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Roman Britain

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain)

   History of the British Isles

   By chronology
     * Prehistoric Britain
     * Early Ireland
     * Ancient Britain: Iron Age, Roman
     * Sub-Roman Britain
     * Early-Christian Ireland
     * Early-Medieval Ireland
     * Medieval Britain
     * Medieval Ireland: Gaelic, Norman
     * Early-modern: Britain, Ireland
     * Modern:
          + Britain
          + Ireland: 1691–1801, –1922, –1937

   By nation
     * England
     * Ireland
          + Northern Ireland
          + Republic of Ireland
     * Isle of Man
     * Scotland
     * Wales

     * See also:
          + Guernsey
          + Jersey
          + Orkney Islands

   By topic
     * Constitutional history: Britain, Ireland
     * Economic history: Britain, Ireland
     * Military history of the United Kingdom
     * History of British society
     * Maritime history of Britain

   Principal sites in Roman Britain
   Principal sites in Roman Britain

   Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain
   controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. The Romans referred
   to their province as Britannia. Prior to their invasion, Iron Age
   Britain already had cultural and economic links with Continental
   Europe, but the invaders introduced new developments in agriculture,
   urbanisation, industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is still
   apparent today.

   Historical records beyond the initial invasion are sparse, although
   many Roman historians mention the province in passing. Much of our
   knowledge of the period stems from archaeological investigations and
   especially epigraphic evidence.

Chronological history

Early contact

   Britain was not unknown in the Classical world. As early as the 4th
   century BC the Greeks and Carthaginians traded for British tin: the
   British Isles were known to the Greeks as the Cassiterides or "tin
   islands". The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the
   island in the 5th century BC. But it was regarded as a place of
   mystery, with some writers even refusing to believe it existed.

   The first direct Roman contact came when the Roman general and future
   dictator, Gaius Julius Caesar, made two expeditions to Britain in 55
   and 54 BC as an offshoot of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons
   had been helping the Gallic resistance. The first expedition, more a
   reconnaissance than a full invasion, gained a foothold on the coast of
   Kent but, undermined by storm damage to the ships and a lack of
   cavalry, was unable to advance further. The expedition was a military
   failure, but a political success: the senate declared a 20-day public
   holiday in Rome in honour of this unprecedented achievement.

   In his second invasion Caesar took with him a substantially larger
   force and proceeded to coerce or invite many of the native tribes to
   pay tribute and give hostages in return for peace. A friendly local
   king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, Cassivellaunus, was
   brought to terms. Hostages were taken, but historians disagree over
   whether the tribute agreed was paid by the Britons after Caesar's
   return to Gaul.

   Caesar had conquered no territory, but had established clients on the
   island and brought Britain firmly into Rome's sphere of political
   influence. Augustus planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but
   circumstances were never favourable, and the relationship between
   Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo,
   writing late in Augustus's reign, claims that taxes on trade brought in
   more annual revenue than any conquest could. Likewise, archaeology
   shows an increase in imported luxury goods in south-eastern Britain.
   Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus, and
   Augustus' own Res Gestae refers to two British kings whom he received
   as refugees. When some of Tiberius's ships were carried to Britain in a
   storm during his campaigns in Germany in AD 16, they were sent back
   safe and sound by local rulers, telling tall tales of monsters.

   Rome appears to have encouraged a balance of power in southern Britain,
   supporting two powerful kingdoms: the Catuvellauni, ruled by the
   descendants of Tasciovanus, and the Atrebates, ruled by the descendants
   of Commius. This policy was followed until AD 39 or 40, when Caligula
   received an exiled member of the Catuvellaunian dynasty and staged an
   invasion of Britain that collapsed in farcical circumstances before it
   left Gaul. When Claudius successfully invaded in 43, it was in aid of
   another fugitive British ruler, this time Verica of the Atrebates.

The Roman invasion

   The invasion force in 43 AD, consisting of four legions plus
   auxiliaries, was led by Aulus Plautius. It was delayed by a mutiny of
   the troops, who were eventually persuaded to overcome their fear of
   crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known
   world. Landing at Richborough in Kent, the Romans defeated the
   Catvellauni and their allies in two battles on the rivers Medway and
   Thames. One of their leaders, Togodumnus, was killed, but his brother
   Caratacus survived to continue resistance elsewhere. Plautius halted at
   the Thames and sent for Claudius, who arrived with reinforcements,
   including artillery and elephants, for the final march to the
   Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum ( Colchester). The future emperor
   Vespasian subdued the south-west, Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly
   king of several territories, and treaties were made with tribes outside
   the area under direct Roman control.

