Varus

This paper addresses the issue of the historicity of another, older son of P. Quinctilius Varus who is attested in Joseph. AJ 17.288, but not in the parallel version at BJ 2.68. Modern scholarship, as evidenced by Ladislav Vidman (1998) and Klaus Wachtel (1999), finds itself at a loss as to which opinion, that of Walther John (1958) or of Meyer Reinhold (1972), to support. Whereas John rejects the evidence for an older son of Varus in AJ and proposes L. Nonius Asprenas (cos. suff. 6 CE) instead, Reinhold tersely rebuts John, supporting the validity of the text. This article examines the textual and prosopographical bases upon which scholars have built their cases for and against the existence of an older son of Varus. In the process, it is shown that there is greater reason to take the evidence for another son of Varus at face value than to follow John’s problematic argument, and further, that Reinhold’s article left unexamined significant details upon which his argument needed to be built.

The 2000th anniversary of the Varusbattle in the year 2009 commemorated an event which – unlike any other ancient event – has raised public interest in Germany and has virtually been turned into a myth. The Cheruscan chief Arminius/Hermann became an icon on the search for a German national identity as his victory over the Roman legions has been considered the date of the founding of the ‘German’ nation. However, historical facts have given evidence that neither was Arminius an altruistic hero nor was the Varusbattle any kind of national upheaval marking a turning point in Germanic history. Nevertheless, the event of the year AD 9 has attained such significance that from the 15th century onwards it has been adapted for innumerable poems, dramas, theater plays, operas, paintings and sculptures. +++ The article offers an overview of these adaptations and allocates them to the particular conditions under which they were created. Thereby it turns out that over and over new ways of interpreting and relating to the event emerged, whether on the grounds of conflicts with foreign powers or in the context of aspirations for German unification. Thus, the historical enemy of Rome could be utilized as a symbol for any political opponent: The Catholic church, the ‘hereditary enemy’ France, the German regional rulers and anybody who didn't match with the Aryan ideal of the National socialist regime. The myth remained alive as long as the Germans primarily defined their own identity by distinguishing and dissociating themselves from others. Even if such approaches have become inconceivable ever since the end of World War 2, the Varusbattle has remained equally appealing up to the present day, as attested by the success of the exhibition cooperation “IMPERIUM CONFLICT MYTH. 2000 years Varusbattle” in Haltern am See, Kalkriese and Detmold. +++ Three aspects contribute significantly to the ongoing fascination among the public: 1) speculations on the location of the battle which have never been certainly resolved, 2) the classical narrative motif telling the epic story of a seemingly inferior fighter against a sheer invincible opponent and 3) the well-liked question of "What would have happened in Germania in case of a Roman victory?"

In public opinion Publius Quinctilius Varus has hitherto mainly been regarded as the tragic loser of the famous battle in the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. However, this negative repute does not do justice to Varus, who previously had pursued a highly successful career in the service of Rome. +++ 19 renowned ancient historians, legal historians, archaeologists and numismatists from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey and Israel have compiled their current research results in the colloquium papers. In a total of 17 articles they cast a differentiated light upon the historical-cultural context around the turn of eras, from the person of Varus and his Germanic adversary Arminius, via the policy of conquest in Pannonia and the northern provinces right up to Africa and the eastern Mediterranean regions, all in which Varus held significant military and political offices. The papers are rounded off by various articles on the arts and architecture of the Golden Age, in which Rome reached its cultural peak in the reign of Augustus. +++ Contributions by Rudolf Aßkamp, Torsten Capelle, Markus Dizdar, Werner Eck, Tobias Esch, Michael Gechter, Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer, Eugenio La Rocca, Detlef Liebs, Eric M. Moormann, Luisa Musso, Ulrich Nuber, Mehmet Önal, Joseph Patrich, Evangelos Pavlidis, Ivan Radman-Livaja, Dieter Salzmann, Martin Tombrägel, Josef Wiesehöfer, Reinhard Wolters, Konstantinos Zachos and Werner Zanier. +++ 246 pages · 235 images · 6 tables · Hardcover · ISBN 978-3-402-15007-8 · Aschendorff Verlag GmbH & Co. KG +++ Review in Bonner Jahrbücher 212, 2012, 397–399 by Prof. Dr. Peter S. Wells (Minneapolis): https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/bjb/article/view/43194/36663.

