The Entire History of Roman Britain (55 BC - 410 AD) // Ancient Rome Documentary

in 43 a.d a great army descended upon the shores of britain the strongest ever yet seen in this part of the globe tens of thousands of highly organized fighting men from all corners of the known world come to put an end to the independence of this obscure island once and for all of course the landing was not unopposed contemporary writing talks of rows of determined celtic warriors lining the white cliffs overlooking the landing craft hurling challenges and insults their seabourn foe though distant perched on the very edge of the world in fact the islands didn't exist in a vacuum and murmurings of this great mustering across the channel that arrived long before their sails were sighted of british shores giving the britons time enough to amass a great army of their own to meet the invaders head on however the enemy they were about to face was unlike any they'd encountered before for this was the imperial roman army their countrymen had been here before nearly a century earlier and other aborted invasion attempts followed but this invasion led by the emperor claudius was very real the romans were now here to stay [Music] as column after column of well-disciplined professional soldiers landed on the shores of this obscure remote land little did either side know that their clash would force this region into the wider world bringing it definitively out of the iron age and into a literate city-dwelling society beginning one of the most famous epochs in all of its history this is the entire history of roman britain an epic story spanning more than 500 years the reverberations and still visible remnants of which can still be seen today more than fifteen hundred years later hello and welcome to history time as always i'm your host pete kelly this video was written and researched by eric tenwold he runs a great instagram page called roman military history go check it out here for all things rome shortly we'll return to the roman world but first a quick word from our sponsor this video is sponsored by a long time supporter of the channel and one of my favorite streaming services on the web [Music] magellan tv for just a small monthly fee you can find thousands of documentaries on any subject you can think of history geography science culture and much much more all streamed directly to your phone your tablet and your smart tv my current recommendation and one which i think all you rome fans out there will love is the fascinating hidden history of rome and there's lots of shows on other aspects of ancient rome and ancient history too now i've teamed up with magellan tv to offer you an exclusive free trial head on over to tri dot magellan tv forward slash history time or click on my link in the description below now back to the ancient world [Music] today the history of the roman invasion and occupation of britain is relatively well known a vast plethora of written sources and archaeological evidence offering up an incredible array of information archaeological sites written histories inscriptions letters even but what can be said of the island before a prehistoric world of warrior chieftains and woodland spirits a land of cattle rustling warbands colossal hill forts ruled over by landed aristocrats intricate metal work bardic storytelling but unfortunately for us no literary tradition to speak of as search very little can be definitively said of british society in prehistoric times not even the languages they spoke we can however say a few things for certain from around the end of the second millennium bc through a series of migrations from mainland europe britain was drawn into the orbit of the celtic world bringing with them the latest cultural and military developments today we categorize these continent-spanning archaeological cultures as the halstadt and latin named for the earliest sites associated with them by the time the romans first arrived in britain in the mid 1st century bc the latin culture had largely overlaid previous ones this is not to say that any sort of shared identity existed amongst the various peoples of europe divided as they were into a multitude of nations and tribes despite their shared celtic ancestry and probable shared religion the britons were by no means a unified people rather they were divided into several tribal kingdoms dispersed across various regions dominated by warrior aristocracies usually each one led by a ruling monarch or family of monarchs by the time of the emperor claudius's invasion in 43 a.d the southern continent-facing tribes had a long history of trade contacts with mainland europe especially in gaul recently conquered by rome british society was an agricultural one its people mostly residing in villages made up of the iron age roundhouses typical of this part of the world however much larger settlements and hill forts existed too proto cities known as opida in latin scattered all across the island like their cousins elsewhere in the ancient world the british celts were talented artists and metal workers also having a fairly sophisticated industry the southern tribes notably minting their own coins prior to the invasion like the romans british religion was polytheistic today we know the names of more than 200 of their gods [Music] though this may well reflect regional variants or names given to the same god or goddess by different regions something that the romans and greeks also practiced [Music] and of course britain was