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157-594: The Roman frontier stretched for more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain , through Europe to the Black Sea , and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The positions of the borders changed especially during the main periods of Roman expansion and contraction, and first became more stable during the early Empire period under Augustus , but

314-581: A dignified speech he made during Claudius's triumph persuaded the emperor to spare his life. The Silures were still not pacified, and Cartimandua's ex-husband Venutius replaced Caratacus as the most prominent leader of British resistance. On Nero 's accession, Roman Britain extended as far north as Lindum . Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , the conqueror of Mauretania (modern day Algeria and Morocco ), then became governor of Britain, and in 60 and 61 he moved against Mona ( Anglesey ) to settle accounts with Druidism once and for all. Paulinus led his army across

471-423: A farthing of 1672 (see Depiction on British coinage and postage stamps below). With the constitutional unification of England with Scotland in 1707 and then with Ireland in 1800, Britannia became an increasingly important symbol and a strong rallying point among Britons. British power, which depended on a liberal political system and the supremacy of the navy , lent these attributes to the image of Britannia. By

628-582: A personification of Britain. In his 1576 "General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation", John Dee used a frontispiece figure of Britannia kneeling by the shore beseeching Elizabeth I, to protect her empire by strengthening her navy. With the death of Elizabeth in 1603 came the succession of her Scottish cousin, James VI, King of Scots, to the English throne. He became James I of England, and so brought under his personal rule

785-1032: A scribal error of Civ. Col. Londin. for an original Civ. Col. Leg. II ( Caerleon ). On the basis of the Verona List, the priest and deacon who accompanied the bishops in some manuscripts are ascribed to the fourth province. In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales described the supposedly metropolitan sees of the early British church established by the legendary SS   Fagan and " Duvian ". He placed Britannia Prima in Wales and western England with its capital at " Urbs Legionum " ( Caerleon ); Britannia Secunda in Kent and southern England with its capital at " Dorobernia " ( Canterbury ); Flavia in Mercia and central England with its capital at " Lundonia " ( London ); " Maximia " in northern England with its capital at Eboracum ( York ); and Valentia in " Albania which

942-557: A witch-hunt , which forced the vicarius Flavius Martinus to intervene. When Paulus retaliated by accusing Martinus of treason, the vicarius attacked Paulus with a sword, with the aim of assassinating him, but in the end he committed suicide. As the 4th century progressed, there were increasing attacks from the Saxons in the east and the Scoti (Irish) in the west. A series of forts had been built, starting around 280, to defend

1099-530: A border were referred to as limitanei . They were not expected to win large-scale wars, but rather to deter small-to-medium-sized raiding parties. Notable examples of Roman frontiers include: The stem of limes , limit -, which can be seen in the genitive case, limitis , marks it as the ancestor of an entire group of words in many languages related to Latin; for example, English limit or French limite . The Latin noun līmes ( English: / ˈ l aɪ m iː z / ; Latin pl.   līmitēs ) had

1256-580: A building inscription there dated 108, before being destroyed in the east of the Empire, possibly during the Bar Kokhba revolt . The invasion was delayed by a troop mutiny until an imperial freedman persuaded them to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world. They sailed in three divisions, and probably landed at Richborough in Kent ; at least part of

1413-663: A chain of watchtowers or signal towers, forts and fortified ports (Gaul). Most of the Saxon Shore camps probably served as naval bases. The garrisons of the forts were composed of infantry and several cavalry regiments. Monitoring and surveillance of the Channel were the responsibility of the Classis Britannica and Classis Sambrica , whose headquarters were in Locus Quartensis (Port d'Etaple), guarding

1570-420: A death sentence ordered by the emperor Maximian on charges of having abetted Frankish and Saxon pirates and having embezzled recovered treasure. He consolidated control over all the provinces of Britain and some of northern Gaul while Maximian dealt with other uprisings. An invasion in 288 failed to unseat him and an uneasy peace ensued, with Carausius issuing coins and inviting official recognition. In 293,

1727-521: A difficult challenge, and Lucius Alfenus Senecio 's report to Rome in 207 describes barbarians "rebelling, over-running the land, taking loot and creating destruction". In order to rebel, of course, one must be a subject – the Maeatae clearly did not consider themselves such. Senecio requested either reinforcements or an Imperial expedition, and Severus chose the latter, despite being 62 years old. Archaeological evidence shows that Senecio had been rebuilding

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1884-504: A ditch. The width of the Fossatum is generally 3–6 m but in exceptional cases may be as much as 20 m. Wherever possible, it or its highest wall is constructed on the counterscarp . Excavations near Gemellae showed the depth there to be 2–3 m, with a width of 1 m at the bottom widening to 2–3 m at the top. The Fossatum is accompanied by many small watchtowers and numerous forts, often built within sight of one another. The Limes Arabicus

2041-693: A helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity , the Latin Britannia was the name variously applied to the British Isles , Great Britain , and the Roman province of Britain during the Roman Empire . Typically depicted reclining or seated with spear and shield since appearing thus on Roman coins of the 2nd century AD,

2198-405: 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 result, many future emperors served as governors or legates in this province, including Vespasian , Pertinax , and Gordian I . There is no historical source describing the decades that followed Agricola's recall. Even the name of his replacement

2355-573: A large part of the island of Great Britain . The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars . According to Caesar, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by the Belgae during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar's enemies. The Belgae were the only Celtic tribe to cross

2512-480: 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: the large fort at Newstead was maintained along with seven smaller outposts until at least 180. During the twenty-year period following the reversion of the frontier to Hadrian's Wall in 163/4, Rome was concerned with continental issues, primarily problems in

2669-419: A mount triangular, as the island of Britain itself is described to be, we seat in the supreme place, under the shape of a fair and beautiful nymph, Britannia herself... Britain's first road atlas was updated in a series of editions titled from the early 18th into the early 19th century using the title Britannia Depicta . During the reign of Charles II , Britannia made her first appearance on English coins on

2826-603: A new definitive £2 coin was issued, with a new image of Britannia. She is also depicted in the Brit Awards statuette, the British Phonographic Industry 's annual music awards. The first writer to use a form of the name was the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC. Pytheas referred to Prettanike or Brettaniai , a group of islands off the coast of North-Western Europe. In

2983-645: A number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields ; a boundary line or marker; any road or path; any channel, such as a stream channel; or any distinction or difference. The term was also commonly used after the 3rd century AD to denote a military district under the command of a dux limitis . An etymology by Julius Pokorny in Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch says that limes comes from Indo-European el- , elei- , lei- , "to bow", "to bend", "elbow". According to Pokorny, Latin limen , "threshold",

