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Roman Britain
The History of Roman Britain
“Some had been carried
to Britain and were sent
back by the petty chiefs.
Every one, as he returned
from some far-distant
region, told of wonders,
of violent hurricanes, and
unknown birds, of
monsters of the sea, of
forms half-human, half
beast-like, things they had
really seen or in their
terror believed.” (Tacitus,
Annals 2.24)
Textual Sources
Caesar, Commentarii De
Bello Gallico
Cassius Dio, Roman
History
Tacitus, Annals,
Agricola, Histories
Suetonius, Claudius
Material Sources
Roman camps and
fortifications, epigraphic
evidence.
Roman and pre-Roman Celtic
coins from c. 30 B.C. to 407
A.D.
Datable domestic structures
(insulae) and artifacts such as
pottery.
Pre-Roman Settlement
Iron A: Earliest iron-age settlements date to 7th century B.C.
These are pastoral tribes that do not make pottery.
Iron B: Hill forts are characteristic of all iron age societies in
Britain, and are constructed from 1000 B.C. down to the Roman
invasion.
The Hill forts are indicative of an aristocratic society, as they
decrease in number but increase in fortification after 400
B.C.
Iron C: Caesar attests the mass migrations of the 2rd century B.C.
were the comprised mainly of an influx of Belgae from Northern
France.
Hill fort construction ends with the incursions of the Belgae.
Pre-Roman Contact
Up to and after Caesar’s
invasion, Britain is a
mysterious, dangerous island
(Plutarch, Life of Caesar 23.2;
Tacitus, Annals 2.24).
Greek traders are present in
Britain in the 4th century B.C.
Migration and trade between
Britain and Gaul
Diviciacus is recorded as a
powerful politician in both
Britain and Gaul (BG 2.4)
Caesar’s Invasion
Caesar gives pretenses for his invasion in the De Bello
Gallico, namely that the revolt of the Amorica (a Gaullic
tribe under Caesar’s control) received military aid from
Britain.
Britian was thought to be wealthy: Strabo lists grain,
cattle, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves, and hunting dogs
among the islands natural resources (Geography 5.2)
The conquest of a wealthy province, and one known to
contain valuable metals like iron and tin, would have
strengthened Caesar’s position in Rome.
Caesar’s Invasion: 55 B.C.
Caesar’s landing in southern Britain
in 55 B.C. little more than a
reconnaissance mission.
He had with him only two legions,
and his cavalry never arrived.
A Large British force met the
Romans on the beach. They fought
from chariots in a primitive style.
Despite apparent failure, the fact
that the Ocean had been crossed
and a single battle won led to the
unprecedented grant of supplicatio in
Rome for 20 days.
Successes
in 55 B.C.
• Caesar knew the land was fertile enough to support an
expeditionary force, as well as permanent settlement.
• He now had experience against the British fighters.
• He had located a suitable spot to land in the following
year.
Caesar’s Invasion: 54 B.C.
Some 600 transports carry five
legions and 2,000 cavalry.
Lost 40 ships in a storm.
Spent only two months in
Britain, but defeated the
southern Belgic tribes and
exacted tribute and hostages.
Forced to return to Gaul
before the winter began in
order to prevent rebellion.
Britain does not become a
Roman province.
Caesar to Claudius
Political ties to Rome remained in place
in the years before Claudius’ invasion.
Chief’s loyal to Rome flee to Italy
in 7 A.D (Res Gestae Divi Augusti
32).
Strabo considers the British essentially
enslaved by the heavy taxes they are
forced to pay on Roman imports
(Geography 4.5.3).
Britain remained largely unexplored at
this time, but the desire to control other,
unknown natural resources would soon
lead to military invasion.
Gaius Caligula, in Gaul to suppress a
rebellion, attempts an invasion of
Britain in 40 A.D. This ended in fiasco.