particularly significant for celtic religion for according to the romans this was the birthplace of the druids a senior priestly class whose practices are known to have included the sacrifice of humans a religion which so horrified the usually religiously tolerant romans that it would be outlawed on pain of death archaeology suggests british society to have been highly martial in nature a landscape coated in hill forts battles waged by chariot riding aristocrats leading warrior bands to war though their main strength was in their infantry mostly unarmored and armed mainly with spears swords and shields sometimes charging into battle entirely naked to demonstrate their valor the britons also made use of good quality cavalrymen the usage of war chariots was also widespread not just as a symbol of power but for actual battle a relic of the past in much of the rest of the world by the time rome reached these shores these expensive pieces of equipment were a special reserve of a tribe's aristocracy the only people who could realistically afford to maintain them though chariots had long since fallen into disuse elsewhere in ancient britain and ireland the tribes continued to field large numbers of them for several more centuries it's even been theorized that many of the british hill forts were only occupied in wartime utilized as springboards for chariot operations [Music] soon enough however this iron age world would clash with modernity [Music] prior to their first great expedition to the island the roman world seems to have had very little knowledge of britain a realm of myth and legend yet for many historians the first roman expeditions here in fact amounted to little more than one individual's quest for glory and fame [Music] when gaius julius caesar a consul of rome arrived off the british coast in 55 bc he entered a land of inter-tribal warfare complex dynastic allegiances and massive pitched battles but this of course he was an expert at caesar was a member of the old patrician family of the julia cesares who proudly claimed descent from the goddess venus [Music] but had never been especially distinguished in roman politics [Music] caesar however attracted widespread attention starting from the dictatorship of sulla going on to enjoy a successful career in politics and a decent track record in the army in 58 bc he was able to attain a major command and began campaigning in gaul bringing more and more of the region under roman control in a series of stunning victories before turning his gaze to britain as a pretext for his invasion caesar claimed that the britons represented a military danger to roman interests and even that they had supported the gauls during his war against them in societies like celtic britain it was indeed normal for individual warriors to seek employment elsewhere heading out to neighbouring tribes to seek glory and pay in the warrior retinues of lords and the discovery of gallo belgic coins in britain does suggest that british mercenaries were indeed hired during caesar's campaigns to fight against him by the gauls [Music] but even with this factor the claim of a british threat was ultimately a convenient pretext and there were other more personal reasons that drew caesar to the remote island for rumors also existed of britain being an extremely wealthy land which offered the prospect of another lucrative campaign caesar was particularly convinced falsely as it turned out that britain was a source of especially high quality pearls however we do know that britain was an especially significant source of tin in ancient times as well as other precious metals in addition there was a special kind of glory to be gained as the first roman to lead an army into unexplored territory the romans knew very little of britain leading to wild rumors of savage tribesmen strange customs monsters and demons and being able to attain mastery over this untamed corner of the world was especially tempting for a man like caesar caesar had been distracted by affairs in gaul for some time mopping up resistance and dividing up the spoils of his conquests so his planned british expedition began late in the summer as such it could have been little more than a reconnaissance in force or a raid as he expected to be able to return to gaul for the winter for better or for worse caesar embarked his now veteran 7th and 10th legions along with a force of cavalry and prepared to launch his attack however he had underestimated the unpredictability and strength of the local tides especially in the english channel due to the weather the cavalry transports were unable to follow up the initial invasion and the landing of the legions was ragged and chaotic as britonic warriors immediately attacked them at the beaches continually running forth from the tree line to hurl challenges and javelins at the approaching foreign foe as caesar's soldiers determinedly continued to set up their forward command base the fighting was bitter but eventually the romans were able to force a landing and hold a beach head caesar's prowess in battle was also enough to overrule the local tribes into submission however the britons soon decided to renew the war after more roman transports arriving from gaul were swept aside or damaged in a storm [Music] continuing to throw soldiers onto the stranded roman army but this wasn't the first time caesar had been hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded by foes and once again he was able to defeat the britons finally forcing