Roman rule is established

   After capturing the south of the island, the Romans turned their
   attention to what is now Wales. The Silures, Ordovices and Deceangli
   remained implacably opposed to the invaders, and for the first few
   decades were the focus of Roman military attention, despite occasional
   minor revolts among Roman allies like the Brigantes and the Iceni. The
   Silures were now led by Caratacus, and he carried out an effective
   guerrilla campaign against the governor Publius Ostorius Scapula.
   Finally, in 51, Ostorius lured Caratacus into a set-piece battle and
   defeated him. The British leader sought refuge among the Brigantes, but
   their queen, Cartimandua, proved her loyalty by surrendering him to the
   Romans. He was brought as a captive to Rome, where a dignified speech
   he made during Claudius's triumph persuaded the emperor to spare his
   life. However, the Silures were still not pacified, and Cartimandua's
   ex-husband Venutius stepped into Caratacus's shoes as the most
   prominent leader of British resistance.

   In 61, while governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was campaigning in
   Wales, the south-east rose in revolt under Boudica, queen of the Iceni,
   provoked by the seizure of the tribe's lands and the brutal treatment
   of the queen and her daughters. The Iceni, joined by the Trinovantes,
   destroyed the Roman colony at Camulodunum and routed the legion that
   was sent to relieve it. Suetonius Paulinus rode to London, the rebels'
   next target, but concluded it could not be defended. Abandoned, it was
   destroyed, as was Verulamium (St Albans). Between seventy and eighty
   thousand people are said to have been killed in the three cities. But
   Suetonius regrouped with two of the three legions still available to
   him, chose a battlefield, and, despite being heavily outnumbered,
   defeated the rebels in the Battle of Watling Street. Boudica died not
   long afterwards, by self-administered poison or by illness. The revolt
   had almost persuaded the emperor Nero to withdraw from Britain
   altogether.

   There was further turmoil in 69, the " year of four emperors". As civil
   war raged in Rome, weak governors were unable to control the legions in
   Britain, and Venutius of the Brigantes seized his chance. The Romans
   had previously always defended Cartimandua against him, but this time
   were unable to. Cartimandua was evacuated, and Venutius was left in
   control of the north of the country. After Vespasian secured the
   empire, his first two appointments as governor, Quintus Petillius
   Cerialis and Sextus Julius Frontinus, took on the task of subduing the
   Brigantes and Silures respectively.
   The Lunt Fort near Coventry, a reconstructed Roman fort
   The Lunt Fort near Coventry, a reconstructed Roman fort

   In the following years, the Romans conquered more of the island,
   increasing the size of Roman Britain. The governor Gnaeus Julius
   Agricola, father-in-law to the historian Tacitus, conquered the
   Ordovices in 78. With XX Valeria Victrix, Agricola defeated the
   Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius, in what is today
   northern Scotland. This marked the high tide mark of Roman territory in
   Britain; shortly after his victory, Agricola was recalled from Britain
   back to Rome, and the Romans retired to a more defensible line along
   the Forth- Clyde isthmus, freeing soldiers badly needed along other
   frontiers.

   For much of the history of Roman Britain, a large number of soldiers
   were garrisoned on the island. This required that the emperor station a
   trusted senior man as governor of the province. As a side-effect of
   this, a number of future emperors served as governors or legates in
   this province, including Vespasian, Pertinax, and Gordian I.

Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland

   There is no historical source describing the decades that followed
   Agricola's recall. Even the name of his replacement is unknown.
   Archaeology has shown that some Roman forts south of the Forth- Clyde
   isthmus were rebuilt and enlarged, although others appear to have been
   abandoned. Roman coins and pottery are found circulating at native
   settlement sites in what are now the Scottish Lowlands in the years
   before 100, indicating growing Romanisation.