3140-568: A place of banishment. However Romans controlled the Nile many miles into Africa up to the modern border between Egypt and Sudan. In Africa Romans controlled the area north of the Sahara, from the Atlantic Ocean to Egypt, with many sections of limes ( Limes Tripolitanus , Limes Numidiae, etc.). The Fossatum Africae ("African ditch") of at least 750 km controlled the southern borders of

3297-653: A province was no longer exercised by one official and the governor was stripped of military command which was handed over to the Dux Britanniarum by 314. The governor of a province assumed more financial duties (the procurators of the Treasury ministry were slowly phased out in the first three decades of the 4th century). The Dux was commander of the troops of the Northern Region, primarily along Hadrian's Wall and his responsibilities included protection of

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3454-520: A so-called Gallic Empire was established when Postumus rebelled against Gallienus . Britannia was part of this until 274 when Aurelian reunited the empire. Around the year 280, a half- British officer named Bonosus was in command of the Roman's Rhenish fleet when the Germans managed to burn it at anchor. To avoid punishment, he proclaimed himself emperor at Colonia Agrippina ( Cologne ) but

3611-582: A storm during his campaigns in Germany in 16 AD, they came back with 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 39 or 40 AD, when Caligula received an exiled member of

3768-497: A surge of new restaurants and hotels. Cool Britannia represented late-1990s Britain as a fashionable place to be. Britannia is sometimes used in political cartoons to symbol the United Kingdom's relationship with other countries. Although the archetypical image of Britannia seated with a shield first appeared on Roman bronze coins of the 1st century AD struck under Hadrian , Britannia's first appearance on British coinage

3925-466: A symbolic gesture to proclaim Caligula's victory over the sea. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain and restore the exiled king Verica over the Atrebates . The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni , and then organized their conquests as the province of Britain. By 47 AD, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way . Control over Wales was delayed by reverses and

4082-408: A white garment with her right breast exposed. She is usually shown seated on a rock, holding a trident, and with a spiked shield propped beside her. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield. On another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves: Britain at the edge of the (known) world. Similar coin types were also issued under Antoninus Pius . After the Roman withdrawal ,

4239-657: A wider hegemony in Britain and hyperbolic inscriptions on coins and titles in charters often included the equivalent title rex Britanniae . However, when England was unified the title used was rex Angulsaxonum ('king of the Anglo-Saxons'). After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as a rhetorical evocation of a British national identity. Especially following

4396-523: A woman of colour. A figure of Britannia appeared on the "white fiver" (a five pound note printed in black and white) from 1855 for more than a century, until 1957. From 1928 "Britannia Series A" ten shilling and one pound notes were printed with a seated Britannia bearing both a spear and an olive branch. The 25 cents fractional paper currency of the Dominion of Canada (1870, 1900 and 1923 respectively) all depict Britannia. Britannia also featured on

4553-511: A youth, he also had taken the King's sons back to Rome as obsides and to be educated. The Roman conquest of the island began in AD 43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province known in Latin as Britannia . The Romans never successfully conquered the whole island, building Hadrian's Wall as a boundary with Caledonia , which covered roughly the territory of modern Scotland , although

4710-491: Is considered as evidence that this type of boundary wall had never been used for defensive purposes. The land of Agri Decumates that was guarded by this limes had to be vacated by the Romans in 260–285 AD. They moved their bases back to the banks of the Rhine and Danube, which were much easier to defend militarily. The exact route of the limes along the border between Upper Germania and Raetia has not been fully explored. In

4867-708: Is known of his campaigns with scant archaeological evidence, but fragmentary historical sources suggest he reached the far north of Britain and won a major battle in early summer before returning south. His son Constantine (later Constantine the Great ) spent a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the Picts beyond Hadrian's Wall in the summer and autumn. Constantius died in York in July 306 with his son at his side. Constantine then successfully used Britain as

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5024-484: Is now Scotland " with its capital at St Andrews . Modern scholars generally dispute the last: some place Valentia at or beyond Hadrian's Wall but St Andrews is beyond even the Antonine Wall and Gerald seems to have simply been supporting the antiquity of its church for political reasons. A common modern reconstruction places the consular province of Maxima at Londinium, on the basis of its status as

5181-609: Is probable that a second, defensive line was created to the rear ( Castrum Locus Felicis ). The occupying troops, Exercitus Noricus , consisted mostly of auxilia cohorts and a legion stationed in Lauriacum / Enns acted as the strategic reserve. The surveillance and security of the Danube and its tributaries were the responsibility of the Classis Pannonia . Units of the legions, naval and auxiliary forces were commanded by

5338-546: Is related to limes , being the stone over which one enters or leaves the house. Some scholars have viewed the frontier as a threshold . The Merriam–Webster dictionaries take this view, as does J. B. Hofmann in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen under leimon . The White Latin Dictionary denies any connection, deriving limen from * ligmen , as in lien from *leig- , "tie". In this sense,

5495-573: Is said to have visited the island in the 6th or 5th century BC and the Greek explorer Pytheas in the 4th. It was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers refusing to believe it existed. The first direct Roman contact was when Julius Caesar undertook two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, as part of his conquest of Gaul , believing the Britons were helping the Gallic resistance. The first expedition

5652-611: Is unknown. Archaeology has shown that some Roman forts south of the Forth–Clyde isthmus were rebuilt and enlarged; others appear to have been abandoned. By 87 the frontier had been consolidated on the Stanegate . Roman coins and pottery have been found circulating at native settlement sites in the Scottish Lowlands in the years before 100, indicating growing Romanisation . Some of the most important sources for this era are

5809-520: The Legio VI Victrix legion with him from Germania Inferior . This replaced the famous Legio IX Hispana , whose disappearance has been much discussed. Archaeology indicates considerable political instability in Scotland during the first half of the 2nd century, and the shifting frontier at this time should be seen in this context. In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161)

5966-460: The Classis Britannica , whose headquarters were in Rutupiae (Richborough). Legions, auxilia and the fleet were commanded by the provincial governors. From the 3rd century, units of comitatenses , limitanei and liburnaria (marines) came under the command of two generals: This section of the limes existed from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD and covered the provinces of: This limes of

6123-552: The Acts of Union in 1707, which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland , the personification of the martial Britannia was used as an emblem of British maritime power and unity, most notably in the patriotic song " Rule, Britannia! ". A British cultural icon, she was featured on all modern British coinage series until the redesign in 2008, and still appears annually on the gold and silver " Britannia " bullion coin series. In 2015