“Finally, as if he intended to bring
the war to an end, he drew up a line
of battle on the shore of the Ocean,
arranging his ballistas and other
artillery; and when no one knew or
could imagine what he was going to
do, he suddenly bade them gather
shells and fill their helmets and the
folds of their gowns, calling them
"spoils from the Ocean, due to the
Capitol and Palatine." As a
monument of his victory he erected
a lofty tower, from which lights were
to shine at night to guide the course
of ships, as from the Pharos.”
(Suetonius, Caligula 46)
The Claudian Invasion: 43
A.D.
Aulus Plautius brought four legions with
auxiliaries, numbering nearly 40,000 men.
Like Gaius, Claudius’ soldiers mutinied before
they would cross the English Channel, though his
freedman persuaded the amassed legions to
continue with the invasion.
“He…crossed the Channel without incident; and
was back in Rome six months later. He had
fought no battles and suffered no casualties, but
reduced a large part of the island to submission.”
(Suetonius, Claudius 17).
The Romans would remain until the 5th century
A.D.
Britain and
Agricola
• The three governors after
Plautius secured Britain as a
Roman province, despite the
revolt of Boudicca in 59 A.D.
• Tacitus relates the irregular
seven year governorship of his
father-in-law, Agricola.
• Agricola undertook six
campaigns in Britain, starting in
79 A.D., and extended Roman
territory beyond the 2nd century
A.D. Antonine Wall. He most
notably built a system of roads
and forts for the suppression of
northern Britain.
Hadrian’s
Frontier
• After the death of Tacitus, Juvenal is among our best sources for British history (Sat.
4.127; 14.196). We do not even know who Agricola’s successor as governor was.
• Suetonius relates the murder of a governor of Sallustius Lucullus, a governor of
Britian, who perhaps fomented rebellion. Our best evidence comes from
inscriptions.
“The Britons could no longer be
held under Roman control.”
• The occupation of northern Britain
lasted long enough for spread import of
Roman culture and goods.
•This was short lived. At least five forts
north of Hadrian's wall were destroyed by
siege.
• Inscriptions indicate that legions were
stationed north of what would be
Hadrian’s wall during the reigns of
Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian himself.
•Foreign wars would have spread the
army thin. Trajan annexed Dacia after
two wars, in 101-2 A.D. and 105-6 A.D.
• There was continuous fighting in
Britain, requiring reinforcement, into
the reign of Hadrian.
Hadrian’s Wall
The idea of a “frontier” is new to
the Roman’s. Historically, Roman
frontiers are based on natural
formations, such as rivers, deserts,
or militarized zones.
The term limes, or “path” is used
for “boarder,” after roads in the
provinces began to denote
political boundaries.
The wall shows evidence of
immediate improvement after it’s
construction in 122 A.D. It was
over 70 miles long, and ranged
from 10-20ft. wide and 20ft. high.
It was supported by forts and
towers throughout.
The Roman Frontier After
Hadrian
After the construction of the wall, the number of forts
in the area increases from seven to eighteen.
The wall itself was garrisoned with over 10,000 men.
In 161 A.D. Fronto the orator remarks that his
grandfather Hadrian had heavy losses at the hands of
“Jews and Britons,” thus fighting continued in the mid
second century A.D.
Fronto is referring to the destruction of entire legions.
Nevertheless, fighting had ended by the death of
Hadrian in 138 A.D., paving the way for Antoninus
Pius.
The Antonine Wall
Coins indicate that Pius, through his legate Lollius Urbicus,
had regained control of the land Hadrian retreated from by
143 A.D.
The wall was built out of turf and stood 9ft. high. It runs
for 37 miles, and has less fortification than Hadrian’s wall.
New Conquests in the 3rd
Century
Roman troops leave and reoccupy Scotland throughout the
Antonine period, though following the assassination of
Commodus (192 A.D.) and then Pertinax (193 A.D.),
Albinus, then governor of Britain, stood a chance to become
emperor.
Septimius Severus became the next permanent emperor
instead, and his camps occupy the same area as those once
built by Agricola. Caracalla continued to occupy Britain
with some success until his assasination in 217 A.D.
After the death of Gordion III (244 A.D.), at least 55
emperors or claimants were murdered in the forty years
before Diocletian took over (284 A.D.).