   Around 105, however, a serious setback appears to have happened at the
   hands of the tribes of Scotland; several Roman forts were destroyed by
   fire at this time with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium (
   Newstead, Scottish Borders) indicating hostilities at least at that
   site. There is also circumstantial evidence that auxiliary
   reinforcements were sent from Germany and an unnamed British war from
   the period is mentioned on the gravestone of a tribune on Cyrene.
   However, Trajan's Dacian Wars may have led to troop reductions in the
   area or even total withdrawal followed by slighting of the forts by the
   natives rather than an unrecorded military defeat. The Romans were also
   in the habit of destroying their own forts during an orderly
   withdrawal, in order to deny resources to an enemy. In either case, the
   frontier probably moved south to the line of the Stanegate at the
   Solway- Tyne isthmus around this time.

   A new crisis occurred at the beginning of Hadrian's reign (117), a
   rising in the north which was suppressed by Quintus Pompeius Falco.
   When Hadrian reached Britannia on his famous tour of the Roman
   provinces around 120, he directed an extensive defensive wall, known to
   posterity as Hadrian's Wall, to be built close to the line of the
   Stanegate frontier. Hadrian appointed Aulus Platorius Nepos as governor
   to undertake this work who brought VI Victrix with him from Lower
   Germany. Legio VI replaced the famous IX Hispana, whose disappearance
   has been much discussed. Archaeology indicates considerable instability
   in Scotland during the first half of the second century, and the
   shifting frontier at this time should be seen in this context.

   In the reign of Antoninus Pius the Hadrianic border was briefly
   extended north to the Forth-Clyde isthmus, where the Antonine Wall was
   built around 142 following the military re-occupation of the Scottish
   lowlands by a new governor, Quintus Lollius Urbicus. This northward
   extension of the empire was probably the result of attacks, maybe by
   the Selgovae of south-west Scotland, on the Roman buffer state of the
   Votadini who lived north of the Hadrianic frontier.

   The first Antonine occupation of Scotland ended as a result of a
   further crisis in 155- 157, when the Brigantes revolted. With limited
   options to despatch reinforcements, the Romans moved their troops south
   and this rising was suppressed by the governor Cnaeus Julius Verus.
   Within a year the Antonine Wall was re-occupied, but by 163 or 164 it
   was abandoned. The second occupation was probably connected with
   Antonius' undertakings to protect the Votadini or his pride in
   enlarging the empire as the retreat to the Hadrianic frontier occurred
   not long after his death when a more objective strategic assessment of
   the benefits of the Antonine Wall could be made. The Romans did not
   entirely withdraw from Scotland at this time however, as the large fort
   at Newstead was maintained along with seven smaller outposts until at
   least c. 180.

   During the twenty year period following the reversion of the frontier
   to Hadrian's Wall, Rome was concerned with continental issues primarily
   problems in the Danube provinces. Increasing numbers of hoards of
   buried coins in Britain at this time indicate that peace was not
   entirely achieved. Sufficient Roman silver appears in Scotland to
   suggest more than ordinary trade and it is likely that the Romans were
   boosting treaty agreements with cash payments, a situation with
   comparators elsewhere in the empire at the time.

   In 175 a large force of Sarmatian cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men,
   arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded
   uprisings. Certainly, in 180 Hadrian's Wall was breached and barbarians
   had killed the commanding officer or governor there in what Dio Cassius
   described as the most serious war of the reign of Commodus. Ulpius
   Marcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new
   peace only to be faced with a mutiny from his own troops. Unhappy with
   Marcellus' strictness, they tried to elect a legate named Priscus as
   usurper emperor, he refused but Marcellus himself was lucky to leave
   the province alive. The Roman army in Britannia continued its
   insubordination, they sent a delegation of 1,500 to Rome to demand the
   execution of Tigidius Perrenis, a Praetorian Prefect whom they felt had
   earlier wronged them by posting lowly equites to legate ranks in
   Britannia. Commodus met the party outside Rome and agreed to have
   Perrenis killed, but this only made them feel more secure in their
   mutiny.

   The future emperor, Pertinax was sent to Britannia to restore order and
   was initially successful in regaining control. A riot broke out amongst
   the troops however, in which Pertinax was attacked and left for dead,
   and he asked to be recalled to Rome, briefly succeeding Commodus in
   192.

