Dieter Timpe (3 November 1931 – 19 April 2021[1]) was a German historian best known for his theories on Arminius and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

Since 1950, Timpe studied classical philology at the universities of Berlin, Basel and Freiburg.

He is well known for his theories on Germanic peoples, Arminius and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

Timpe disagreed with Tacitus' account of Arminius as a Germanic freedom fighter.

Instead, Timpe suggested that Arminius was an opportunistic Roman soldier who fought for his own selfish interests.