Die Quintilier sind zweifellos die berühmteste und am besten dokumentierte Familie aus Alexandria Troas. Insbesondere die letzten vier Generationen haben durch ihre Tätigkeit in der römischen Reichsverwaltung, ihre engen Verbindungen zu den Kaisern und Geistesgrößen ihrer Zeit, ihr literarisches Wirken sowie ihren ausgedehnten Villenbesitz mannigfaltige Spuren hinterlassen. Eine willkommene Bereicherung fand unser Quellenmaterial vor Kurzem durch drei neue Inschriften vom alexandrinischen Forum, die 2008 und 2016 von E. Schwertheim veröffentlicht wurden und Auskunft über zwei frühe, zuvor unbekannte Quintilier geben sowie einen nicht näher zu greifenden Κυιντίλ[ιος] der hohen Kaiserzeit nennen. +++ Damit sind inzwischen acht Familienmitglieder sicher bekannt: ein P. Quintilius Maximus und seine Tochter Quintilia Apphia in iulisch-claudischer Zeit, ein Sex. Quintilius Valerius Maximus und sein gleichnamiger Sohn in der Zeit von den Flaviern bis Hadrian sowie die beiden nachfolgenden und bekanntesten Generationen mit jeweils einem Sex. Quintilius Valerius Maximus und einem Sex. Quintilius Condianus in der Antoninenzeit. Hinzu kommt der Vater des ältesten Sex. Quintilius Valerius Maximus, von dem aber leider nur sein Vorname Sextus überliefert ist. +++ Die epigraphischen Neufunde nahm ich zum Anlass, die Familiengeschichte erneut aufzurollen und erstmals einen ausführlichen Gesamtüberblick in deutscher Sprache vorzulegen. Der bislang ungeklärten Frage nach der origo der Quintilier widmet sich der erste Abschnitt, der zwar keine eindeutige Antwort zu liefern vermag, aber zumindest drei mögliche Szenarien aufzeigt und diese hinsichtlich ihrer Plausibilität überprüft. Die nachfolgenden Ausführungen orientieren sich an der chronologischen Abfolge, wobei der fünfte Abschnitt auch eine Darstellung zum reichen Familienbesitz enthält. Die Schlussbemerkung richtet ihren Blick schließlich auf das Verhältnis zwischen den Quintiliern und ihrer langjährigen Heimatgemeinde Alexandria Troas.

«I 'se...' non fanno la storia, ma possono essere di aiuto. A raccontare, a delineare le 'svolte', a soppesare il ruolo degli eventi. Ma anche a realizzare, come suggeriva Nietzsche, che nella storia 'la domanda: "Che cosa sarebbe accaduto se non fosse sopravvissuta questa o quest'altra cosa?" viene respinta quasi concordemente, e tuttavia è proprio la domanda cardinale, attraverso cui tutto si trasforma in qualcosa d'ironico.'»

