The end of Roman rule in Britain occurred as the military forces of Roman Britain withdrew to defend or seize the Western Roman Empire 's continental core, leaving behind an autonomous post-Roman Britain . In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew troops from northern and western Britain, probably leaving local warlords in charge. In 407, the usurper Constantine III took the remaining mobile Roman soldiers to Gaul in response to the crossing of the Rhine , and external attacks surged. The Romano-British deposed Roman officials around 410 and government largely reverted to the city level. That year Emperor Honorius refused an appeal from Britain for military assistance. The following decades saw the collapse of urban life and the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement.
41-812: The Afon Tarell is a river in Powys , Wales , which rises to the west of the Brecon Beacons in Brecon Beacons National Park and flows north, then north-east, for 12 miles (20 km) into the River Usk . The river is followed for its entire length through Glyn Tarell (the Tarell valley) by the A470 road, passing by the hamlets of Libanus and Tai'r Bull and entering the Usk at Llanfaes on
82-549: A commander who would lead them in securing their future but their first two choices, Marcus and Gratian , did not meet their expectations and were killed. Their third choice was the soldier Constantine III . In 407, Constantine took charge of the remaining troops in Britain, led them across the Channel into Gaul, rallied support there, and attempted to set himself up as Western Roman Emperor. Honorius' loyalist forces south of
123-705: A further 54 enclosures and settlement sites. Powys is served by the Cambrian Line and Heart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such as Swansea , Wrexham , Shrewsbury , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Manchester , Cardiff , Aberystwyth , London and Telford . The county used to be served by key railways such as the Mid-Wales Railway , Oswestry and Newtown Railway , Tanat Valley Light Railway , Llanfyllin Branch , Leominster and Kington Railway , Swansea Vale Railway and
164-510: A more provocative theory to explain the expulsion of officials and appeal for Roman aid. He suggested that a revolt consisting of dissident peasants, not unlike the Bagaudae of Gaul, also existing in Britain, and when they revolted and expelled the Roman officials, the landowning class then made an appeal for Roman aid. There is no direct textual statement of this, though it might be plausible if
205-489: A population of 133,891 in 2022. After Newtown (11,362), the most populous settlements are Ystradgynlais (8,270), Brecon (8,254), and Llandrindod Wells (5,602). The county is entirely rural, and characterised by multiple market towns and villages. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of the population. The county is predominantly hilly and mountainous. To the west lie the Cambrian Mountains , where
246-496: A rival emperor, Attalus . Emperor Honorius , amid his battle to regain Italy, sent a rescript to British communities in 410 telling them to look to their own defence. Zosimus makes passing mention of this rescript while describing the reconquest of cities loyal to Attalus, and says nothing further about Britain. Historian Christopher Snyder wrote that protocol dictated that Honorius address his correspondence to imperial officials, and
287-542: Is a " semé of black lozenges " for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county. The county motto is: Powys – the paradise of Wales ( Welsh : Powys Paradwys Cymru ). On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties of Montgomery , Radnor , and Brecknock were districts within it. On 1 April 1996,
328-772: Is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area ( Dyfed was until 1996 before several former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd , Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough ; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire ; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire ; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf , Merthyr Tydfil County Borough , Caerphilly County Borough , Blaenau Gwent , Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot . The largest towns are Newtown , Ystradgynlais , Brecon , Welshpool , Llandrindod Wells and Knighton . Powys has
369-650: Is the last date for any evidence of a Roman presence in the north and west of Britain, perhaps excepting troop assignments at the tower on Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey and at western coastal posts such as Lancaster . These outposts may have lasted into the 390s, but they were a very minor presence. Coins dated later than 383 have been excavated along Hadrian's Wall , suggesting that troops were not stripped from it, as once thought or, if they were, they were quickly returned as soon as Maximus had won his victory in Gaul. In
410-670: Is the region northwest of Welshpool. The county is named after the Kingdom of Powys , which was a Welsh successor state , petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain . Powys covers the same area as the historic counties of Montgomeryshire , Radnorshire , and Brecknockshire . Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire , most of Brecknockshire , and part of historic Denbighshire . With an area of about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km ), it
451-531: The De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae , written c. 540, Gildas attributed an exodus of troops and senior administrators from Britain to Maximus, saying that he left not only with all of its troops, but also with all of its armed bands, governors, and the flower of its youth, never to return. Raids by Saxons , Picts , and the Scoti of Ireland had been ongoing in the late 4th century, but these increased in
