose it in pieces coarse and unpolished, and for it receive a price with wonder. The Baltic amber trade, which appears to have extended to the Mediterranean Sea, has been traced by archaeologists back to the Nordic Bronze Age and we have received the amber which you have sent us
National personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphism of a nation or its people. It may appear in editorial cartoons and propaganda, examples of this type include Britannia, Hibernia and Polonia. Examples of personifications of the Goddess of Liberty include Marianne, the Statue of Liberty, examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry—rather than of the nation itself—are Deutscher Michel and John Bull. Countryballs, a form of national personification in which countries are drawn by Internet users as stereotypic balls. Hetalia, an anime and a series, that features personifications of countries. Mural crown National animal, often personifies a nation in cartoons, National emblem, for other metaphors for nations. Making of a Romantic Icon, The Religious Context of Friedrich Overbecks Italia und Germania, a scholarly case study of the evolution of Deutscher Michel Kirsten Stirling, The Image of the Nation as a Woman in Twentieth Century Scottish Literature
Gospels of Otto III
The Gospels of Otto III is a late 10th or early 11th century illuminated Gospel Book. The manuscript is an example of Ottonian illumination. It was produced at Reichenau Abbey in the workshop headed by the monk Liuthar, the manuscript has 276 folios which measure 334mm by 242mm, containing the Vulgate versions of the four gospels plus prefatory matter including the Eusebian canon tables. The illumination includes a miniature of the enthroned Otto III being brought gifts by personifications of the four provinces of the Empire, Gallia, Germania. The manuscript contains an additional 34 miniatures, including four evangelist portraits, in addition there are 12 decorated pages of canon tables, and each gospel is introduced by a full page decorated incipit page. The style of illustration is strongly influenced by Byzantine art
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his early death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the son of the Emperor Otto II. Otto III was crowned as King of Germany in 983 at the age of three, shortly after his fathers death in southern Italy while campaigning against the Byzantine Empire, though the nominal ruler of Germany, Otto IIIs minor status ensured his various regents held power over the Empire. His cousin Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, initially claimed regency over the young king, Otto III was still a child, so his grandmother, the Dowager Empress Adelaide of Italy, served as regent until 994. In 996, Otto III marched to Italy to claim the titles King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III sought to reestablish Imperial control over the city of Rome, which had revolted under the leadership of Crescentius II, and through it the papacy. Crowned as Emperor, Otto III put down the Roman rebellion and installed his cousin as Pope Gregory V, after the Emperor had pardoned him and left the city, Crescentius II again rebelled, deposing Gregory V and installing John XVI as Pope.
Otto III returned to the city in 998, reinstalled Gregory V, when Gregory V died in 999, Otto III installed Sylvester II as the new Pope. Otto IIIs actions throughout his life further strengthened imperial control over the Catholic Church, from the beginning of his reign, Otto III faced opposition from the Slavs along the eastern frontier. Following the death of his father in 983, the Slavs rebelled against imperial control, Otto III would fight to regain the Empires lost territories throughout his reign with only limited success. While in the east, Otto III strengthened the Empires relations with Poland, returning to Rome in 1001, Otto III faced a rebellion by the Roman aristocracy, which forced him to flee the city. While marching to reclaim the city in 1002, Otto III suffered a sudden fever, with no clear heir to succeed him, his early death threw the Empire into political crisis. Otto III was born in June or July 980 somewhere between Aachen and Nijmegen, the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu, Otto III was the youngest of the couples four children.
Immediately prior to Otto IIIs birth, his father had completed military campaigns in France against King Lothar, on 14 July 982, Otto IIs army suffered a crushing defeat against the Muslim Emirate of Sicily at the Battle of Stilo. Otto II had been campaigning in southern Italy with hopes of annexing the whole of Italy into the Holy Roman Empire, Otto II himself escaped the battle unharmed but many important imperial officials were among the battles casualties. This was the first time a German ruler had been elected on Italian soil, after the assembly was concluded, Otto III and his mother Theophanu travelled across the Alps in order for Otto to be crowned at Aix, the traditional location of the coronation of the German kings. Otto II stayed behind to address military action against the Muslims, while still in central Italy, Otto II suddenly died on 7 November 983, and was buried in St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Otto III was crowned as king on Christmas Day 983, three weeks after his fathers death, by Willigis, the Archbishop of Mainz, and by John, news of Otto IIs death first reached Germany shortly after his sons coronation.