Cosa hanno in comune le mitiche vicende di Romolo, di Lucrezia e delle oche del Campidoglio, la precoce morte di Alessandro «il Grande», la titubanza di Annibale Barca dopo la clamorosa vittoria di Canne, la straordinaria vita di Gaio Giulio Cesare e il suo feroce assassinio, le decisive battaglie di Filippi, Azio, Teutoburgo, ponte Milvio e Adrianopoli?
Si tratta di personaggi ed eventi, leggendari o reali, che hanno segnato vere e proprie svolte nella storia di Roma antica e che – per importanza e, spesso, imprevedibilità – hanno suggerito, già tra i contemporanei, interrogativi sui destini dell’uomo e del mondo, ispirando riflessioni ucroniche e controfattuali. Insomma, hanno generato quei famigerati «se» con i quali, ci è sempre stato insegnato, non bisognerebbe mai fare la storia.
Ma quando a porseli sono uomini che la storia l’hanno fatta in prima persona, come Cesare, Napoleone o il generale Montgomery, o grandi intellettuali, quali Livio, Plutarco, Gibbon, Burckhardt o Toynbee, forse un’eccezione la meritano. Ne è convinto lo storico Luca Fezzi il quale, esplorando una dozzina di questi «se» – tutti rigorosamente «di autore» –, ci guida lungo il corso delle millenarie vicissitudini dell’Urbe, città «eterna»
ma mai immobile, anzi, sempre «in bilico» tra scenari alternativi, spesso opposti. Potremo così chiederci, con la dovuta cognizione di causa, se quanto avvenuto era già scritto, o se sussistevano invece, per Roma, altre possibilità e quali sarebbero state le eventuali conseguenze: per esempio, non nascere, non diventare repubblica, venire abbandonata per la vicina Veio, scontrarsi con Alessandro o soccombere ad Annibale, non conoscere le imprese di Cesare, le riforme di Augusto e di Costantino, resistere più a lungo alle pressioni dei popoli germanici.
Con lo stesso spirito e grazie a una profonda conoscenza delle fonti, in questo percorso poco ortodosso ma assai intrigante tra momenti epocali della vicenda di Roma e del suo impero, l’autore ridà voce al controcanto delle narrazioni e testimonianze dissonanti, minoritarie, talvolta improbabili, eco lontane del perenne contrasto tra un passato irrevocabilmente unico e l’universo dei suoi infiniti ma irrealizzati possibili.

Die Varusschlacht oder Hermannschlacht oder Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald – drei Namen für ein Ereignis-ist seit 500 Jahren fester Bestandteil der deutschen Historiographie. Kaum ein anderes historisches Ereignis hat in vergleich barer Weise die deutsche Identität und den deutschen Nationalismus befeuert wie die Varusschlacht. Auf besondere Weise bildete sie den Fluchtpunkt der deutschen Nation; sie war Ideal und Lehrstück in einem. In einigen Schlaglichtern soll ihre politische Instrumentalisierung bis heute nachgezeichnet werden.

Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird
eine kritische Untersuchung der relativen Chronologie
innerhalb der römischen Nekropole von Haltern
und ihre Verknüpfung mit der absoluten Chronologie
der augusteischen Germanenkriege vorgestellt.
Macht man nicht ausschließlich die Ereignisse des
immensum bellum der Jahre 1–5 n. Chr. für den
Zerstörungshorizont innerhalb des Gräberfeldes
verantwortlich, wird man zu dem Schluss kommen
müssen, dass die Belegung der Nekropole in Haltern
etwa um die Jahre 7 / 6 v. Chr. einsetzte und mit
hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit auch nach dem Jahre
9 n. Chr. hier weiter bestattet worden ist.
Aufgrund dieser Überlegungen ist somit davon
auszugehen, dass auch die sonstigen römischen
Anlagen von Haltern bis zur Abberufung des
Germanicus bestanden haben. Die von Siegmar
von Schnurbein zusammengetragenen Befunde
und Funde, die für eine geordnete Räumung des
Hauptlagers sprechen, lassen sich auch mit einer
planvollen Aufgabe der Anlagen in den Jahren
16 / 17 n. Chr. in Verbindung bringen.
Abstract: The article presents a critical examination
of the relative chronology within Haltern’s Roman
necropolis and its connection to the absolute
chronology of the Augustan wars with the Germanic
tribes. Unless, we don’t call to account exclusively
the immensum bellum in the years 1–5 AD
for the destruction horizon in the necropolis, at the
end, we probably have to conclude that the occupancy
of the necropolis of Haltern started around
the years 7 / 6 BC and that it is very likely that burials
went on here even after the year 9 AD.
On the basis of these considerations, we can
assume that Haltern’s other Roman installations
remained until the dismissal of Germanicus. The
findings and results, assembled by Siegmar von
Schnurbein, which speak in favour of an orderly
evacuation of the »Hauptlager«, can also be
brought in connection with a systematic abandonment
of the site in the years 16 / 17 AD.

