Ancestry Deathmatch

I’m mostly Italian, birth place of the Mafia and the Roman Empire.

I think me and mine could hold our own.

Well, my ancestors are half Suebian, which means we fought against the Romans alongside Arminius the Cherusci in the famous battle of the Teutoburger Forest, which led to the annihilation of three Roman legions led by Varus. To his dying day Emperor Augustsus was heard to say: “Quinctili Vare, legiones redde!” (Quinctilius Varus, return me my legions). After that battle the Romans decided Germania was hopeless and built the Limes seperating “civilization” from the “barbarians”. Hadrian’s Wall is nothing but some shrubbery compared to the Limes, so there SSgtBaloo! :stuck_out_tongue:

Of course two other Suebian tribes decided to fight against Arminius later, so you’d better watch your back around me. Also, the Suebians ended up fleeing from other Germanic tribes (in their turn fleeing from the Huns) and actually ruled over large parts of the Iberian peninsula before being overrun by the Visigoths. So I guess that’s why I like to travel.

The modern Suebians are known to be even stingier than the Scots, so don’t expect any favours from me.

I am also quarter Hessian, so that means my ancestors were the Chatti, a lesser known Germanic tribe which was absorbed by the Franks in the 6th century AD. However the Batavii were also part of the Chatti, and migrated to what is now the Betuwe in the Netherlands in the 1st century AD. They were excellent horsemen and in 69 AD they revolted against and defeated the Romans then ruling the province of Lower Germania.

The last quarter is decended from the Thuringii, who were also great horsemen, and are thought to be related to the horsemen of the Eastern Steppes, due to some of their customs (inhumation and horse burials).

To sum up, you shouldn’t mess with me, especially if you’re Italian. :smiley:

Yeah, but I always ask for “koopzegels”, so there! They have a much higher return on investment than any bank account.