them into a pitched battle where the superior training discipline and equipment of the roman army soon prevailed [Music] with this victory caesar brought his campaign to a close returning to gaul after making peace with many of the british leaders however the campaign had been closely fought and very nearly turned into a total disaster not the overwhelming victory caesar had hoped for taking no chances the next year he returned to britain with a far stronger army this time consisting of five legions again including the seventh and the tenth supported by auxiliary cavalrymen from gaul under his friend and client king commus who interestingly was able to raise further pro-roman troops from inside britain the force traveled on a colossal fleet of 28 warships and 600 troop transports the landing was once again problematic due to the mediterranean romans underestimating the strength of the tides of the north sea but eventually caesar was able to disembark his whole force and anchor his fleet in good order he then led a large part of the army inland where he defeated a coalition of tribes that tried to oppose him probably near the stour river however storms once again caused damage to the roman fleet forcing caesar to halt his advance and urgently begin repairs which gave the britons time to recover this time they were also united by a charismatic war leader named cassia valenus who made use of the britain's numerous cavalry and chariots to harass and ambush several roman foraging parties picking them off one by one using a strategy of guerrilla warfare yet once again caesar was able to turn the tables on the britons by supporting an exiled nobleman from the trinivantis in regaining his throne whose father had been murdered by cassie of elena's this policy of divide and rule utilized so effectively in gaul soon encouraged others to switch sides to the romans and caesar soon delivered a crushing blow to cassio valenus's prestige by taking his personal stronghold ultimately causing british resistance to falter the war was over for now [Music] when caesar left britain he was able to establish a client relationship with many of the defeated tribes of the south [Music] and his campaigns proved to be a huge propaganda success in rome however in practical terms the invasion had achieved little and it's likely that the annual tribute promised by the britons was soon halted in a curious byproduct of the invasion caesar's belgic cavalry commander commus a king of the atrobates soon seized his chance to rise up against roman rule alongside a number of other client kings ultimately failing to overthrow the invaders but making his escape to britain to establish a new dynasty on the island and live out the rest of his days there his atrobatis tribe would add to an ever-changing patchwork of peoples now probably enjoying more contacts with the continent than ever before though it would be nearly a century before the romans returned to britain in force as the roman republic soon descended into decades of civil war and internal power struggles culminating in caesar's adopted son augustus rising as the first emperor in 27 bc [Music] many of the southern tribes of britannia began minting their own coins for the first time and archaeology suggests strong trade links with roman gaul [Music] during augustus's reign a trickle of britonic exiles began to arrive in rome refugees from pro-roman client states although augustus granted them asylum he was ultimately uninterested in conquering the island deeming the cost of occupation to be too great britain was also now a prominent source of trade for rome's western provinces with commerce between the island and the empire greatly increasing following caesar's campaigns [Music] however towards the middle of the 1st century a.d things began to change [Music] the emperor caligula appears to have planned his own invasion of britain according to hostile roman accounts declaring war on neptune god of the sea instructing his men to stab into the waves in a symbolic victory as he looked on ultimately any sort of actual campaign failed to materialize and the mad emperor was soon assassinated in a palace conspiracy in 41ad the praetorian cohorts rome's elite imperial bodyguard established by augustus now kingmakers chose as his replacement a man named claudius being utterly indistinguished and already something of a joke in rome none could have predicted that claudius would prove to be a surprisingly effective emperor though mostly lacking in military glory he was a well-cultured man writing many books that have sadly been lost to time [Music] but the new emperor's grip on power was still new and tenuous at best he lacked any great successes that could shore up his prestige and his relationship with rome's aristocracy was tense meanwhile in britain tensions had also been increasing by 40 a.d two powerful tribes dominated in the south the katya fellaini under kunabellinus and the atrobates under verica likely a descendant of commus these tribes were rivals and territory was regularly lost taken and lost again on both sides but eventually it was conibolinus whose kingdom proved strongest [Music] with the roman historian tacitus even referring to him as the great king of britain however cunnibalinus appears to have been gradually eclipsed by his two aggressive and anti-roman sons keraticus and toga dumbness they were able to exile their pro-roman brother antidius [Music] and upon the death of cunnivolinas in 42ad they increased their