Римская Британия

Roman Britain 

 

 

was the part of the islands of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410.

The Romans referred to their territory as Britannia, and it eventually consisted of all of the island south of the shifting frontier with Caledonia. Prior to the Roman 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 Britannia in passing, and the names of many of its governors are known. Most knowledge of Roman Britain stems from archaeological investigations and especially epigraphic evidence.

The first Romans to campaign extensively in Britain were the forces of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, but the first significant conquest did not begin until AD 43, under Claudius.The Romans established a provincial government and steadily extended their control north, but were never able to exert firm control over Caledonia. Following the conquest of the native Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged. The Romans cemented the province's northern border with Hadrian's Wall, completed around 128. In 142, they pushed the frontier north to the Forth-Clyde line, constructing the Antonine Wall, but they retreated back to Hadrian's Wall after approximately twenty years. Around 197, Britannia was divided into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior; at some point after 305, it was subdivided even further and made into an imperial diocese. For much of the later period, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasion and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and pretenders. The Romans largely departed from Britain around 410, leading to what is known as the sub-Roman period, but the legacy of the empire was felt for hundreds of years.

History

Early contactMain article: Caesar's invasions of Britain

Britain was not unknown to the Classical world. As early as the 4th century BC, the Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin. The Greeks refer to the Cassiterides, or "tin islands", and describe them as being situated somewhere near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 5th century BC and the Greek explorer Pytheas in the 4th. But it was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers even refusing to believe it existed at all.

 

The first direct Roman contact came when the Roman general and future dictator, 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 was at least a political success. The Roman Senate declared a 20-day public holiday in Rome in honour of the unprecedented achievement of obtaining hostages from Britain and defeating Belgian tribes on returning to the continent.

 

In his second invasion, Caesar took with him a substantially larger force and proceeded to coerce or invite many of the native Celtic 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 with his forces. 

 

Caesar had conquered no territory and had left behind no troops, but had established clients on the island and had brought Britain 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 southeastern Britain.  Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus and Augustus' own Res Gestae refers to two British kings 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 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 had even left Gaul.  When Claudius successfully invaded in AD 43, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, this time Verica of the Atrebates.

 

[edit] Roman invasionMain article: Roman conquest of Britain

 

Conquests under Aulus Plautius, focused on the commercially valuable southeast of Britain.The invasion force in AD 43 was led by Aulus Plautius.  It is not known how many Roman legions were sent; only one legion, the II Augusta, commanded by the future emperor Vespasian, is directly attested to have taken part.