6280-808: The Battle of Watling Street . Boudica died not long afterwards, by self-administered poison or by illness. During this time, the Emperor Nero considered withdrawing Roman forces from Britain altogether. There was further turmoil in 69, the " Year of the 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 defended Cartimandua against him, but this time were unable to do so. Cartimandua

6437-542: The British halfpenny coin throughout the rest of the 17th century and thereafter until 1936. The halfpennies issued during the reign of Queen Anne have Britannia closely resembling the queen herself. When the Bank of England was granted a charter in 1694, the directors decided within days that the device for their official seal should represent 'Brittannia sitting on looking on a Bank of Mony' (sic). Britannia also appeared on

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6594-529: The High Middle Ages . Following the migration of Brythonic Celts, the term Britannia also came to refer to the Armorican peninsula (at least from the 6th century). The modern English, French, Breton and Gallo names for the area, all derive from a literal use of Britannia meaning "land of the Britons". The two "Britannias" gave rise to the term Grande Bretagne (Great Britain) to distinguish

6751-466: The Iceni . The Silures were led by Caratacus , and he carried out an effective guerrilla campaign against 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

6908-876: The Late Antiquity ran through the territory of the present-day United Kingdom and France . In the 3rd century, a separate military district, the Litus Saxonicum , was established on the British side of the English Channel between the estuaries of the Wash and the Solent , to repel Saxon pirates and plunderers. The Gallic side of the English Channel and Atlantic coast were included therein. Monitoring and coastal surveillance were carried out by

7065-643: The Menai Strait and massacred the Druids and burnt their sacred groves. While Paulinus was campaigning in Mona , the southeast of Britain rose in revolt under the leadership of Boudica . She was the widow of the recently deceased king of the Iceni, Prasutagus. The Roman historian Tacitus reports that Prasutagus had left a will leaving half his kingdom to Nero in the hope that the remainder would be left untouched. He

7222-786: The Rhine , defended by a chain of camps , that ran from the North Sea (Katwijk-Brittenburg camp) to Vinxtbach (opposite Rheinbrohl fort on the Upper Germanic Limes ), forming the border between the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superior . By contrast with the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes , it was not marked by a solid palisade or wall. Neither can any defensive ditch or rampart be identified. The guards were stationed in nearby castra and watchtowers usually built immediately on

7379-475: The Roman Empire to defend and control the southern borders of the Empire in the Roman province of Africa . It is considered to have many similarities of construction to Hadrian's Wall at the northern border of the Empire in Britain. Generally the Fossatum consists of a ditch and earth embankments on either side using the material from the ditch. Sometimes the embankments are supplemented by dry stone walls on one or both sides; rarely, there are stone walls without

7536-460: The Roman army . The name is a Latinisation of the native Brittonic word for Great Britain, Pretanī , which also produced the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai . In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a spear and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet . When Roman Britain was divided into four provinces in 197 AD, two were called Britannia Superior ( lit.   ' Upper Britain ' ) in

7693-441: The junior emperor Constantius Chlorus launched a second offensive, besieging the rebel port of Gesoriacum ( Boulogne-sur-Mer ) by land and sea. After it fell, Constantius attacked Carausius's other Gallic holdings and Frankish allies and Carausius was usurped by his treasurer, Allectus . Julius Asclepiodotus landed an invasion fleet near Southampton and defeated Allectus in a land battle. As part of Diocletian's reforms ,

7850-402: The limes existed from the 1st to the 5th century AD and guarded part of the Roman province of Noricum . It is on the soil of the present-day Austrian states of Upper and Lower Austria . It ran along the Danube from Passau/ Boiodurum to Zeiselmauer/ Cannabiaca . This is also a ripa (river border), which was guarded by a loose chain of cohort forts. The main road on the Norican Limes

8007-513: The penny coin between 1797 and 1967 , occasional issues such as the fourpence under William IV between 1836 and 1837, and on the 50 pence coin between 1969 and 2008. See "External Links" below for examples of all these coins and others. In the spring of 2008, the Royal Mint unveiled new coin designs "reflecting a more modern twenty-first century Britain" which do not feature the image of Britannia. The government pointed out, however, that earlier-design 50p coins will remain in circulation for

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8164-481: The 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus referred to Pretannia , a rendering of the indigenous name for the Pretani people whom the Greeks believed to inhabit the British Isles . Following the Greek usage, the Romans referred to the Insulae Britannicae in the plural, consisting of Albion (Great Britain), Hibernia (Ireland), Thule (possibly Iceland or Orkney ) and many smaller islands. Over time, Albion specifically came to be known as Britannia , and

8321-471: The 1st to the 5th century AD. Initially the Fosse Way road was a frontier. From the 1st to the 2nd century first the Gask Ridge and then the Stanegate, with their chains of forts and watchtowers, marked the northern boundary of Britannia . Later Hadrian's Wall was built as the frontier and for a short time the Antonine Wall further north. The defence of Hadrian's Wall was achieved through the incorporation of forts and castella . Security and monitoring on

8478-424: The 2021 Britannia bullion coin range. The original 1987 coin design by Philip Nathan was enhanced with new security features. The Royal Mint claims this makes the Britannia "the world's most visually secure bullion coin." The security features include a latent image, micro-text, surface animation and tincture lines. In 2021, the Royal Mint issued a new range of commemorative coins featuring a redesigned Britannia as

8635-435: The 2nd century, the strategic reserve comprised three legions stationed in Bonna / Bonn, Novaesium / Neuss, Vetera / Xanten and Noviomagus / Nijmegen. The control and surveillance of the waters of the North Sea, the Rhine estuary and the Lower Rhine was the responsibility of the Classis Germanica whose headquarters was in Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium /Cologne. Legions, auxilia and fleet units were commanded by

8792-404: The 2nd century, the strategic reserve was formed from three legions stationed in Mogontiacum / Mainz, Argentorate / Strasbourg and Castra Regina /Regensburg. The monitoring of the Upper Rhine was the responsibility of the Classis Germanica ; that of the Rhaetic Danube came under the Classis Pannonia , whose headquarters was in Aquincum /Budapest. Legions and auxilia cohorts were under

8949-430: The 4th century, redesigned and massively strengthened in order to match new strategic requirements. The gaps between the camps were closed by a chain of watchtowers or signal towers. In late Roman times huge inland camps were built and towns in the hinterland were fortified to create a second line of defence. In addition, at vulnerable points, units of the Danube fleet were stationed. In the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius

9106-424: The Britains . A fifth province, Valentia , is attested in the later 4th century. For much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders . The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410; the native kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that. Following

9263-412: The Britannic achievements of an emperor . Roman citizens settled in Britain from many parts of the Empire. Britain was known to the Classical world . The Greeks , the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin in the 4th century BC. The Greeks referred to the Cassiterides , or "tin islands", and placed them near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco

9420-436: The Caledonian side and about 360 on the Roman side. The bloodbath at Mons Graupius concluded the forty-year conquest of Britain, a period that possibly saw between 100,000 and 250,000 Britons killed. In the context of pre-industrial warfare and of a total population of Britain of c.  2 million , these are very high figures. Under the 2nd-century emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius , two walls were built to defend

9577-469: The Caledonians. By 210 Severus had returned to York, and the frontier had once again become Hadrian's Wall. He assumed the title Britannicus but the title meant little with regard to the unconquered north, which clearly remained outside the authority of the Empire. Almost immediately, another northern tribe, the Maeatae, went to war. Caracalla left with a punitive expedition , but by the following year his ailing father had died and he and his brother left

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9734-428: The Catuvellaunian dynasty and planned an invasion of Britain that collapsed in farcical circumstances before it left Gaul. When Claudius successfully invaded in 43 AD, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, Verica of the Atrebates. The invasion force in 43 AD was led by Aulus Plautius , but it is unclear how many legions were sent. The Legio II Augusta , commanded by future emperor Vespasian ,

9891-536: The Danubian provinces . Increasing numbers of hoards of buried coins in Britain at this time indicate that peace was not entirely achieved. Sufficient Roman silver has been found in Scotland to suggest more than ordinary trade, and it is likely that the Romans were reinforcing treaty agreements by paying tribute to their implacable enemies, the Picts . In 175, a large force of Sarmatian cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men, arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded uprisings. In 180, Hadrian's Wall

10048-401: The Empire and had many similarities of construction to Hadrian's Wall . There are similar, but shorter, fossatae in other parts of North Africa. Between the Matmata and Tabaga ranges in modern Tunisia there is a fossatum which was duplicated during World War II. There also appears to be a 20 km fossatum at Bou Regreg , in Morocco , although this would not have been within the scope of

10205-403: The Hadrianic border was briefly extended north to the Forth–Clyde isthmus, where the Antonine Wall was built around 142 following the military reoccupation of the Scottish lowlands by a new governor, Quintus Lollius Urbicus . 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,

10362-454: The Kingdoms of England (and the dominion of Wales), Ireland and Scotland . On 20 October 1604, James VI and I proclaimed himself as "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland", a title that continued to be used by many of his successors. When James came to the English throne, some elaborate pageants were staged. One pageant performed on the streets of London in 1605 was described in Anthony Munday 's Triumphs of Reunited Britannia : On

10519-532: The Long Peace. Even so, the number of buried hoards found from this period rises, suggesting continuing unrest. A string of forts were built along the coast of southern Britain to control piracy; and over the following hundred years they increased in number, becoming the Saxon Shore Forts . During the middle of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire was convulsed by barbarian invasions, rebellions and new imperial pretenders. Britannia apparently avoided these troubles, but increasing inflation had its economic effect. In 259

10676-436: The Rhaetian Limes, a solid stone wall was erected. In its final stages, the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes was about 550 kilometres long and ran from Rheinbrohl , in the county of Neuwied in northern Rhineland-Palatinate, as far as Hienheim on the Danube. Between the villages of Osterburken and Welzheim , the limes ran for 81 kilometres almost in a straight line southwards. In the scholarly literature, this unusual section

10833-604: The Rhine. The limes was served by a well-developed military road. Each camp had its own river port or landing stage and a storage area, because the Rhine not only formed the border but was also the most important transport and trade route in the region. In the first section, between the camps of Rigomagus (Remagen) and Bonna (Bonn), there were only a few camps. In the second, middle, section between Bonna and Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum (Nijmegen), there were considerably more. Here there were also larger legion camps; with one exception, all were cavalry barracks. The landscape of

10990-430: The Roman Empire and called himself "Emperor of the Romans". Official edicts were issued in Latin, which affected the naming of the Empire's frontier as well. 54°59′33″N 2°36′04″W  /  54.9926°N 2.6010°W  / 54.9926; -2.6010 Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of Britannia after the Roman conquest of Britain , consisting of

11147-401: The Roman province from the Caledonians, whose realms in the Scottish Highlands were never controlled. Around 197 AD, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior . During the Diocletian Reforms , at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius , who administered the Diocese of

11304-454: The Roman province of Rhaetia that lay north of the Danube and guarded the eastern border of that part of Germania Superior that lay east of the Rhine. In Upper Germania the border defences initially consisted only of a post road. From about 162/63 AD, the Romans constructed a defensive barrier with watchtowers and signal towers, palisades , ditches and earthworks. On one short section of

11461-520: The Romans moved their troops south, and this rising was suppressed by Governor Gnaeus Julius Verus . Within a year the Antonine Wall was recaptured, but by 163 or 164 it was abandoned. The second occupation was probably connected with Antoninus's undertakings to protect the Votadini or his pride in enlarging the empire, since the retreat to the Hadrianic frontier occurred not long after his death when

11618-570: The Wall and passing through eastern Scotland on a route similar to that used by Agricola. Harried by punishing guerrilla raids by the northern tribes and slowed by an unforgiving terrain, Severus was unable to meet the Caledonians on a battlefield. The emperor's forces pushed north as far as the River Tay , but little appears to have been achieved by the invasion, as peace treaties were signed with

11775-519: The area or even total withdrawal followed by slighting of the forts by the Picts 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

11932-737: The assumption that the early bishoprics mimicked the imperial hierarchy, scholars use the list of bishops for the 314 Council of Arles . The list is patently corrupt: the British delegation is given as including a Bishop "Eborius" of Eboracum and two bishops "from Londinium " (one de civitate Londinensi and the other de civitate colonia Londinensium ). The error is variously emended: Bishop Ussher proposed Colonia , Selden Col. or Colon. Camalodun. , and Spelman Colonia Cameloduni (all various names of Colchester ); Gale and Bingham offered colonia Lindi and Henry Colonia Lindum (both Lincoln ); and Bishop Stillingfleet and Francis Thackeray read it as