The third century

   The death of Commodus put into motion a series of events which
   eventually led to civil war. Following the short reign of Pertinax,
   several rivals for the throne emerged, including Septimius Severus and
   Clodius Albinus. The latter was the new governor of Britain, and had
   seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also
   controlled three legions, making him a potentially significant claimant
   to the purple. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of
   Caesar in return for Albinus' support against Pescennius Niger in the
   east. Once Niger was neutralised however, Severus turned on his ally in
   Britain—though it is likely that Albinus saw that he would be the next
   target, and was already preparing for war.

   Albinus crossed to Gaul in 195 where the provinces were also
   sympathetic to him and set up at Lugdunum. Severus arrived in February
   196 and the ensuing battle was decisive. Although Albinus came close to
   victory, Severus' reinforcements won the day, and the British governor
   found it expedient to commit suicide. Severus soon purged Albinus'
   sympathisers, perhaps as well confiscating large tracts of land in
   Britain in punishment.

   Albinus demonstrated the two major political problems posed by Roman
   Britain. First, in order to maintain its security it had three legions
   stationed there. These would provide an ambitious man with weak
   loyalties a powerful base for rebellion, as it had for Albinus. Second,
   deploying the legions elsewhere would strip the island of its garrison,
   with the result that Britain was defenceless to invaders.

   Traditionally, the view has been that northern Britain descended into
   anarchy during Albinus' absence. Certainly Cassius Dio records that the
   new governor, Virius Lupus was obliged to buy peace from the fractious
   northern tribe known as the Maeatae, however more recent work suggests
   that it is more likely that he left a reasonable force behind to
   protect the frontier and that the level of chaos was not as great as
   earlier thought. Even so, a succession of militarily distinguished
   governors were appointed to the province and Lucius Alfenus Senecio's
   report back to Rome in 207 described barbarians "rebelling,
   over-running the land, taking booty and creating destruction". Alfenus
   requested either reinforcements or an Imperial expedition and Severus
   chose the latter option, despite now being 62 years old. Archaeological
   evidence shows that Alfenus had been rebuilding the defences of
   Hadrian's Wall and the forts beyond it and Severus' arrival in Britain
   prompted the rebellious tribes to immediately sue for peace. The
   emperor had not come all that way to leave without a victory however
   and it is likely that he wished to provide his teenage sons Caracalla
   and Geta with first hand experience of controlling and administering a
   barbarian province.

   An expedition led by Severus and probably numbering around 20,000
   troops, moved north in 208 or 209, crossing the wall and passing
   through eastern Scotland in a route similar to that used by Agricola.
   Harried by guerrilla raids by the natives and slowed by an unforgiving
   terrain, Severus was unable to meet the Caledonians on a battlefield.
   The campaign pushed northwards as far as the River Tay and peace
   treaties were signed with the Caledonians who seem to have suffered
   similar losses to the Romans. By 210, Severus had returned to York with
   the frontier set at Hadrian's Wall and assumed the title Britannicus.
   Almost immediately another northern tribe, the Maeatae rebelled.
   Caracella left with a punitive expedition but by the next year his
   ailing father had died and he and his brother left the province to
   press their claim for the throne.

   As one of his last acts, Septimius Severus tried to solve the problem
   of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the
   existing province into Upper Britain and Lower Britain. Although this
   kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century, it was
   not permanent. Historical sources provide little information on the
   following decades, a period often called the Long Peace. Even so the
   number of hoards found in the period rises, suggesting unrest and a
   string of forts were built along the coast of southern Britain to
   control piracy, over the next hundred years they expanded in number,
   becoming the Saxon Shore Forts.

   During the middle of the third century the Roman empire was convulsed
   by barbarian invasions, rebellions and new imperial pretenders.
   Britannia apparently avoided these troubles, although increasing
   inflation had its economic effect. In 259, a so-called Gallic Empire
   was established when Postumus rebelled against Gallienus. Britannia was
   part of this until 274 when Aurelian reunited the empire.

   In the late 270s a half-Brythonic usurper named Bononus rebelled to
   avoid the repercussions of letting his fleet be burnt by barbarians at
   Cologne. He was quickly crushed by Probus, but soon afterwards an
   unnamed governor in Britannia also attempted an uprising. Irregular
   troops of Vandals and Burgundians were sent across the Channel by
   Probus to put down the uprising, perhaps in 278.