pressure on the atroparties verrica was also plotted against within his own tribe and this double threat encouraged him to flee britain to seek roman protection and aid from claudius this provided the emperor with the perfect reason to interfere in britain if he wished since not only were roman economic interests in danger but the cattle fellaini were also targeting tribes who were at least formerly still clients of the empire whilst previous emperors may have been more suspicious of invading the island claudius proved all too eager to seize this opportunity should the britons not only be defeated but conquered the emperor could claim to have gone beyond what even the great julius caesar had accomplished whilst also adding new territory to the empire and demonstrating that rome was serious not only about her own security but that of her allies as well [Music] preparations for the campaign were extensive though we admittedly lack precise details of the composition of the initial force it was probably composed of four legions the second augusta the ninth hispania the fourteenth gemini and the twentieth valeria victrix who as always was supported by a large force of auxiliaries drawn from newly or soon to be romanized regions eager for advancement all in all likely around 40 000 men [Music] among the officers was none other than the future emperor vespasian in command of the second augusta the whole army was led by orlus plorteus no doubt a distinguished soldier though today almost nothing is known of his prior career previously having served as governor of pannonia earlier in claudius's reign [Music] yet this invasion appeared to have been in danger of not getting off the ground at all britain stood at the edge of the romans known world and wild rumors still circulated about the island giving the extremely superstitious roman soldiers second thoughts only when claudius sent his friedman narcissus to harangue the army into action could the invasion commence in 43 a.d the roman army set forth but where they landed remains a point of debate amongst historians most probably the army landed at what is today richborough where a fortified landing zone was constructed before plorteus advanced inland keraticus and togadamnus gathered a large army to meet the invaders and camped along the banks of a river probably the medway where the romans soon located them before moving his main force up plottius sent a force of batavian auxiliaries across the river to eliminate the horses of the british chariots the batavians were a germanic people living along the rhine who were famous not only as great soldiers but also for being accustomed to swimming in full armor the batavians caught the britons by surprise killing their chariot horses after which plottius led the rest of the army across the river the battle lasted unusually long for this period dragging on for two tense days but in the end the romans emerged victorious ultimately succeeding in cutting down king togedomnus in the fray keraticus was able to escape taking up a defensive position behind the river thames but once again the britons proved unable to stop the imperial army [Music] as fierce germanic auxiliaries again spearheaded their attack across the river by fording it and routing the enemy following these victories plorteus advanced up to the cattle fellaini stronghold of camilla dunham modern day colchester claudius himself now arrived in britain with additional troops to oversee the completion of this first campaign according to roman writers the emperor made a grand entry into the newly christened province of britannia riding atop an elephant probably the first time one had ever been seen on the island soon enough plotius was made the first governor of roman britain and the army continued to expand the boundaries of the province in truth we know little of the operations that followed but between 43 and 47 a.d the romans came to dominate southeastern britain with the historian sutonius mentioning that vespasian alone captured 20 british hill forts defeating them in 30 battles an account somewhat backed up by archaeology with massive sights such as maiden castle showing signs of defeat around this time a new road known as the fast way by modern historians was also built along the new frontier zone stretching from what is now exeter to lincoln [Music] not all britons chose to resist rome many of them sided with the invaders from the onset particularly in the south which already had long established links with the empire [Music] it wouldn't be long before they'd be fully romanized huge villas springing up by the end of the century along with british kings adopting roman names and titles yet nevertheless beyond the borders of the frontier the fires of resistance still burned strong [Music] the claudian invasion had proved a stunning success granting the emperor claudius the glory and prestige he had desired yet the war for britain was far from over keraticus remained free retreating into what is now wales to continue fighting against rome whilst elsewhere there remained other british leaders who fiercely resisted the empire sparking off never before seen alliances between tribes in order to fight the invaders [Music] thus in 47 a.d the new governor of britain publius astorius scapula inherited a chaotic situation soon enough a coalition of britons decided to take advantage of the temporary lapse in roman leadership and scapulous unfamiliarity with his province to launch a large invasion into roman