Das von über 130 Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmern besuchte Kolloquium »IMPERIUM – Varus und seine Zeit« widmete sich dem Römischen Reich unter Augustus. Die Ergebnisse flossen in die Konzeption der großen Sonderausstellung »IMPERIUM – 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht« ein, die von Mai bis Oktober 2009 mehr als 165.000 Besucherinnen und Besucher in die Seestadthalle und das LWL-Römermuseum in Haltern am See lockte. +++ Die 16 Vorträge renommierter Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler aus dem In- und Ausland deckten diverse Disziplinen der Altertumsforschung ab: Klassische Archäologie, Provinzialrömische Archäologie, historische Bauforschung, Alte Geschichte, Rechtsgeschichte, Numismatik, Epigraphik etc. Durch diesen interdisziplinären Ansatz zeichnete das Kolloquium ein differenziertes Bild des historisch-kulturellen Kontextes, in dem Publius Quinctilius Varus und sein Widersacher Arminius agierten. +++ Referentinnen und Referenten: Prof. Dr. Eric M. Moormann (Nijmegen/NL) · Dr. Martin Tombrägel (Leipzig/D) · Prof. Dr. Eugenio La Rocca (Rom/I) · Prof. Dr. Detlef Liebs (Freiburg/D) · Dr. Konstantinos Zachos und Evangelos Pavlidis B.A. (Ioannina/GR) · Prof. Dr. Josef Wiesehöfer (Kiel/D) · Prof. Dr. Luisa Musso (Rom/I) · Prof. Dr. Dieter Salzmann (Münster/D) · Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer (Berlin/D) · Dr. Mehmet Önal (Gaziantep/TR) · Prof. Dr. Joseph Patrich (Jerusalem/IL) · Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Nuber (Freiburg/D) · Ivan Radman-Livaja M.A. und Dr. Markus Dizdar (Zagreb/HR) · Dr. Michael Gechter (Overath/D) · Prof. Dr. Reinhard Wolters (Tübingen/D) · Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Werner Eck (Köln/D). +++ Gefördert durch die LWL-Kulturstiftung, die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, die Kulturstiftung der Westfälischen Provinzial Versicherung sowie den Verein der Freunde und Förderer des Westfälischen Römermuseums Haltern e. V. +++ Das vorliegende Programm enthält den zeitlichen Ablauf des Kolloquiums inklusive kurzer Abstracts der einzelnen Vorträge. Die ausführlichen Fassungen finden sich in: R. Aßkamp – T. Esch (Hrsg.), IMPERIUM – Varus und seine Zeit. Beiträge zum internationalen Kolloquium des LWL-Römermuseums am 28. und 29. April 2008 in Münster, Veröffentlichungen der Altertumskommission für Westfalen 18 (Münster 2010). +++ Bericht zum Kolloquium von Prof. Dr. Bernhard Weisser (Berlin/D): https://www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/tagungsberichte-2094.