The unresolved problems in southern Italy and the Slavic uprising on the Empires eastern border made the Empires political situation extremely unstable, with a minor on the throne, the Empire was thrown into confusion and Otto IIIs mother Theophanu assumed the role of regent for her young son
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a time of widespread migrations within or into Europe in the middle of the first millennium AD. It has been termed the Völkerwanderung and, from the Roman, many of the migrations were movements of Germanic and other peoples into the territory of the Roman Empire, with or without accompanying invasions or war. Although immigration was common throughout the time of the Roman Empire, had significant effects, they are outside the scope of the Migration Period. Germanic peoples moved out of southern Scandinavia and Germany to the adjacent lands between the Elbe and Oder after 1000 BC. The first wave moved westward and southward, moving into southern Germany up to the Roman provinces of Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul by 100 BC and it is this western group which was described by the Roman historian Tacitus and Julius Caesar. A wave of Germanic tribes migrated eastward and southward from Scandinavia between 600 and 300 BC to the opposite coast of the Baltic Sea, moving up the Vistula near the Carpathians, the Barbarian Invasions may be divided into two phases.
The first phase, occurring between AD300 and 500, is documented by Greek and Latin historians but difficult to verify archaeologically. It puts Germanic peoples in control of most areas of what was the Western Roman Empire, the Tervingi entered Roman territory in 376. Some time thereafter in Marcianopolis, the escort to Fritigern was killed while meeting with Lupicinus, fending off challenges from the Allemanni and Visigoths, the Frankish kingdom became the nucleus of what would become France and Germany. The initial Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain occurred during the fifth century, the Burgundians settled in North Western Italy and Eastern France in the fifth century. The second phase took place between 500 and 700 and saw Slavic tribes settling in central and eastern Europe, gradually making it predominantly Slavic, Turkic tribes such as the Avars became involved in this phase. In 567, the Avars and the Lombards destroyed much of the Gepid Kingdom, the Lombards, a Germanic people, settled in Italy with their Herulian, Gepid, Bulgarian and Saxon allies in the 6th century.
They were followed by the Bavarians and the Franks, who conquered and ruled most of Italy, during the Khazar–Arab Wars, the Khazars stopped the Arab expansion into Europe across the Caucasus. At the same time, the Moors invaded Europe via Gibraltar and these battles broadly demarcated the frontiers between Christendom and Islam for the next millennium. The following centuries saw the Muslims successful in conquering most of Sicily from the Christians by 902, the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin from around 895, and the Viking expansion from the late 8th century conventionally mark the last large movements of the period. Christianity gradually converted the non-Islamic newcomers and integrated them into the medieval Christian order, a number of contemporary historical references worldwide refer to an extended period of extreme weather during 535–536. Evidence of this period is found in dendrochronology and ice cores. The consequences of this period are debated
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire.
In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels.
After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
Joan Blaeu
Joan Blaeu was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. In 1620 he became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father, in 1635 they published the Atlas Novus in two volumes. Joan and his brother Cornelius took over the studio after their father died in 1638, Joan became the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Blaeus world map, Nova et Accuratissima Terrarum Orbis Tabula, incorporating the discoveries of Abel Tasman, was published in 1648 and this map was revolutionary in that it depicts the solar system according to the heliocentric theories of Nicolaus Copernicus, which show the earth revolving around the sun. Blaeus map was copied for the map of the set into the pavement of the Groote Burger-Zaal of the new Amsterdam Town Hall, designed by the Dutch architect Jacob van Campen. As Jean Blaeu, he published the 12 volume Le Grand Atlas, ou Cosmographie blaviane, en laquelle est exactement descritte la terre, la mer. That was folio, and contained 593 engraved maps and plates, in March 2015, a copy was on sale for £750,000.
Around 1649 Joan Blaeu published a collection of Dutch city maps named Toonneel der Steeden, in 1651 he was voted into the Amsterdam council. In 1654 Joan published the first atlas of Scotland, devised by Timothy Pont, in 1662 he reissued the Atlas Novus, known as Atlas Maior, in 11 volumes, and one for oceans. A cosmology was planned as their project, but a fire destroyed the studio completely in 1672. Joan Blaeu died in Amsterdam the following year and he is buried in the Westerkerk there. Blaeu and Joan Blaeu, Hes & De Graaf publishers BV, ISBN 90-6194-438-4 BROTTON, Jerry, A History of the World in Twelve Maps, utrecht University Arader Galleries Collection of Maps from Blaeus Atlas Major. Brazil map by Joan Blaeu, Amsterdam 1650 Plan of Delft from Joan Blaeu Town book, Amsterdam 1660 Blaeu on the Dutch map Jonathan Potter Maps
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of Northern European origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, the term Germanic originated in classical times when groups of tribes living in Lower and Greater Germania were referred to using this label by Roman scribes. Tribes referred to as Germanic by Roman authors generally lived to the north, in about 222 BCE, the first use of the Latin term Germani appears in the Fasti Capitolini inscription de Galleis Insvbribvs et Germ. This may simply be referring to Gaul or related people, the term Germani shows up again, allegedly written by Poseidonios, but is merely a quotation inserted by the author Athenaios who wrote much later. Somewhat later, the first surviving detailed discussions of Germani and Germania are those of Julius Caesar, from Caesars perspective, Germania was a geographical area of land on the east bank of the Rhine opposite Gaul, which Caesar left outside direct Roman control.
