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Maroboduus (c. 30 BCE - 37 CE), was king of the Marcomanni. The name "Maroboduus" can be broken down into two Celtic elements, māro- meaning "great" (cf. Welsh mawr, Irish mór), and bodwos meaning "raven" (cf. Irish badhbh). As there was extensive mingling of Germanic tribes and Celts in this period, a Germanic or mixed Germanic-Celtic tribe led by a man with a Celtic name would be nothing unusual.
Rivalry between him and Arminius, the Cheruscan leader who inflicted the devastating defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest on the Romans under Publius Quinctilius Varus in 9 AD, prevented a concerted attack on Roman territory across the Rhine in the north (by Arminius) and in the Danube basin in the south (by Maroboduus). However, according to the 1st century AD historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus, Arminius sent Varus' head to Maroboduus. But the king of the Marcomanni sent it to Augustus. In the revenge war of Tiberius and Germanicus against the Cherusci, Maroboduus stayed neutral.
Maroboduus in Give Me Back My Legions![]
After his victory at the Teutoburg, Arminius, the leader of the victorious Germanic tribes, sent the head of his Roman opponent, Publius Varus, to the Marcomanni leader Maroboduus to persuade him to join the Germans against the invading Roman Empire.
However, Maroboduus refused to join in the fight, and instead sent the head to the Emperor Augustus, who personally confirmed the head was Varus.
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