Die Datei beinhaltet Katalogtexte zu zwei Ehreninschriften für Publius Quinctilius Varus, die 2009 in der Sonderausstellung „IMPERIUM. 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht“ in Haltern am See zu sehen waren. Die epigraphischen Zeugnisse stammen von der Ägäisinsel Tenos und aus der Metropole Pergamon im westlichen Kleinasien. Sie gehören in eine Zeit, als Varus im Gefolge des Augustus die Ostprovinzen bereiste und dabei Augenzeuge wurde, wie der erste Princeps durch Lösung des römisch-parthischen Konflikts einen bedeutenden diplomatischen Erfolg erzielen konnte. +++ Während die erste Inschrift aus dem Jahr 22/21 v. Chr. vor allem wegen der Nennung von Varusʼ erstem überlieferten Amt als quaestor Augusti hervorzuheben ist, ergibt sich bei der zweiten, nur fragmentarisch überlieferten Inschrift von 20 v. Chr. ein interessanter Bezug zum Ausstellungsstandort Haltern: Das Original gilt schon lange als verschollen, und so konnte die Inschrift in der Sonderausstellung »nur« als Abklatsch präsentiert werden. Durch die Beschreibung einer Fahrradreise des Jahres 1933 ließ sich aber der Nachweis erbringen, dass der originale Stein zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts als Geschenk des Osmanischen Reichsmuseums in das 1907 eröffnete Römisch-Germanische Museum Haltern gelangte. Seine Spur verliert sich am Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs. +++ Kat. 3.9: Inschriftenbasis einer Ehrenstatue für Publius Quinctilius Varus aus Tenos; Leihgabe der 21. Ephorie für Prähistorische und Klassische Altertümer – Museum Tinos (Inv. A 0009). +++ Kat. 3.10: Inschriftenbasis einer Ehrenstatue für P. Quinctilius Varus aus Pergamon (Abklatsch); Leihgabe der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften – Inscriptiones Graecae (ohne Inv.-Nr.).

In the open-air compound of the Israel Museum there is an impressive model on display which depicts ancient Jerusalem on an area of 1000 square metres in a scale of 1:50. The model was created between 1964 and 1967 under the direction of Michael Avi-Yonah deploying material which was already the preferred building material in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. +++ When staff members of the LWL-Römermuseum travelled to Jerusalem in 2008 in order to negotiate about possible loans for the special exhibition "IMPERIUM. 2000 years Varusbattle” in Haltern am See, they were impressed by the model of Jerusalem insomuch that they were quickly convinced to use it for their project. The footage adopted by the LWL-Medienzentrum served to visualize one stage of the career of Publius Quinctilius Varus whose biography constituted the central theme of the IMPERIUM exhibition. Serving as legatus Augusti pro praetore in the Roman province of Syria from 7/6 to 4 BC Varus was to quell rebellions in the neighbouring client state of Judea. +++ This historic event was presented in the IMPERIUM exhibition by the means of various emphatic artefacts. But as ancient objects can seldom be regarded as fully self-explanatory, visitors usually need further information on the historical, spatial and cultural context of the exhibits. A film on the Jerusalem-Model literally lent itself to this purpose as it depicts various locations of the Judean revolt: the palaces of Herod the Great, which temporarily served as fortresses for Roman troops, the Temple Mount being the venue of most fierce fighting, as well as the Calvary, which functioned as a site for executions and where also Jesus Christ was crucified later on.