12089-541: The barbarians are held back not by rivers but artificial barriers, [Hadrian] shut them out by tall stakes planted deep in the ground and fastened together in the manner of a palisade). Some experts suggested that the Germanic limes may have been called Munimentum Traiani (Trajan's Bulwark) by contemporaries, referring to a passage by Ammianus Marcellinus , according to which emperor Julian had reoccupied this fortification in 360 AD. The frontier in Britain existed from

12246-482: 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

12403-548: The border between Rome and Germania ran mostly along the line of the late antique Danube-Iller-Rhine Limes (DIRL) before the Romans advanced further north into the Agri decumates . Because of troop withdrawals and massive barbarian invasions, the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes were abandoned in the late 3rd century and the Roman forces pulled the border back to the banks of the three rivers. Especially around

12560-505: The borders continued to change with time in different provinces. The borders had different constituents depending on local needs; often they consisted of natural boundaries (e.g. rivers) with roads behind for easier movement of troops between linked forts (e.g. Danubian Limes ), or else roads with linked forts (e.g. Stanegate , Fosse Way ). The remains of the frontiers today consist of vestiges of roads, forts, fortresses, walls and ditches, and associated civilian settlements. The soldiers at

12717-466: The camps of Favianis and Melk , watchtowers were built only sporadically. Here the narrow valley of the Wachau , with its densely forested escarpments, made access to the riverbank more difficult, providing some defensive function. Every camp had its own river port or landing stage and a storage area because the Danube was not only a border zone, but also the most important transport and trade route in

12874-550: The classical national allegory was revived in the early modern period . On coins of the pound sterling issued by Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland , Britannia appears with her shield bearing the Union Flag . To symbolise the Royal Navy 's victories, Britannia's spear became the characteristic trident in 1797, and a helmet was added to the coinage in 1825. By the 1st century BC, Britannia replaced Albion as

13031-537: The coasts in the west and southeast were achieved by forts and by chains of watchtowers or signal towers, both along the coastline. The garrisons, Exercitus Britannicus , consisted mostly of cohorts of auxilia . The strategic reserve comprised three legions based in Eburacum (York), Isca Silurum and Deva . The observation and surveillance of the waters around the British Isles was the responsibility of

13188-551: The coasts, but these preparations were not enough when, in 367, a general assault of Saxons, Picts , Scoti and Attacotti , combined with apparent dissension in the garrison on Hadrian's Wall, left Roman Britain prostrate. The invaders overwhelmed the entire western and northern regions of Britannia and the cities were sacked. This crisis, sometimes called the Barbarian Conspiracy or the Great Conspiracy ,

13345-481: The command of the governor. From the 3rd century the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian border troops ( comitatenses, repenses , and liburnaria ), were commanded by three generals: This limes existed from the 3rd to the 5th centuries AD and guarded the provinces of: It lies on the territory of present-day Germany, Austria , Switzerland and Liechtenstein . As early as the period 15 BC to about 70 AD,

13502-473: The conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture , urban planning , industrial production , and architecture . The Roman goddess Britannia became the female personification of Britain. After the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing. Thus, most present knowledge derives from archaeological investigations and occasional epigraphic evidence lauding

13659-651: The continent. The second invasion involved a substantially larger force and Caesar coerced or invited 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 any tribute was paid after Caesar returned to Gaul. Caesar conquered no territory and left no troops behind, but he established clients and brought Britain into Rome's sphere of influence . Augustus planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable, and

13816-442: The day, and the British governor committed suicide. Severus soon purged Albinus's sympathisers and perhaps confiscated large tracts of land in Britain as punishment. Albinus had demonstrated the major problem posed by Roman Britain. In order to maintain security, the province required the presence of three legions, but command of these forces provided an ideal power base for ambitious rivals. Deploying those legions elsewhere would strip

13973-485: The defences of Hadrian's Wall and the forts beyond it, and Severus's arrival in Britain prompted the enemy tribes to sue for peace immediately. The emperor had not come all that way to leave without a victory, and it is likely that he wished to provide his teenage sons Caracalla and Geta with first-hand experience of controlling a hostile barbarian land. An invasion of Caledonia led by Severus and probably numbering around 20,000 troops moved north in 208 or 209, crossing

14130-502: The east on this section of the limes intensified. The tributaries emptying into the Danube offered cheap transport routes, but also made good approach routes for invaders and raiders. The military camps were therefore built by the most important fords or confluences and road termini. The legion- and auxilia camps were mainly located in the immediate vicinity of the riverbank. The initial wood and earth structures, were systematically converted under Emperor Hadrian into stone barracks and, in

14287-530: The east. Once Niger was neutralised, Severus turned on his ally in Britannia; it is likely that Albinus saw 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. Albinus came close to victory, but Severus's reinforcements won

14444-529: The effects of Boudica's uprising , but the Romans expanded steadily northwards. The conquest of Britain continued under command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola (77–84), who expanded the Roman Empire as far as Caledonia . In mid-84 AD, Agricola faced the armies of the Caledonians , led by Calgacus , at the Battle of Mons Graupius . Battle casualties were estimated by Tacitus to be upwards of 10,000 on

14601-399: The emperorship emerged, including Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus . The latter was the new governor of Britannia, and had seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also controlled three legions, making him a potentially significant claimant. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of Caesar in return for Albinus's support against Pescennius Niger in

14758-494: The final march to the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum ( Colchester ). Vespasian subdued the southwest, Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly king of several territories, and treaties were made with tribes outside direct Roman control. British archaeologist Richard Hingley said that the Roman conquest of Britain , beginning with Julius Caesar 's expeditions and culminating with the construction of Hadrian's Wall ,

14915-597: The first mention is made in Pannonia of stone watchtowers ( burgi , panelled towers and fortlets ( praesidia ). In late antiquity, the Pannonian military district was divided into two parts ( pars inferior and pars superior ). Advance defences were provided by bridgehead camps (e.g. Castra Contra Aquincum or Celemantia ) and military stations on main transport routes in the Barbaricum (e.g. near Musov). At

15072-625: The following years, the Romans conquered more of the island, increasing the size of Roman Britain. Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola , father-in-law to the historian Tacitus , conquered the Ordovices in 78. With the XX Valeria Victrix legion, Agricola defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius , in north-east Scotland. This was the high-water mark of Roman territory in Britain: shortly after his victory, Agricola

15229-521: The force may have landed near Fishbourne, West Sussex . The Catuvellauni and their allies were defeated in two battles: the first, assuming a Richborough landing, on the river Medway , the second on the river 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