   The last of the string of rebellions to affect Britannia was that of
   Carausius and his successor Allectus. Carausius was a naval commander,
   probably in the English Channel. He was accused of keeping pirate booty
   for himself, and his execution was ordered by the Emperor Maximian. He
   then in 286 set himself up as emperor in Britain and northern Gaul, and
   remained in power whilst Maximian dealt with uprisings elsewhere. In
   288, an invasion failed to unseat the usurper. An uneasy peace ensued,
   during which Carausius issued coins proclaiming his legitimacy and
   inviting official recognition.

   In 293 Constantius Chlorus launched a second offensive, besieging the
   rebel's port at Boulogne and cutting it off from naval assistance.
   After the town fell, Constantius tackled Carausius' Frankish allies.
   Subsequently the usurper was murdered by his treasurer, Allectus.
   Allectus' brief reign was brought to an end when Asclepiodotus landed
   near Southampton and defeated him in a land battle.

   Constantius himself arrived in London to receive the victory and chose
   to divide the province further, into four provinces:
     * Maxima Caesariensis (based on London): from Upper Britannia
     * Britannia Prima: from Upper Britannia
     * Flavia Caesariensis: from Lower Britannia
     * Britannia Secunda: from Lower Britannia

   These four provinces were part of Diocletian's Tetrarchy reform in 293:
   Britannia became one of the four dioceses—governed by a vicarius—of the
   prætorian prefecture Galliae ('the Gauls', also comprising the
   provinces of Gaul, Germania and Hispania), after the abolition of the
   imperial tetrarchs under the Western Emperor (in Rome itself, later
   Ravenna).

The fourth century

   Constantius Chlorus returned to Britain in 306, aiming to invade
   northern Britain. The province's defences had been rebuilt in the
   preceding years and, although his health was poor, Constantius wished
   to penetrate far into enemy territory and win a further victory. Little
   is known of his campaigns and there is little archaeological evidence
   for them. From fragmentary historical sources it seems he reached the
   far north of Britain and won a great battle in early summer of that
   year before returning south to York.

   Constantius remained in Britain for the rest of the time he was part of
   the Tetrarchy, dying on 25th July 306. His son, Constantine I had
   managed to be by his side at that moment, and assumed his duties in
   Britain. Unlike the earlier usurper Albinus, he was able to
   successfully use his base in Britain as a starting point on his march
   to the imperial throne.

   For a few years, the British provinces were loyal to the usurper
   Magnentius, who succeeded Constans following his death. Following his
   defeat and death in the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353, Constantius II
   dispatched his chief imperial notary Paul "Catena" to Britain to hunt
   down Magnentius' supporters. Paul's investigations deteriorated into a
   witch hunt, which forced the vicarius Flavius Martinus to intervene.
   When Paul instead suspected Martinus of treason, the vicarius found
   himself forced to physically attack Paul with a sword with the aim of
   assassinating him, but at the end committed suicide.

   In the 4th century, Britain also saw increasing attacks from the Saxons
   in the east, and the Irish in the west. A series of forts was built,
   starting around 280, to defend the coasts, but these preparations were
   not enough when a general assault of Saxons, Irish and Attacotti,
   combined with apparent dissension in the garrison on Hadrian's Wall,
   left Roman Britain prostrate in 367. This crisis, sometimes called the
   Great Conspiracy, was settled by Count Theodosius with a string of
   military and civil reforms.

   Another usurper, Magnus Maximus, raised the standard of revolt in
   Segontium in 383, and crossed the Channel. Maximus held much of the
   western empire, and fought a successful campaign against the Picts and
   Scots around 384. His continental exploits required troops from
   Britain, and it appears that forts at Chester and elsewhere were
   abandoned at this period, triggering raids and settlement in north
   Wales by the Irish. His rule was ended in 388, but not all of the
   British troops may have returned: the Empire's military resources were
   struggling after the catastrophic Battle of Adrianople in 378. Around
   396, there were increasing barbarian incursions in Britain, and an
   expedition, possibly led by Stilicho, brought naval action against the
   raiders. It seems peace was restored by 399, although it is likely that
   no further garrisoning was ordered, and indeed by 401 more troops were
   withdrawn to assist in the war against Alaric I.