When news reached Rome in late September AD 9 that three entire legions plus auxiliaries under P. Quinctilius Varus had been ambushed and lost in the Teutoburger Wald, so great was the panic in Rome fearing a German invasion that Augustus at once ordered patrols in Rome to prevent any uprising, sent many of the Germans in Rome off to remote islands, drafted troops from a most reluctant and terrified civilian population, prolonged the terms of experienced governors to protect the provinces, and sent Tiberius at once to Germany to salvage the situation. Augustus himself suffered a near breakdown, during which he banged his head on the wall several times, crying out Vare, redde meas legiones! Indeed, Varus’ defeat at Teutoburger Wald had profound and immediate consequences for Rome. Geopolitically, it permanently divided Europe into German and Roman zones. This fact has so dominated scholars’ interest that other parts of Varus’ legacy pass largely unnoticed, when they too deserve attention.
Varus’ legacy also includes his own unfair disgrace as a scapegoat for the ambush, the curtailing of his descendents’ careers, an aberration in Roman policy towards POWs, an end to Augustus’ conciliation of the old aristocratic houses, and most interestingly a terrible blow to Tiberius which should have stalled his political star, but ironically, intensified it -- though at a sacrifice - because no one else could reliably handle the situation.
Although the official version blamed Varus for the disaster of Teutoburger Wald (in Latin it is the clades Variana), this was very difficult for Tiberius, who regarded Varus as one of his few friends back when times were tough back in the days of exile on Rhodes. In AD 15 when the Roman army again invaded Germany, it very nearly suffered a second ambushed under similar circumstances, exposing the difficulty Varus had faced in Germany and his unfair vilification.
But Tiberius, like Augustus before him, preferred not to rock the boat too much.  After three relatively successful years of fighting, Tiberius recalled the army. Germany was not conquered, but it was wounded. The Romans captured Arminius’ pregnant wife, but never caught him. Later under Claudius, some Roman POWs, rescued during a raid in German territory, brought home stories of their suffering and some closure to many Roman families, who now heard the final end of their lost relations.  As for Varus, he was neither rehabilitated, nor was he erased in damnatio memoriae. He appears – or used to appear – on the Ara Pacis, completed in 9 BC when he shared the consulship with Tiberius. He surely participated in the procession and appeared on the monument. Neither Augustus nor Tiberius had Varus’ image removed after the fact. Varus’ family lived on, but never achieved greatness (the prosecution of his widow for treason by Sejanus was unrelated to Teutoburger Wald, and Tiberius intervened to save the son). The fact that someone else later damaged his image on the Ara Pacis beyond recognition today or repair is a coincidence.

2000 years after the "Battle in the Teutoburg Forest", where three Roman legions were defeated by Germanic tribes, the exhibition project 'Imperium – Conflict – Myth' was created to commemorate the event which had distinct consequences on the later course of history. A temporary exhibition was shown at three sites related to the events of 9AD to shed some light on the cultural background of the combatants involved; the conflict between the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes, culminating in this battle and further bellicose encounters, and the later reception of the historic events which led to the creation of a German national myth. This paper reviews the exhibition project.

Published in: Hermeneus 5 (2010) 198-204.
Publius Quinctilius Varus is above all known as the Roman general who suffered a crushing defeat in Germania in the year 9 AD. Two thousand years after the 'clades Variana', many exhibitions and lectures were organized in Germany and other countries to commemorate the fact that Varus lost the Roman honor on German soil. Although interest in the Netherlands in this matter was fairly low, the magazine Hermeneus devoted a special issue on this theme. However, Varus came of rather poorly. In Germany, attention was focused almost exclusively on Arminius, the leader of the rebellious German tribes, and the possible location of the battlefield at Kalkriese. Indeed, the prevailing image of Varus in history is that of a loser. Yet, at the time Varus was appointed commander over the Rhine armies, he was already a man of great distinction in Rome, as this article tries to emphasize.

The article introduces an honorary inscription for Publius Quinctilius Varus (IGR IV 419) which is dated to the year 20 BC. It had been deemed missing for a long time respectively had been mistakenly located in Pergamum. +++ Owing to research for the special exhibition “IMPERIUM. 2000 years Varusbattle” it is now possible to at least verify a previous repository of the inscription: the Romano-Germanic Museum in Haltern (Westphalia). There it was seen by the writer Werner Bergengruen who undertook a bicycle travel around Germany in 1933 and recorded his memories in a book called „Deutsche Reise“. On initiative of Alexander Conze, the longstanding excavator of Pergamum, the stone reached Haltern as a gift from the Imperial Museum in Istanbul (Müze-i Hümayun) at the beginning of the 20th century. +++ In World War 2 its trace was lost: on the 9th of March 1945 the Romano-Germanic Museum was directly hit by a bomb which the inscription probably fell victim to. +++ Hinweis: In der Druckversion wurde der Titel des Artikels ohne Rücksprache mit dem Autor ausgeweitet und der altgriechische Text der Inschrift fehlerhaft dargestellt. Dies ist in der vorliegenden Datei korrigiert worden.