15386-473: The foreseeable future. Also Britannia still appeared on the gold and silver " Britannia " bullion coins issued annually by the Royal Mint. A new definitive £2 coin was issued in 2015, with a new image of Britannia. In late 2015, a limited edition (100000 run) £50 coin was produced, bearing the image of Britannia on one side and Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. In October 2020, The Royal Mint released

15543-399: The frontier. He had significant autonomy due in part to the distance from his superiors. The tasks of the vicarius were to control and coordinate the activities of governors; monitor but not interfere with the daily functioning of the Treasury and Crown Estates, which had their own administrative infrastructure; and act as the regional quartermaster-general of the armed forces. In short, as

15700-700: The greatest extent of the Roman Empire, the southern border lay along the deserts of Arabia in the Middle East (see History of the Romans in Arabia ) and the Sahara in North Africa , which represented a natural barrier against expansion. The Empire controlled the Mediterranean shores and the mountain ranges further inland. The Romans attempted twice to occupy the Siwa Oasis and finally used Siwa as

15857-408: The heel of the emperor. She appeared on coins issued under Hadrian , as a more regal-looking female figure. Britannia was soon personified as a goddess, looking fairly similar to the goddess Athena - Minerva - both are seated and replete with helmet, spear (trident) and shield. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a beautiful young woman, wearing a Corinthian helmet , and wrapped in

16014-560: The high value Great Britain definitive postage stamps issued during the reign of George V (known as ' seahorses ') and is depicted on the £10 stamp first issued in 1993. The Britannia watermark has been widely used in papermaking, usually showing her seated. An example can be found at papermoulds.typepad.com Britannia is depicted in the Brit Award statuette, the British Phonographic Industry 's annual music awards. The statuette of Britannia has been regularly redesigned by some of

16171-505: The initial campaigning success was achieved by Quintus Anicius Faustus , the legate of Legio III Augusta . Following his African conquests, the Roman Empire may have reached its greatest extent during the reign of Septimius Severus , under whom the empire encompassed an area of 2 million square miles (5.18 million square kilometers ). Fossatum Africae ("African ditch") is a linear defensive structure ( limes ) that extended over 750 km or more in northern Africa constructed during

16328-549: The island of Britain from the continental peninsula. Following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain , the term "Briton" only referred to the native British , Celtic-speaking inhabitants of the province; this remained the case until the modern era. The use of the term as an inhabitant of the island of Great Britain or the UK is relatively recent. It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that "Britannia" again came to be used as

16485-573: The island of its garrison, leaving the province defenceless against uprisings by the native Celtic tribes and against invasion by the Picts and Scots . The traditional view is that northern Britain descended into anarchy during Albinus's absence. Cassius Dio records that the new Governor, Virius Lupus , was obliged to buy peace from a fractious northern tribe known as the Maeatae . The succession of militarily distinguished governors who were subsequently appointed suggests that enemies of Rome were posing

16642-654: The late 4th and early 5th centuries, the Rhaetian Limes was reorganized and divided into three sections. The northern border of Rhaetia formed the pars superior (upper part), the western border was the pars media (central part) with the fortified town of Cambodunum and bases from Vemania ( Isny im Allgäu ) to Cassilacum ( Memmingen ); the pars inferior (lower part) was the section between Castra Regina ( Regensburg ) and Batavis ( Passau ). The defending troops, Exercitus Germaniae superioris and Exercitus Raeticus , consisted mostly of auxilia cohorts. From

16799-469: The legions and the provinces). Its definitive use for the Danubian border seems to date from about 122 in the time of Hadrian: Per ea tempora et alia frequenter in plurimis locis, in quibus barbari non fluminibus sed limitibus dividuntur, stipitibus magnis in modum muralis saepis funditus iactis atque conexis barbaros separavit (During this period and on many other occasions also, in many regions where

16956-431: The limit along the Rhine and Danube. Around 396 there were more barbarian incursions into Britain. Stilicho led a punitive expedition. It seems peace was restored by 399, and it is likely that no further garrisoning was ordered; by 401 more troops were withdrawn, to assist in the war against Alaric I . Britannia Britannia ( / b r ɪ ˈ t æ n i ə / ) is the national personification of Britain as

17113-446: The local topography. This meant that they could not be built in the classical 'pack of cards' shape. Between them a dense chain of watchtowers and signal towers were constructed to provide an additional security measure ( burgi ). Flotillas of patrol boats were stationed on the large lakes in this region. Comitatenses , ripenses , and liburnaria in this section of the limes were under the command of four generals: This section of

17270-461: The mouth of the River Somme . The units of comitatenses , limitanei and liburnaria in this area came under the command of three generals: This section of limes existed from the 1st to the 5th century AD and ran through the province of Lower Germania ( Germania Inferior ). It lies on the territory of today's Netherlands and Germany . This limes was a river border ( limes ripa ) on

17427-520: The name for the group was subsequently dropped. Although the creation and unification of the province of Britannia is commonly attributed to the emperor Claudius in 43 AD, Julius Caesar had already established Roman authority over the Southern and Eastern Britain dynasties during his two expeditions to the island in 55 and 54 BC. Just as Caesar himself had been an obside , hostage, in Bithynia as

17584-407: The names Britannia I , Britannia II , Maxima Caesariensis , and Flavia Caesariensis ; all of these seem to have initially been directed by a governor ( praeses ) of equestrian rank. The 5th-century sources list a fifth province named Valentia and give its governor and Maxima's a consular rank. Ammianus mentions Valentia as well, describing its creation by Count Theodosius in 369 after

17741-419: The north with its capital at Eboracum (York). Valentia is placed variously in northern Wales around Deva ( Chester ); beside Hadrian's Wall around Luguvalium ( Carlisle ); and between the walls along Dere Street . Emperor Constantius returned to Britain in 306, despite his poor health, with an army aiming to invade northern Britain, the provincial defences having been rebuilt in the preceding years. Little

17898-463: The prevalent Latin name for the island of Great Britain . After the Roman conquest in 43 AD, Britannia came to refer to the Roman province that encompassed the southern two-thirds of the island (see Roman Britain ). The remaining third of the island, known to the Romans as Caledonia , lay north of the River Forth in modern Scotland . It was intermittently but not permanently occupied by

18055-616: The proclamation of the Codex Theodosianus because at that time the province was not in Africa, administratively speaking. In the south of Mauritania Tingitana the frontier in the third century lay just north of Casablanca near Sala and stretched to Volubilis . Septimius Severus expanded the "Limes Tripolitanus" dramatically, even briefly holding a military presence in the Garamantian capital Garama in 203 AD. Much of

