nd younger
brother of the emperor Tiberius. Having held the office of quaestor and
acted as praetor for his brother during the latter's absence in Gaul, he
began (in 15 B.C.) the military career which has made his name famous.
In conjunction with Tiberius, he carried on a successful campaign
against the Raeti and Vindelici, who, although repulsed from Italy,
continued to threaten the frontiers of Gaul. The credit of the decisive
victory, however, must be assigned to Tiberius. Two of the _Odes_ of
Horace (iv. 4 and 14) were written to glorify the exploits of the
brothers. In 13 Drusus was sent as governor to the newly organized
province of the three Gauls, where considerable discontent had been
aroused by the exactions of the Roman governor Licinius. Drusus made a
fresh assessment for taxation purposes, and summoned the Gallic
representatives to a meeting at Lugdunum to discuss their grievances. It
was of great importance to pacify the Gauls, in order to have his hands
free to deal with the German tribes, one of which, the Sugambri, on the
right bank of the Rhine, had seized the opportunity, during the absence
of Augustus, to cross the river (12). Drusus drove them back and pursued
them through the island of the Batavi and the land of the Usipetes
(Usipes, Usipii) to their own territory, which he devastated. Sailing
down the Rhine, he subdued the Frisii and, in order to facilitate
operations against the Chauci, dug a canal (Fossa Drusiana) leading from
the Rhenus (Rhine) to the Isala (Yssel)[2] into the lacus Flevus
(Zuidersee) and the German Ocean. Making his way along the Frisian
coast, he conquered the island of Burchanis (_Borkum_), defeated the
Bructeri in a naval engagement on the Amisia (_Ems_), and went on to the
mouth of the Visurgis (_Weser_) to attack the Chauci. On the way back
his vessels grounded on the shallows, and were only got off with the
assistance of the Frisii. Winter being close at hand, the campaign was
abandoned till the following spring, and Drusus returned to Rome with
the honour of having been the first Roman general to reach the German
Ocean.

In his second campaign (11), Drusus defeated the Usipetes, threw a
bridge over the Luppia (_Lippe_), attacked the Sugambri, and advanced
through their territory and that of the Tencteri and Chatti as far as
the Weser, where he gained a victory over the Cherusci. Lack of
provisions, the approach of winter, and an inauspicious portent
prevented him from