territory scapular first defeated the british marauders by sending out several columns of auxiliaries against them and then decided to enact a mass disarmament of the most suspect tribes in the next year up to the trent and seven rivers this provoked an uprising from the iceni of what is now east anglia but scapula rapidly defeated this as well by once again relying on a force composed entirely of auxiliaries the governor then pushed further north defeating the tribe of the de kangai when they attempted to ambush the romans then suppressing an uprising from the brigantes scapular then finally turned his attention to wales where karatekas had been able to rally many to his course chiefly the silores and ordovicis tacitus mentions that keraticus was preeminent among all british chiefs and his prestige in battle and charismatic cunning attracted many to follow him [Music] the romans moved through the territory of the siloris and soon arrived in ordovici's lands [Music] where karatekas decided to risk it all in a set-piece battle choosing as his position a well-fortified opidum which was further defended by a river the britons were highly motivated and scapular was nervous about attacking such a large and determined force across difficult terrain but his own soldiers were thirsty for action and demanded to be led into battle [Music] thereafter scapular led his troops forward britons at first fared well in an exchange of missiles but the romans were able to quickly demolish their crude stone barricades advancing upon the hill fort protected by their famous testudo formation when the romans reached the enemy lines the battle quickly devolved into a slaughter the legionaries quickly supported by light auxiliary infantry cut through the britons even capturing keraticus's wife and daughter keraticus survived the battle but it mattered little as his power had been utterly broken at first he sought refuge with the brigantes but their leader queen cartis mandua decided to instead hand him over to the romans according to tacitus carratocus was famous not only in britain but also throughout the neighboring provinces and even in italy itself he his family and brothers were all moved to rome where they were to be paraded before claudius in an imperial triumph yet according to tacitus keraticus instead delivered a rousing speech upon being presented to the crowd describing his old power and how defeating an enemy like him made rome's glory all the greater had my moderation in prosperity being equal to my noble birth and fortune i should have entered this city as your friend rather than as your captive and you would have not disdained to receive under a treaty of peace a king descended from illustrious ancestors and ruling many nations my present lot is as glorious to you as it is degrading to me i had men in horses arms and wealth what wonder if i parted with them reluctantly if you romans choose to lord it over the world does it follow that the world is to accept slavery were i to have been at once delivered up as a prisoner neither my fall nor your triumph would have become famous my punishment would be followed by oblivion whereas if you save my life i shall be an everlasting memorial of your clemency [Music] moved by this display claudius released keraticus and his family who were settled in rome it's certainly a great story though it could well be a romantic invention tacitus having a penchant for putting his own views on rome in the mouths of barbarian kings karatekas may have been subdued but to the north yet more nations and tribes still stood resolutely opposed to the power of rome [Music] unfortunately for scapula his campaign against the cyloris was less glorious this powerful tribe mounted furious resistance against him the roman army suffered heavy casualties in the battles that followed which were mostly focused on the forest and bogland of silurian territory the british resistance was further bolstered by scapular's own furious declaration that the cylores should be utterly annihilated by 52 a.d we're told that scapula was so exhausted from the constant warfare he waged against the britons that he dropped dead the salores took advantage of this to raid far and wide across roman britain even managing to defeat one of the legions stationed there fortunately for rome the new governor orlos didious gallus was able to stabilize the situation finally bringing the solores to heal other campaigns conducted under his tenure as governor were successful too including the support of queen cartis mandua against rival tribes [Music] finally for some years to come though there continued to be fighting along the edges of the ever-growing province roman britain retained some semblance of stability despite all the campaigns and battles the romans had also been busy consolidating their rule and building up provincial infrastructure [Music] by 60 a.d there were three major settlements in the province camila dunham modern colchester which had been converted into a military and cultural outpost as well as a colony for veterans londinium modern london a trading hub along the thames which had rapidly become very wealthy very quickly [Music] and verilamium at modern day saint albans former capital of keraticus's tribe the decades to come many more cities would follow some built over pre-existing tribal centers others entirely new by 58 a.d the latest roman governor of britain was gaius sutonius paulinus whose priority was to suppress the druids centered on the mysterious