18212-408: The province to press their claim to the throne. As one of his last acts, Severus tried to solve the problem of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the province into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior . This kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century. Historical sources provide little information on the following decades, a period known as

18369-466: The provinces of Roman Britain were organized as a diocese governed by a vicarius under a praetorian prefect who, from 318 to 331, was Junius Bassus who was based at Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ). The vicarius was based at Londinium as the principal city of the diocese. Londinium and Eboracum continued as provincial capitals and the territory was divided up into smaller provinces for administrative efficiency. Civilian and military authority of

18526-471: The quelling of the Great Conspiracy . Ammianus considered it a re-creation of a formerly lost province, leading some to think there had been an earlier fifth province under another name (may be the enigmatic "Vespasiana"? ), and leading others to place Valentia beyond Hadrian's Wall , in the territory abandoned south of the Antonine Wall . Reconstructions of the provinces and provincial capitals during this period partially rely on ecclesiastical records. On

18683-400: 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 Paulinus regrouped with two of the three legions still available to him, chose a battlefield, and, despite being outnumbered by more than twenty to one, defeated the rebels in

18840-471: The region. Over time civilian settlements or vici were established immediately next to the camps. In the immediate hinterland of the limes , walled towns or municipia were founded – for example, Aelium Cetium or Ovilava (Wels). They were the administrative or commercial centres of the region. In late antiquity, the Norican area was divided into two parts ( pars inferior and pars superior ). It

18997-582: The relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo , writing late in Augustus's reign, claimed that taxes on trade brought in more annual revenue than any conquest could. Archaeology shows that there was an increase in imported luxury goods in southeastern Britain. Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus, and Augustus's own Res Gestae refers to two British kings he received as refugees. When some of Tiberius 's ships were carried to Britain in

19154-457: The respective governors. In late antiquity – according to Notitia Dignitatum – four newly established flotillas undertook this task. From the 3rd century, the Norian comitatenses , ripenses and liburnari were under the command of two generals: This stretch of limes was in use from the 1st to the 5th centuries AD and helped to guard the provinces of: The Pannonian Limes is situated on

19311-493: The respective provincial governor. From the 3rd century the ripenses (river guards), comitatenses , and liburnaria were under the command of the Dux Belgicae secundae . This limes existed from the 1st to 5th centuries AD and guarded the provinces of: It lay on the territory of the present German states of Rhineland-Palatinate , Hesse , Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria . To the north, it bordered those parts of

19468-551: The sea into Britain, for to all other Celtic tribes this land was unknown. He received tribute, installed the friendly king Mandubracius over the Trinovantes , and returned to Gaul . Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34, 27, and 25 BC. In 40 AD, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel on the continent, only to have them gather seashells ( musculi ) according to Suetonius , perhaps as

19625-490: The seat of the diocesan vicarius ; places Prima in the west according to Gerald's traditional account but moves its capital to Corinium of the Dobunni ( Cirencester ) on the basis of an artifact recovered there referring to Lucius Septimius, a provincial rector ; places Flavia north of Maxima, with its capital placed at Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln ) to match one emendation of the bishops list from Arles; and places Secunda in

19782-441: The sole civilian official with superior authority, he had general oversight of the administration, as well as direct control, while not absolute, over governors who were part of the prefecture; the other two fiscal departments were not. The early-4th-century Verona List , the late-4th-century work of Sextus Rufus , and the early-5th-century List of Offices and work of Polemius Silvius all list four provinces by some variation of

19939-513: The south and Britannia Inferior ( lit.   ' Lower Britain ' ) to the north. The name Britannia long survived the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century and yielded the name for the island in most European and various other languages, including the English Britain and the modern Welsh Prydain . In the 9th century the associated terms Bretwalda and Brytenwealda were applied to some Anglo-Saxon kings to assert

20096-484: The starting point of his march to the imperial throne, unlike the earlier usurper, Albinus. In the middle of the century, the province was loyal for a few years to the usurper Magnentius , who succeeded Constans following the latter's death. After the defeat and death of Magnentius in the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353, Constantius II dispatched his chief imperial notary Paulus Catena to Britain to hunt down Magnentius's supporters. The investigation deteriorated into

20253-485: The term Cool Britannia (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song " Rule Britannia ", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem ), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and style magazines, successful young fashion designers, and

20410-597: The term "Britannia" remained in use in Britain and abroad. Latin was ubiquitous amongst native Brythonic writers and the term continued in the Welsh tradition that developed from it. Writing with variations on the term Britannia (or Prydein in the native language) appeared in many Welsh works such as the Historia Britonum , Armes Prydein and the 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae , which gained unprecedented popularity throughout western Europe during

20567-487: The territory of present-day Austria, Slovakia and Hungary . Although this section of the frontier was relatively well protected by the Danube river border or Ripa , the Roman military presence here was always exceptionally strong (three military camps in Pannonia, but only one in Lower Pannonia) because especially after the abandonment of Roman Dacia in the late 3rd century, the pressure of migrant peoples from

20724-462: The third section between Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum and Mare Germanicum (the North Sea) was characterised by numerous small streams and boggy marshland. Consequently, in this area there was only one cavalry camp. Border security here consisted mainly of tightly packed, relatively small cohort forts. The occupying troops, Exercitus Germaniae Inferioris , consisted mostly of auxilia cohorts. From

20881-473: The threshold ties together the doorway. W. Gebert also wrote an article discussing the term. The first use of the term limes as meaning "land border" appears for the first time in 98 AD by Tacitus : ...nec iam de limite imperii et ripa, sed de hibernis legionum et de possessione dubitatum (...not only were the frontier of the empire and the banks [of the Danube] in danger but also the winter-quarters of

21038-493: The time of Queen Victoria , Britannia had been renewed. Still depicted as a young woman with brown or golden hair, she kept her Corinthian helmet and her white robes, but now she held Neptune's trident and often sat or stood before the ocean and tall-masted ships representing British naval power. She also usually held or stood beside a Greek hoplite shield, which sported the British Union Flag : also at her feet

21195-525: The tribes of the Picts : several Roman forts were destroyed by fire, with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium (at modern Newstead , in SE Scotland) indicating hostilities at least at that site. There is also circumstantial evidence that auxiliary reinforcements were sent from Germany, and an unnamed British war of the period is mentioned on the gravestone of a tribune of Cyrene . Trajan's Dacian Wars may have led to troop reductions in

21352-591: The turn of the 20th century and still features in the New Zealand Coat of Arms . Perhaps the best analogy is that Britannia is to the United Kingdom and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s

