Drusus had been sent in 13 BCE to govern Gaul to quell riots caused by the actions of a previous administrator.

While he was present, a tribe of Germans had entered Gaul and proceeded to attack Roman settlements.

Drusus had mobilized his legions and beat the invaders back across the Rhine, then marched into Germany to defeat a superior force of Sicambri at the Lippe River the following year.

Penetrating deep into German territory, he travels as far as the North Sea and places a yearly tribute on the Frisii.

The Romans thus extend their empire north as far as the Rhine River in the present Netherlands, long occupied by such Germanic tribes as the Batavi and Frisii.

The victorious Drusus, in a show of Roman might, parades his legions back and forth between the Elbe and the Rhine.

As a reward, Drusus is made praetor urbanus for 11 BCE.