The end of Roman rule

   Roman Britain in the year 410
   Roman Britain in the year 410

   The traditional view of historians, informed by the work of Michael
   Rostovtzeff, was of a widespread economic decline at this time.
   However, consistent archaeological evidence has told another story, and
   the accepted view is undergoing re-evaluation. The destruction of many
   sites is now believed to be much later than had formerly been thought.
   Many buildings changed use, but were not destroyed. There were growing
   barbarian attacks, but these were focused on vulnerable rural
   settlements rather than towns. Some villas such as Great Casterton in
   Rutland and Hucclecote in Gloucestershire had new mosaic floors laid
   around this time, suggesting that economic problems may have been
   limited and patchy, although many suffered some decay before being
   abandoned in the fifth century; the story of Saint Patrick indicates
   that villas were still occupied until at least 430. New buildings were
   still going up in this period in Verulamium and Cirencester. Some urban
   centres, for example Canterbury, Cirencester, Wroxeter, Winchester and
   Gloucester, remained active during the fifth and sixth centuries,
   surrounded by large farming estates.

   Urban life had generally grown less intense by the fourth quarter of
   the fourth century, and coins minted between 378 and 388 are very rare,
   indicating a likely combination of economic decline, diminishing
   numbers of troops, and problems with the payment of soldiers and
   officials. Coinage circulation increased during the 390s, although it
   never attained the levels of earlier decades. Copper coins are very
   rare after 402, although minted silver and gold coins from hoards
   indicate they were still present in the province even if they were not
   being spent. By 407 there were no new Roman coins going into
   circulation and by 430 it is likely that coinage as a medium of
   exchange had been abandoned. Pottery mass production probably ended a
   decade or two previously; the rich continued to use metal and glass
   vessels, while the poor probably adopted leather or wooden ones.

Sub-Roman Britain

   Britain came under increasing pressure from barbarian attack on all
   sides towards the end of the 4th century, and troops were too few to
   mount an effective defence. The army rebelled and, after elevating two
   disappointing usurpers, chose a soldier, Constantine III, to become
   Emperor in 407. He soon crossed to Gaul with an army, to be defeated by
   Theodosius I; it is unclear how many troops remained or ever returned,
   nor whether a commander-in-chief in Britain was ever reappointed. A
   Saxon incursion in 408 was apparently repelled by the Britons
   themselves, and in 409 Zosimus records that the natives expelled the
   Roman civilian administration (although Zosimus may be referring to the
   Bacaudic rebellion of the Breton inhabitants of Armorica since he
   describes how, in the aftermath of the revolt, all of Armorica and the
   rest of Gaul followed the example of the Brettaniai. A later appeal for
   help by the British communities was rejected by the emperor Honorius in
   410. This apparent contradiction has been explained by EA Thompson as a
   peasant revolt against the landowning classes, with the latter group
   asking for Roman help; an uprising certainly occurred in Gaul at the
   time. With the higher levels of the military and civil government gone,
   administration and justice fell to municipal authorities, and small
   warlords gradually emerged all over Britain, still aspiring to Roman
   ideals and conventions.

   By tradition, the pagan Saxons were invited by Vortigern to assist in
   fighting the Picts and Irish, though archaeology has suggested some
   official settlement as landed mercenaries as early as the third
   century. Germanic migration into Roman Britannia may well have begun
   much earlier even than that. There is recorded evidence, for example,
   of Germanic auxiliaries being brought to Britain in the first and
   second centuries to support the legions. The new arrivals rebelled,
   plunging the country into a series of wars that eventually led to the
   Saxon occupation of Lowland Britain by 600. Around this time many
   Britons fled to Brittany (hence its name). Similar orders were sent out
   in the 490s but met with no response. A significant date in sub-Roman
   Britain is the famous Groans of the Britons, an unanswered appeal to
   Aëtius, leading general of the western Empire, for assistance against
   Saxon invasion in 446; another is the Battle of Dyrham in 577, after
   which the significant cities of Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester fell
   and the Saxons reached the western sea.

   Most scholars reject the historicity of the later legends of King
   Arthur, which seem to be set in this period, but some such as John
   Morris see it as evidence behind which may lie a plausible grain of
   truth.