When Augustus travelled to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire in the years 22–19 BC, he entered an area which had been affected particularly badly during the Roman Civil Wars. Thus, the princeps took great interest in getting an idea about the prevalent problems and seeking appropriate solutions. His main objective, however, was to solve the smouldering conflict with the Parthian Empire which the Romans were facing on their eastern border. +++ The article offers an itemized overview of Augustus' stages in Sicily (22/21 BC), in Greece and the Aegean Islands (21/20 and 20/19 BC), in Asia Minor and Syria (20 BC) as well as his return to Italy and Rome (19 BC). +++ On his travel Augustus was accompanied by a large entourage, of whom the young Publius Quinctilius Varus formed part, as well. In the year 22/21 BC Varus took over his first known office: the quaestorship. An honorary inscription from Tenos shows that Varus was serving as quaestor Augusti and was therefore directly reporting to the princeps. Three further inscriptions from Pergamum (20 BC) and Athens (19 BC) give evidence that subsequent to his quaestorship Varus continued in the entourage of Augustus. In doing so he possibly visited Alexandria Troas, too. At least it appears noticeable that the Quin(c)tilii being one of the leading families of the city bore the same nomen gentile and that referring to both Varus' family and the Alexandrian Quin(c)tilii the praenomina Publius and Sextus have occurred time and again.

In der Datei sind Katalogtexte zu sechs Objekten bzw. Objektgruppen zusammengefasst, die 2009 in der Sonderausstellung „IMPERIUM. 2000 Jahre Varusschlacht“ in Haltern am See präsentiert wurden. Die Exponate stammen alle aus Judäa, das bis 4 v. Chr. König Herodes dem Großen unterstand. Von 7/6–4 v. Chr. amtierte Publius Quinctilius Varus als Statthalter in der benachbarten Provinz Syria und war dabei auch mit Problemen im Klientelreich Judäa konfrontiert. Brisant wurde die Situation, als es nach Herodesʼ Tod zu Unruhen kam, die Varus blutig niederschlagen ließ. +++ Während die ersten drei Objekte die Loyalität des Herodes gegenüber Augustus und seine Einbindung in das römische Wirtschaftssystem veranschaulichen, stehen die letzten drei Objekte im Kontext des jüdischen Widerstandes gegen Rom. +++ Kat. 6.24: Fuß einer monumentalen Sitzstatue aus Caesarea Maritima; Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 1969-1007). +++ Kat. 6.25: Zwei Amphorenfragmente mit Graffito aus Masada; Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 1991-3304). +++ Kat. 6.26: Amphore mit Graffito aus Masada; Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 1991-3320). +++ Kat. 6.31: Fersenbein mit Kreuzigungsnagel aus Giv’at ha-Mivtar, Jerusalem (Kopie); Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 1995-2067/984). +++ Kat. 6.32: Ziegelplatte mit Stempel der Legio X Fretensis aus Giv’at Ram, Jerusalem; Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 1994-2404). +++ Kat. 6.33: 30 Münzen aus dem Hortfund von Qumran; Leihgabe der Israel Antiquities Authority (Inv. IAA 367511, 367512, 367514, 367515, 367521–367526, 367530–367536, 367538–367541, 367544–367546, 367548, 367549, 367553, 367555, 367557, 367558).

Der Text gibt einen Überblick über die Biographie des Publius Quinctilius Varus (cos. ord. 13 v. Chr.), der als namengebender Verlierer der Varusschlacht des Jahres 9 n. Chr. in die Geschichte eingegangen ist. Neben dem familiären Hintergrund und den verwandtschaftlichen Beziehungen des Varus zur domus Augusta werden die einzelnen Etappen seiner Ämterlaufbahn behandelt, die ihn in die höchsten Kreise der römischen Reichsaristokratie aufsteigen ließen und ihn u. a. nach Nordafrika, Syrien, Judäa, in die Alpenprovinzen und nach Germanien führten.