This usage of the word is the origin of the concept of Germanic languages. In other classical authors the concept sometimes included regions of Sarmatia, also, at least in the south there were Celtic peoples still living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. Caesar and others noted differences of culture which could be found on the east of the Rhine, but the theme of all these cultural references was that this was a wild and dangerous region, less civilised than Gaul, a place that required additional military vigilance. Caesar used the term Germani for a specific tribal grouping in northeastern Belgic Gaul, west of the Rhine. He made clear that he was using the name in the local sense and these are the so-called Germani Cisrhenani, whom Caesar believed to be closely related to the peoples east of the Rhine, and descended from immigrants into Gaul. Caesar described this group of both as Belgic Gauls and as Germani. Gauls are associated with Celtic languages, and the term Germani is associated with Germanic languages, but Caesar did not discuss languages in detail.
It has been claimed, for example by Maurits Gysseling, that the names of this region show evidence of an early presence of Germanic languages. The etymology of the word Germani is uncertain, the likeliest theory so far proposed is that it comes from a Gaulish compound of *ger near + *mani men, comparable to Welsh ger near, Old Irish gair neighbor, Irish gar- near, garach neighborly. Another Celtic possibility is that the name meant noisy, cf. Breton/Cornish garm shout, here the vowel does not match, nor does the vowel length ). Others have proposed a Germanic etymology *gēr-manni, spear men, cf. Middle Dutch ghere, Old High German Ger, Old Norse geirr. However, the form gēr seems far too advanced phonetically for the 1st century, has a vowel where a short one is expected. The term Germani, probably applied to a group of tribes in northeastern Gaul who may or may not have spoken a Germanic language
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a seasonal climate. Latvia is a parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livs are the people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the two surviving Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and Estonia share a long common history. Until World War II, Latvia had significant minorities of ethnic Germans, Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic.
The Russian population has brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule and it ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and it used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes, henry of Latvia coined the Latinisations of the countrys name and Lethia, both derived from the Latgalians.
The terms inspired the variations on the name in Romance languages from Letonia. Around 3000 BC, the ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals, by 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia, Latgalians, Semigallians, as well as the Livonians speaking a Finnic language
Germania
Germania was the Roman term for the geographical region in north-central Europe inhabited mainly by Germanic peoples. It extended from the Danube in the south to the Baltic Sea, the Roman portions formed two provinces of the Empire, Germania Inferior to the north, and Germania Superior to the south. Germania was inhabited mostly by Germanic tribes, but Celts, early Slavs, the population mix changed over time by assimilation, and especially by migration. The ancient Greeks were the first to mention the tribes in the area, Julius Caesar wrote about warlike Germanic tribesmen and their threat to Roman Gaul, and there were military clashes between the Romans and the indigenous tribes. Tacitus wrote the most complete account of Germania that still survives, the origin of the term Germania is uncertain, but was known by Caesars time, and may be Gallic in origin. The name came into use after Julius Caesar and whether it was used widely before him amongst Romans is unknown, the term may be Gallic in origin.
Tacitus wrote in AD98, For the rest, they affirm Germania to be a recent word, for those who first passed the Rhine and expulsed the Gauls, and are now named Tungrians, were called Germani. Names of Germany in English and some languages are derived from Germania, but German speakers call it Deutschland. Several modern languages use the name Germania, including Hebrew, Albanian, Maltese, Germania extended from the Rhine eastward to the Vistula river, and from the Danube river northward to the Baltic Sea. The areas west of the Rhine were mainly Celtic and became part of the Roman Empire in the first century BC, the Roman parts of Germania, Lesser Germania, eventually formed two provinces of the empire, Germania Inferior, Lower Germania and Germania Superior. Important cities in Lesser Germania included Besançon, Wiesbaden, the geography of Magna Germania was comprehensively described in Ptolemys Geography of around 150 C. E. via geographical coordinates of the main cities. Germania was inhabited by different tribes, most of them Germanic but some Celtic, proto-Slavic, the tribal and ethnic makeup changed over the centuries as a result of assimilation and, most importantly, migrations.
The Germanic people spoke several different dialects, classical records show little about the people who inhabited the north of Europe before the 2nd century BC. In the 5th century BC, the Greeks were aware of a group they called Celts, herodotus mentioned the Scythians but no other tribes. At around 320 BC, Pytheas of Massalia sailed around Britain and along the northern coast of Europe and he may have been the first Mediterranean to distinguish the Germanic people from the Celts. Contact between German tribes and the Roman Empire did take place and was not always hostile, Caesar described the cultural differences between the Germanic tribesmen, the Romans, and the Gauls. He said that the Gauls, although warlike, could be civilized and his accounts of barbaric northern tribes could be described as an expression of the superiority of Rome, including Roman Gaul. Caesars accounts portray the Roman fear of the Germanic tribes and the threat they posed, the perceived menace of the Germanic tribesmen proved accurate