21509-473: 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 in this period, triggering raids and settlement in north Wales by the Irish. His rule was ended in 388, but not all the British troops may have returned: the Empire's military resources were stretched to

21666-416: The whole of the boundary marked by Hadrian's Wall lies within modern-day Northern England . A southern part of what is now Scotland was occupied by the Romans for about 20 years in the mid-2nd century AD, keeping in place the Picts to the north of the Antonine Wall . People living in the Roman province of Britannia were called Britanni , or Britons . Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti , was never invaded and

21823-467: The writing tablets from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland , mostly dating to 90–110. These tablets provide evidence for the operation of a Roman fort at the edge of the Roman Empire, where officers' wives maintained polite society while merchants, hauliers and military personnel kept the fort operational and supplied. Around 105 there appears to have been a serious setback at the hands of

21980-802: The year 300, the Emperor Diocletian had new fortifications built directly on the river banks or on major roads in the hinterland here. Around 370 AD, the line of fortifications was considerably strengthened under the Emperor Valentinian I to counter the Alemanni , who were steadily advancing southwards. By contrast with the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, the DIRL primarily fulfilled defensive purposes; its camps had much stronger and higher walls than their High Imperial predecessors. Furthermore, they had in most cases been built to conform to

22137-463: Was a drawn-out process rather than an inevitable or swift victory. 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

22294-433: Was breached by the Picts and the commanding officer or governor was killed there in what Cassius Dio 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's strictness, they tried to elect a legate named Priscus as usurper governor; he refused, but Marcellus

22451-448: Was called Hibernia . Thule , an island "six days' sail north of Britain, and [...] near the frozen sea", possibly Iceland , was also never invaded by the Romans. Claudius paid a visit while Britain was being conquered and was honoured with the agnomen Britannicus as if he were the conqueror; a frieze discovered at Aphrodisias in 1980 shows a bare breasted and helmeted female warrior labelled BRITANNIA , writhing in agony under

22608-477: Was crushed by Marcus Aurelius Probus . Soon afterwards, an unnamed governor of one of the British provinces also attempted an uprising. Probus put it down by sending irregular troops of Vandals and Burgundians across the Channel. The Carausian Revolt led to a short-lived Britannic Empire from 286 to 296. Carausius was a Menapian naval commander of the Britannic fleet ; he revolted upon learning of

22765-437: 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. Frontinus extended Roman rule to all of South Wales , and initiated exploitation of the mineral resources, such as the gold mines at Dolaucothi . In

22922-482: 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 Perennis , a Praetorian prefect who 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 Perennis killed, but this only made them feel more secure in their mutiny. The future emperor Pertinax (lived 126–193)

23079-490: Was more a reconnaissance than a full invasion and gained a foothold on the coast of Kent but was unable to advance further because of storm damage to the ships and a lack of cavalry. Despite the military failure, it was a political success, with the Roman Senate declaring a 20-day public holiday in Rome to honour the unprecedented achievement of obtaining hostages from Britain and defeating Belgic tribes on returning to

23236-751: Was often the British Lion, an animal found on the arms of England, Scotland and the Prince of Wales. Neptune is shown symbolically passing his trident to Britannia in the 1847 fresco "Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea" by William Dyce , a painting Victoria commissioned for her Osborne House on the Isle of Wight . New Zealanders adopted a similar personification of their country in Zealandia , Britannia's daughter, who appeared on postage stamps at

23393-420: Was on the farthing in 1672, though earlier pattern versions had appeared in 1665, followed by the halfpenny later the same year. The figure of Britannia was said by Samuel Pepys to have been modelled on Frances Teresa Stuart, the future Duchess of Richmond , who was famous at the time for refusing to become the mistress of Charles II, despite the King's strong infatuation with her. Britannia then appeared on

23550-461: Was recalled from Britain back to Rome and awarded the ornaments of a triumph, before returning to continue as governor. By 87 the decision was taken to abandon most of the land north of the Cheviot Hills allowing for troops to be moved to other frontiers which were under pressure. Tacitus reports Agricola as feeling bitter about this turn of events. For much of the history of Roman Britain,

23707-415: Was sent to Britannia to quell the mutiny and was initially successful in regaining control, but a riot broke out among the troops. Pertinax was attacked and left for dead, and asked to be recalled to Rome, where he briefly succeeded Commodus as emperor in 192. 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

23864-417: Was settled by Count Theodosius from 368 with a string of military and civil reforms. Theodosius crossed from Bononia ( Boulogne-sur-Mer ) and marched on Londinium where he began to deal with the invaders and made his base. An amnesty was promised to deserters which enabled Theodosius to regarrison abandoned forts. By the end of the year Hadrian's Wall was retaken and order returned. Considerable reorganization

24021-489: Was the via iuxta amnem Danuvium . The initially simple wood and earth structures were systematically converted under Emperor Hadrian into stone encampments. During the 4th century, they were brought once more up to date and massively reinforced. Between the camps, in strategic places or good points of observation, were watchtowers or signal towers and, in the Late Antiquity, burgi . In the middle section, between

24178-653: Was the frontier of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea , facing the desert. It runs from the Gulf of Aqaba to northern Syria, for about 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) at its greatest extent The Limes Saxoniae in Holstein was established in 810 AD, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . Charlemagne considered his empire (later called the Carolingian Empire ) as the true successor to

24335-703: Was the only one directly attested to have taken part. The Legio IX Hispana , the XIV Gemina (later styled Martia Victrix ) and the XX (later styled Valeria Victrix ) are known to have served during the Boudican revolt of 60/61, and were probably there since the initial invasion. This is not certain because the Roman army was flexible, with units being moved around whenever necessary. The IX Hispana may have been permanently stationed, with records showing it at Eboracum ( York ) in 71 and on

24492-426: Was undertaken in Britain, including the creation of a new province named Valentia, probably to better address the state of the far north. A new Dux Britanniarum was appointed, Dulcitius, with Civilis to head a new civilian administration. Another imperial usurper, Magnus Maximus , raised the standard of revolt at Segontium ( Caernarfon ) in north Wales in 383, and crossed the English Channel . Maximus held much of

24649-491: Was wrong. When his will was enforced, Rome responded by violently seizing the tribe's lands in full. Boudica protested. In consequence, Rome punished her and her daughters by flogging and rape. In response, the Iceni, joined by the Trinovantes , destroyed the Roman colony at Camulodunum ( Colchester ) and routed the part of the IXth Legion that was sent to relieve it. Paulinus rode to London (then called Londinium ),

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