Brinno was leader of the

Canninefates The Cananefates, or Canninefates, Caninefates, or Canenefatae, meaning 'boat masters' – or less likely, 'leek masters' – were a Germanic tribe, who lived in the Rhine delta, in western Batavia (later Betuwe), in the Roman province of ''Germ ...

when they joined in the

Batavian rebellion The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi (Germanic tribe), Batavi, a small but militarily powerful G ...

at the mouth of the Rhine in AD 70. According to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, his father had been hostile towards the Romans during the reign of

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

. Therefore, Brinno was chosen to lead the Canninefates against Rome, and was ceremoniously raised on a shield. His first move as commander was to attack Roman winter camps by sea with the help of the

Frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...

, in which he was successful due to the unprepared enemy.

, ''Histories'' 4.15 One of the camps destroyed has been identified at

Praetorium Agrippinae Praetorium Agrippinae was a Roman settlement in the province of Lower Germania, in the area of the Cananefates, located in modern-day Valkenburg, Netherlands. It was an army encampment (Lat.: ''castellum'') on the Old Rhine (at the time the ma ...

. Brinno then threatened to advance on the Roman forts in the region, leading the Romans to burn these forts down with the fear of being unable to defend them, one such fort being located at Traiectum.

References

Early Germanic warriors 1st-century monarchs in Europe 1st-century Germanic people {{AncientRome-bio-stub