Themes

Trade and industry

   By the time of the Roman occupation, Britain's tin exports to the
   Mediterranean had been largely eclipsed by the more convenient supply
   from Iberia. Gold, iron, lead, silver, jet, marble and pearls however
   were all exploited by the Romans in Britain along with more everyday
   commodities such as hunting dogs, animal skins, timber, wool and
   slaves. Foreign investment created a vigorous domestic market and
   imports were often of exotic Continental items such as fine pottery,
   olive oil, lavastone querns, glassware, garum and fruit.

   Mineral extraction sites such as the Dolaucothi gold mine, the Wealden
   ironworking zone and the lead and silver mines of the Mendip Hills seem
   to have been private enterprises leased from the government for a fee.
   Although mining had long been practised in Britain, the Romans
   introduced new technical knowledge and large-scale industrial
   production to revolutionise the industry. Many prospecting areas were
   in dangerous, upland country, and, although mineral exploitation was
   presumably one of the main reasons for the Roman invasion, it had to
   wait until these areas were subdued.

   Although Roman designs were most popular, rural craftsmen still
   produced items derived from the Iron Age La Tène artistic traditions.
   Local pottery rarely attained the standards of the Gaulish industries
   although the Castor ware of the Nene Valley was able to withstand
   comparison with the imports. Most native pottery was unsophisticated
   however and intended only for local markets.

   By the third century, Britain's economy was diverse and
   well-established, with commerce extending into the non-Romanised north.
   The design of Hadrian's Wall especially catered to the need for customs
   inspections of merchants' goods.

Provincial government

   Under the Roman Empire, administration of peaceful provinces was
   ultimately the remit of the Senate but those like Britain that required
   permanent garrisons of troops were placed under the Emperor's control.
   On the ground however imperial provinces were run by resident governors
   who were former senators who had held the consulship. These men were
   carefully selected often having strong records of military success and
   administrative ability. In Britain, a governor's role was primarily
   military but numerous other tasks were also his responsibility such as
   maintaining diplomatic relations with local client kings, building
   roads, ensuring the public courier system functioned, supervising the
   civitates and acting as a judge in important legal cases. When not
   campaigning he would travel the province hearing complaints and
   recruiting new troops.

   To assist him in legal matters he had an adviser, the legatus
   iuridicus, and those in Britain appear to have been distinguished
   lawyers perhaps because of the challenge of incorporating tribes into
   the imperial system and devising a workable method of taxing them.
   Financial administration was dealt with by a procurator with junior
   posts for each tax-raising power. Each legion in Britain had a
   commander who answered to the governor and in time of war probably
   directly ruled troublesome districts. Each of these commands carried a
   tour of duty of two to three years in different provinces. Below these
   posts was a network of administrative managers covering intelligence
   gathering, sending reports to Rome, organising military supplies and
   dealing with prisoners. A staff of seconded soldiers provided clerical
   services.

   Colchester was probably the earliest capital of Roman Britain but it
   was soon eclipsed by London with its strong mercantile connections.

Provincial subdivisions






   Britannia
   43-early 3rd c.
   Capital Camulodunum
   (43-c.65),
   then London


















   Britannia Inferior,
   Early 3rd c. - 293,
   capital at Eboracum

   Britannia Superior
   Early 3rd c. - 293,
   capital at Londinium





























                            Flavia Caesariensis,
                                  293- 410,
                               capital Lincoln

   Britannia Secunda,
   293- 410,
   capital Eboracum

   Maxima Caesariensis,
   293- 410,
   capital Londinium

   Britannia Prima,
   293- 410,
   capital Cirencester

Town and country

   During their occupation of Britain the Romans founded a number of
   important settlements, many of which still survive.

