Publius Quinctilius Varus

On or around September 15, 9, Publius Quinctilius Varus, Roman politician and general, committed suicide at the age of 59. From the article:

"The only road led through a small strip of accessible land; to the south, there were the inaccessible hills of the Teutoburg forest, and marshes made progress to the north difficult. It was the perfect place to trap the heavy legionaries. The three legions, then, were in a position where their fighting strengths would be minimized. They were ambushed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Some Roman soldiers trying to flee were intercepted by the German tribesmen and killed. Some captured Romans were caged and burned alive while others were enslaved or ransomed. Tacitus and Florus report that the victorious Germanic tribes tortured and sacrificed captive soldiers to their gods. Modern archaeologists excavated a part of the battlefield, recovering many military objects and other objects attesting to the presence of civilians in the area at the time of the massacre. Varus, upon seeing that all hope was lost, committed suicide.

After the battle, the Romans never conquered the Germans east of the Rhine despite the expeditions of Germanicus in 15-16 CE, and a few later conflicts. So great was the shame, and the ill luck thought to be connected to the numbers of the lost legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, that the numbers XVII, XVIII and XIX never re-appear in the Roman Army's order of battle. According to Suetonius, Augustus tore his clothes and refused to cut his hair for months upon hearing the news. For years afterwards, Augustus was heard, upon occasion, to moan, "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my Legions!"

Arminius cut off Varus' head and sent it to Bohemia as a present to King Maroboduus to coax him into an alliance. Maroboduus declined the offer and sent Varus' remains to Rome. Despite his anger towards Varus over the total defeat at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, Augustus buried Varus' head in the mausoleum of the imperial family."