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#1732780463064492-611: The Alps were preoccupied with fending off the Visigoths and were unable to put down the rebellion swiftly, giving Constantine the opportunity to extend his new empire to include Hispania . In 409, Constantine's control of his empire fell apart. Part of his military forces were in Hispania, making them unavailable for action in Gaul, and some of those in Gaul were swayed against him by loyalist Roman generals. The Germans living west of
533-682: The Battle of the Save (in modern Croatia ) and at the Battle of Poetovio (at Ptuj in modern Slovenia ). He was then executed by Theodosius. With Maximus's death, Britain came back under the rule of Emperor Theodosius I until 392, when the usurper Eugenius made a bid for imperial power in the Western Roman Empire until 394 when he was defeated and killed by Theodosius. When Theodosius died in 395, his 10-year-old son Honorius succeeded him as Western Roman Emperor. The real power behind
574-563: The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway , all of which offered connections to South Wales , Hereford , Oswestry , North Wales and West Wales but have all since closed. The gold in the county coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and the Black Mountains . The fountain is a medieval heraldic charge displayed as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both
615-532: The Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire . The Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The present lord lieutenant is Shân Legge-Bourke of Crickhowell . From 2024, Powys would be in the UK parliament constituencies of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr , both of which extend out of the county. In December 2007, Powys
656-567: The River Severn and River Wye both have their source on the Powys side of the Plynlimon massif; together with their tributaries they drain most of the county. The southern quarter of the county is occupied by the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) national park, and further north are two more upland areas, Mynydd Epynt and Radnor Forest . The only extensive area of flat land in Powys
697-432: The water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry. The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown , which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a red kite , a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird
738-514: The Rhine , possibly when it was frozen over, and began widespread devastation. As there was no effective Roman response, the remaining Roman military in Britain feared that a Germanic crossing of the Channel into Britain was next, and dispensed with imperial authority – an action perhaps made easier by the high probability that the troops had not been paid for some time. Their intent was to choose
779-718: The Rhine River rose against him, perhaps encouraged by Roman loyalists, and those living east of the river crossed into Gaul. Britain, now without any troops for protection and having suffered particularly severe Saxon raids in 408 and 409, viewed the situation in Gaul with renewed alarm. Perhaps feeling they had no hope of relief under Constantine, both the Romano-Britons and some of the Gauls expelled Constantine's magistrates in 409 or 410. The Byzantine historian Zosimus (fl. 490s – 510s) directly blamed Constantine for
820-670: The Roman officials and took charge of their own affairs. Some historians suggest that the rescript of Honorius refers to the cities of the Bruttii (present-day Calabria ), rather than to the cities of the Britons. The reference in Zosimus's history to the Britons is in a passage describing events in northern Italy, and Britannia may have been a copying error for Brettia . This reading of Zosimus has been criticized as arbitrary and speculative, and has its own inconsistencies. Bruttium
861-637: The Scoti and Saxons at the same time, but either way this would be the last Roman campaign in Britain of which there is any record. In 401 or 402 Stilicho faced wars with the Visigothic king Alaric and the Ostrogothic king Radagaisus . Needing military manpower, he stripped Hadrian's Wall of troops for the final time. The year 402 is the last date of any Roman coinage found in large numbers in Britain, suggesting either that Stilicho also stripped
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#1732780463064902-503: The Usk and its other tributaries, is designated as a special area of conservation for its three species of lamprey , twaite shad , European bullhead , Atlantic salmon and otter . Download coordinates as: Powys Powys ( / ˈ p oʊ ɪ s , ˈ p aʊ ɪ s / POH -iss, POW -iss , Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs] ) is a county and preserved county in Wales . It borders Gwynedd , Denbighshire , and Wrexham to
943-576: The ancient Welsh Kingdom of Powys , which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd during the 1260s. The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across
984-600: The area. There are 1130 identified burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to the Bronze Age . Of these, 339 are scheduled monuments . Standing stones , most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From the Iron Age , the county has 90 scheduled hillforts and
1025-531: The beleaguered provinces. Figures such as Coel Hen were said to be placed into key positions to protect the island in Maximus's absence. As such claims were designed to buttress Welsh genealogy and land claims, they should be viewed with some scepticism. In 388, Maximus led his army across the Alps into Italy in an attempt to usurp Theodosius as emperor. The effort failed when he was defeated in Pannonia at
1066-521: The definition of 'bagaudae' is changed to fit the circumstances. There is no need to do so, as any number of rational scenarios already fit the circumstances. There is the possibility that some form of bagaudae existed in Britain, but were not necessarily relevant to the events of 409 and 410. The alleged ubiquity of Pelagianism amongst the British population may have contributed to such a movement if it had existed, not to mention large-scale purges amongst