island of mona modern day anglesey contemporary writings stress the roman disgust for the human sacrifice which the druids were said to practice but there were also pragmatic considerations to be taken into account since the druids could always act as a unifying force for the other britons mona on the complete opposite side of the island to colchester was already a focal point of anti-roman resistance and a haven for anyone opposed to imperial rule pushing west into the seaboard of the irish sea beyond the limits of the empire paulinus was able to decisively defeat the druids by an amphibious assault of their island stronghold but not before he received shocking news of a fresh uprising to the east there the king of the iceni a horse-rearing people of the flat expanse of land in what is now east anglia prasa targus had recently died leaving his lands to be jointly ruled by his two daughters and the roman emperor nero perhaps in an effort to guide rome's influence in choosing his successor whilst still preserving the independence of his people as a client state however heavy-handed behavior from britain's pro-curator catus descianis instead provoked a rebellion led by prasa targus's widow boudicca joined by the nearby trinivantis and other british tribes before paulinus had a chance to respond the iceni and their allies raised camilla dunham to the ground before defeating a detachment from the nearby legion 9th hispania amassing a gigantic force londinium was burned and verilamium too until the massive celtic army was finally defeated by paulinus at wattling street the romans had been able to force the britons to fight in a narrow gorge preventing them from taking full advantage of their numbers there they were slowly ground down over a day of hard fighting boudicca died soon after the revolt perhaps by her own hands though exactly what happened remains one of the mysteries of her story either way roman reprisals were so harsh that even nero considered that paulinus might have gone too far potentially risking yet more revolts he was promptly removed from command [Music] nevertheless paulinus had won a major victory comparable to bygone triumphs as tacitus wrote and henceforth there would be no more large-scale revolts against roman rule in britain again for some years the province appears to have been at peace before in 69 a.d a new disturbance broke out in the north this time amongst the brigantes queen cartis mandua despite earlier roman support of her reign was still finding herself struggling against rivals within her tribe most prominently her own husband vanutius we're told by roman sources that in the same year cartis mandua divorced her husband instead marrying vanutius's armor bearer velikatus and to add insults to injury even took his brother and kinsmen as hostages this led venutius to openly declare war on cartis mandua thus dividing the brigantes with venutius soon gaining the upper hand at the time rome was distracted by a vicious civil war known as the year of the four emperors so the timing also seemed right especially since the garrison in britain was involved in the war abroad supporting the usurper vitellius despite this britain's current governor vettius bolanos was still able to send a column of auxiliaries to rescue cartis mandua and bring her to safety however the previously allied brigantian kingdom was now suddenly in the hands of a hostile ruler by 71 a.d rome finally recovered from the year of the four emperors under a new emperor vespasian no stranger to britain having made a name for himself there in his youth [Music] vespasian sent the general quintus patellius syrialis to govern britain cyrialis already had some experience in the province being the legate of the ninth hispania whom boudicca had defeated 11 years prior by 73 a.d he had defeated the brigantes and established a new colony at aberracum modern-day york [Music] which became a prominent military site for hundreds of years to come de facto capital of the north cartis mandua now disappears from the historical record as well though like keraticus she may well have lived out the rest of her days in the roman empire which promptly annexed her old kingdom largest of all the britons vast swathes of territory now coming under direct roman military rule [Music] syria alice's successor sextus julius frontinus was more concerned with holding what territory he already had rather than expanding further but he did also finally subdue the solaris ending their long resistance to rome [Music] by 77 a.d however the new governor had more imperialist ambitions julius agricola the father-in-law of the roman historian tacitus who had previously served in britain under paulinus agricola first suppressed some minor unrest within the province before beginning an offensive north the most significant in decades pushing into what is now scotland heading out of the newly established irish sea base of chester he may have also considered an expedition to ireland claiming it could be easily subdued by just one legion and a sufficient force of auxiliaries whilst also being ideally situated to monitor the rest of britain however whatever his plans may have been ultimately no roman invasion of ireland ever commenced in 83 a.d agricola won a great victory over the caledonian tribes under calgas at the battle of mons graupius also circumnavigating the island for the first time building a string of fortresses that can still be seen today for a moment it seemed like rome would at last dominate