In 12 BC, the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus conquered the lands of the Cananefates in his campaign against Germania. He made a deal with them and with the neighbouring Batavians in his campaign to conquer Germania for the Roman Empire. The Cananefates and the Batavians were exempt from paying taxes in exchange for serving in the roman legions and became part of the Roman Empire. This was during the reign of emperor Augustus, who reigned from 27 BC to AD 14. After the voluntary subdual of the Batavians, Drusus continued with the subdual of the Frisian and the Chauci were attacked in a naval operation, which included the construction of a canal from the Rhine to Lake Flevo. Between 12 BC and 9 BC, Drusus subdued the Sicambri, Usipeti, Marsi, Chatti, Tencteri and Mattiaci. In 9 BC he defeated king Maroboduus of the Marcomanni and continued through the area of the Cherusci, reaching the Elbe river. He died on the way home from a fall of his horse. His command was taken over by Tiberius Claudius Nero, who had conquered Pannonia between 12 BC and 9 BC.
In the vast Roman Empire, there were also other military fronts. In 12 BC there was also the subdual of the Thracians who had revolted in 13 BC against Roman dominance and were a Roman vassal state.
Civil war broke out in the Roman vassal state Armenia, during the reign of the new king Tigranes IV. Augustus tried to replace him with king Aristobanes II of Atropatene in 5 BC. But this only resulted in a continuation of the civil war.
In the meanwhile, the legate of Illyricum, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus increased the Roman territories in Germania with the subdual of the Chamavi and of other Germanic peoples in 3 BC-1 BC.
Augustus send Gaius Caesar to the east to deal with the civil war in Armenia. The Roman neighbour, the Parthian Empire supported one side and the Romans another. In 1, Gaius Caesar, came to a treaty with king Phraates V of the Parthian Empire. The Parthians withdraw from Armenia and left it for the Romans. Augustus arranged that Tigranes V became king of Armenia in 2, as Roman vassal.
Tiberius extended Roman territories to the Elbe river in Germania in 4 and 5, subduing the Chauci and regaining allegiance of the Cherusci. He prepared for a war, in 6, on king Maroboduus of the Marcomanni, who had gathered a large amount of Germanic peoples fearing Roman dominance.
The Jews in Judea were dissatisfied with their ethnarch, Herod Archelaus, and asked Augustus for help. Herod was deposed and Judea became a province of the Roman Empire in 6.
In the same year, there were revolts in Armenia and Illyricum. The Armenians deposed Tigranes V and put queen Erato on the throne, the wife of Tigranes IV, who had died in 2. The Great Illyrian Revolt broke out in 6, under the leadership of chief Bato I of the Daesitiates and chief Bato II of the Breuci. It was a major threat to the Romans, who had to send a lot of troops under Tiberius and Germanicus to quell it, between 6 and 9. This made an end to the plan to attack the Marcomanni.
Just after the suppression of the Illyrians, the Germanic peoples revolted in 9, under leadership of chief Arminius of the Cherusci. They destroyed three legions of governor Publius Quinctilius Varus of Germania at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Augustus decided to move the border of the Roman Empire from the Elbe to the Rhine.
Queen Erato of Armenia died in 11. Augustus placed the former king of the Parthian Empire, Vonones I, on the Armenian throne, as Roman vassal in 12.
Augustus died in 14 and was followed as emperor by his adopted son, Tiberius.