   Cities and towns which have Roman origins, or were extensively
   developed by them, include: (with their Latin names in brackets)
     * Alcester - (Aluana)
     * Bath - ( Aquae Sulis)
     * Caerleon - ( Isca Augusta)
     * Caerwent - ( Venta Silurum)
     * Canterbury - ( Durovernum Cantiacorum)
     * Carmarthen - ( Moridunum)
     * Colchester - ( Camulodunum)
     * Corbridge - ( Coria)
     * Chichester - ( Noviomagus Reginorum. Noviomagus means New Market
       and is also the Roman place name of a town in the Netherlands, now
       called Nijmegen)
     * Chester - ( Deva Victrix)
     * Cirencester - ( Corinium)
     * Dover - ( Portus Dubris)
     * Dorchester - ( Durnovaria)
     * Exeter - ( Isca Dumnoniorum)
     * Gloucester - ( Glevum)
     * Leicester - ( Ratae Corieltauvorum)
     * London - ( Londinium)
     * Lincoln - ( Lindum Colonia)
     * Manchester - ( Mamucium)
     * Northwich - ( Condate)
     * St Albans - ( Verulamium)
     * Towcester - ( Lactodorum)
     * Whitchurch - ( Mediolanum)
     * Winchester - ( Venta Belgarum)
     * York - ( Eboracum)

   For a larger list, see list of Roman place names in Britain.

Religion

   The druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in
   Britain, were outlawed by Claudius, and in 61 we find them vainly
   defending their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the
   island of Mona ( Anglesey). However, under Roman rule the Britons
   continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often
   conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at
   Nettleham.

   The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to
   gauge precisely. Certain northern European ritual traits such as the
   significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water
   sources such as springs remain in the archaeological record but the
   differences in the votive offerings made at Bath before and after the
   Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the
   emperor himself is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The
   founding of a temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the
   impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica.

   It is not clear when Christianity came to Britain, or how. The earliest
   written evidence for Christianity in Britain is a statement by
   Tertullian, ca. 200, that "all the limits of the Spains, and the
   diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the Britons,
   inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ". Archaeological
   evidence for Christian communities begins to appear in the 3rd and 4th
   centuries. Small timber churches are suggested at Lincoln and
   Silchester and fonts have been found at Icklingham and the Saxon Shore
   Fort at Richborough. The Water Newton Treasure is a hoard of Christian
   silver church plate from the early fourth century and the Roman villas
   at Lullingstone and Hinton St Mary contained Christian wall paintings
   and mosaics respectively. A large 4th century cemetery at Poundbury
   with its east-west oriented burials and lack of grave goods has been
   interpreted as an early Christian burial ground, although such burial
   rites were also becoming increasingly common in pagan contexts during
   the period. Saint Alban, the first British Christian martyr, is
   believed to have died in the early 4th century (although some date him
   in the mid-3rd), followed by Saints Aaron and Julius of Isca Augusta.

   Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire by Constantine I in 313.
   The Church in Britain seems to have developed the customary diocesan
   system as evidenced from the records of the Council of Arles in Gaul in
   314. Represented at the Council were bishops from thirty-five sees from
   Europe and North Africa, including three bishops from Britain: Eborius
   of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelphius. A letter found in Bath,
   datable to ca. 363, written in Wroxeter by a Christian man called
   Vinisius, warns a Christian women called Nigra of the arrival of
   Bilonicus, describing him as a canem Arii, an " Arian dog", indicating
   that the struggle between orthodoxy and heresy was present in Britain
   as elsewhere in the empire. One heresy, Pelagianism, originated in
   Britain. Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the
   Empire in 391, and by the 5th century it was well-established.

   Oriental cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the
   end of the occupation. The Temple of Mithras is one example of the
   popularity of mystery religions amongst the rich urban classes.

The legacy

   During their occupation of Britain, the Romans built an extensive
   network of roads, many of whose routes are still followed today. The
   Romans also built water and sewage systems.

   The prestige of the empire influenced Britons' views of themselves for
   generations to come.

   Britain is also noteworthy as having the largest European region of the
   former Roman Empire that currently speaks neither (as a majority
   language):
     * A Romance language (for example, Romania, where territory was under
       Roman control about half as long as Britain), nor
     * A language descended from the pre-Roman inhabitants (such as
       Greek), though Welsh exists as a minority language, with many
       borrowings from Latin, such as llaeth ("milk"), ffenestr
       ("window"). The Cornish language also survived into the early
       modern period and is currently undergoing some revival.

   Significant Germanic migration to Britain seems to have taken place
   only after the coming of the Romans. The Germanic speakers came
   originally as auxiliary troops to support the Romans in their conquest
   of the Celts. For what is known of the process that introduced English,
   a Germanic, not Celtic language, to much of this former Roman province,
   see the article Anglo-Saxons.
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