1107-453: The districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a unitary authority . There was a minor border adjustment in the northeast—specifically, the addition of the communities of Llansilin and Llangedwyn from Glyndŵr district in Clwyd —and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included. The first Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously
1148-407: The evidence in fact supports later Roman involvement in Britain, post 410. Regarding the events of 409 and 410 when the Romano-Britons expelled Roman officials and sent a request for aid to Honorius, Michael Jones ( The End of Roman Britain , 1998) offered a different chronology to the same end result: he suggested that the Britons first appealed to Rome and when no help was forthcoming, they expelled
1189-569: The expulsion, saying that he had allowed the Saxons to raid, and that the Britons and Gauls were reduced to such straits that they revolted from the Roman Empire, 'rejected Roman law, reverted to their native customs, and armed themselves to ensure their own safety'. The Visigoths, led by Alaric , launched an invasion of Italy in 407, culminating in a sack of Rome and the installation of
1230-401: The fact that he did not implies that the cities of Britain were then the highest Roman authority remaining on the island. At the time that the rescript was sent, Honorius had effectively lost Gaul and Spain, and was fortunate to have recovered Italy. He was in no position to offer relief to Britain. As for Constantine III, he was not equal to the intrigues of imperial Rome and by 411 his cause
1271-460: The industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, the language survived into the 20th century west of Rhayader with a few native speakers from Nantmel parish surviving into the 20th century too. The 2021 census recorded that 16.4% of the population were able to speak the Welsh language, a decline from 18.6% in 2011 and 21% in 2001 . The county is named after
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1312-516: The lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow. Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth , Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and
1353-545: The north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire , Blaenau Gwent , Merthyr Tydfil , Caerphilly , Rhondda Cynon Taf , and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown , and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells . Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and
1394-428: The passage of time. Michael Jones ( The End of Roman Britain , 1998) took the opposite view, saying that it was Britain that left Rome, arguing that numerous usurpers based in Britain combined with poor administration caused the Romano-Britons to revolt. Certain scholars such as J. B. Bury ("The Notitia Dignitatum " 1920) and German historian Ralf Scharf, disagreed entirely with the standard chronology. They argued that
1435-673: The remaining troops from Britain, or that the Empire could no longer afford to pay the troops who were still there. Meanwhile, the Picts, Saxons and Scoti continued their raids, which may have increased in scope. In 405, for example, Niall of the Nine Hostages is described as having raided along the southern coast of Britain. On the last day of December 406 (or, perhaps, 405 ), the Alans , Vandals , and Suebi living east of Gaul crossed
1476-431: The southern edge of Brecon . The most significant tributary of the river is Nant Cwm Llwch, which enters the Tarell on its right bank between Tai'r Bull and Llanfaes. This secondary river emerges from the glacial lake of Llyn Cwm Llwch beneath Pen y Fan . The name may have its origins in the old Welsh language words tarddu , "to bubble out", and tarddell , "a spring or source". The Afon Tarell, in common with
1517-399: The throne, however, was Stilicho , the son-in-law of Theodosius' brother and the father-in-law of Honorius. Britain was suffering raids by the Scoti, Saxons, and Picts and, sometime between 396 and 398, Stilicho allegedly ordered a campaign against the Picts, likely a naval campaign intended to end their seaborne raids on the east coast of Britain. He may also have ordered campaigns against
1558-495: The years after 383. There were also large-scale permanent Irish settlements made along the coasts of Wales under circumstances that remain unclear. Maximus campaigned in Britain against both the Picts and Scoti, with historians differing on whether this was in the year 382 or 384 (i.e., whether the campaign was before or after he became Caesar). Welsh legend relates that before launching his usurpation, Maximus made preparations for an altered governmental and defence framework for
1599-549: Was awarded Fair Trade County status by The Fairtrade Foundation . End of Roman rule in Britain In 383, the Roman general then assigned to Britain, Magnus Maximus , launched his successful bid for imperial power, crossing to Gaul with his troops. He killed the Western Roman Emperor Gratian and ruled Gaul and Britain as Caesar (i.e., as a "sub-emperor" under Theodosius I ). 383
1640-485: Was not in northern Italy either, and it would normally have a governor for Honorius to correspond with instead of city leaders. The theory also contradicts the account of Gildas , who provides independent support that the reference is to Britain by repeating the essence of Zosimus's account and clearly applying it to Britain. E. A. Thompson ("Britain, A.D. 406–410", in Britannia , 8 (1977), pp. 303–318) offered
1681-527: Was spent. His son was killed along with those major supporters who had not turned against him, and he himself was assassinated. There are various interpretations that characterise the events in a way that supports a particular thesis without taking issue with the basic chronology. The historian Theodor Mommsen ( Britain , 1885) said that "It was not Britain that gave up Rome, but Rome that gave up Britain ...", arguing that Roman needs and priorities lay elsewhere. His position has retained scholarly support over