The Battle of Baduhenna Wood[3] was battle fought near Heiloo, Netherlands in 28 AD[1][4][5] in which the Frisii defeated a Roman army led by Roman General Lucius Apronius.[6]
The earliest mention of the Frisii tells of Drusus' 12 BC war against the Rhine Germans and the Chauci. The Romans did not attack them after devastating the lands of the Rhine Germans, but merely passed through their territory and along their coast in order to attack the Chauci. The account says that the Frisii were "won over", suggesting a Roman suzerainty was imposed.[7] When Drusus brought Roman forces through Frisii lands in 12 BC and "won them over", he placed a moderate tax on them. However, a later Roman governor raised the requirements and exacted payment, at first decimating the herds of the Frisii, then confiscating their land, and finally taking wives and children into bondage. By AD 28 the Frisii had had enough. They hanged the Roman soldiers collecting the tax and forced the governor to flee to a Roman fort, which they then besieged. The propraetor of Lower Germany, Lucius Apronius, raised the siege and attacked the Frisii, but was defeated at a pitched battle in Baduhenna Wood near Heiloo, Netherlands after suffering heavy losses. For whatever reason, the Romans did not seek revenge and the matter was closed. The prestige of the Frisii among the neighboring Germanic tribes was raised considerably.[8]
Roman Empire