the entirety of britain however agricola was quickly recalled by the emperor domitian allegedly because of his envy over his success but more likely because the territory agricola had occupied was a dubious value and not worth the expense of holding when the roman army had a more important war at hand on the danube frontier against the dacians [Music] although the romans would continue to hold on to their extensive province in britain the lands to the far north would ultimately not be conquered a handful of other commanders taking an interest here too even so rome could count its expansion into britain to be a considerable success by the end of the first century a.d a stable and deeply romanized province had arisen from the territories conquered by the julio claudians and flavians over the last decades [Music] just outside the picturesque village of oldborough nestled in the north yorkshire countryside stone edifices jut out of the ground [Music] testament to a time well over a thousand years ago when this place was one of the most important urban centers in all of britain [Music] the well-ordered roads and walls we still see today stunning mosaics portraying lions and the founders of rome romulus and remus and of course the remains of buildings are just a fraction of what this place used to be having been built over by succeeding generations yet despite how it looks it wasn't ethnic romans who lived here not for the most part but romanized britons of the brigantes tribe having been moved here from former tribal capitals such as stanic walls one of the largest pre-roman settlements on the island [Music] quite simply as this most northern urban settlement attests by the mid-second century a.d many southern britons had fully bought in to the roman ideal their gods becoming syncretized with roman ones their sons and daughters given a chance to become roman citizens enjoying all the societal benefits that came with it aldborough is just one example of the new construction boom which took hold of britain in the first two centuries a.d monumental road systems springing up all over the land linking up newly built urban centers such as virgonium chester exeter carlisle lincoln and york [Music] though of course people from all corners of the empire and beyond did live in these cities for the most part they were populated by native britons individuals who wholeheartedly bought into the idea of empire often reaping the rewards of doing so [Music] the roman occupation of britain lasted for around 350 years during which time life on the island changed considerably with the new imperial system bringing many benefits not just to the romanized britons of the province but even those living beyond the frontiers provided they kept in line of course most importantly rome was not in the habit of forcing its ways upon conquered peoples as long as they paid their taxes [Music] and while some governors like agricola may have encouraged the britons to partake in more roman activities as a whole the imperial government allowed the development of the province to go at its own pace giving the britons time to gradually generation by generation romanize themselves this lacks attitude extended to culture and religion as well and with the exception of druidism the romans were entirely willing to allow existing cults and customs to remain unchanged as a result roman citizenship and a strong sense of roman identity gradually spread across britain eventually culminating in the virtually universal grant of citizenship by the emperor caracalla in 212 a.d a policy that would ultimately have dire consequences for the empire as a whole [Music] though ultimately leading to a synthesis of cultures that historians today call romano british severing the now largely pacified southern britons from their cousins beyond the frontier to the north though brethonic largely remained the lingo of franca archaeology suggests a significant increase in the number and size of cities and towns during this time which were mostly concentrated in the south budaka's rebellion may have caused great damage here but this proved only temporary and soon the settlements of camilla dunham londinium and verilamium had all been rebuilt prospering once again londinium in particular became especially important seeing a massive city wall constructed one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in britain londinium operated as the provincial capital of the province and during late antiquity it was given the honorary name of augusta in recognition of its prominence [Music] roman towns provided a variety of amenities to their inhabitants including special administrative buildings public bath houses theatres amphitheaters good quality housing local streets and advanced roads connecting communities together a sophisticated sewage system and superior methods of supplying water in addition roman towns were packed with a variety of different shops and industries and trade from across rome's vast empire to britain also increased dramatically giving people unprecedented access to different types of goods from all over the known world the countryside also experienced changes under roman rule [Music] aside from the advantages of being supported by the larger towns and cities roman britain also boasted an impressive array of rural villas again mostly concentrated in the south these were largely the private property of local landowners and tenant farmers [Music] in some cases villas even replaced earlier iron age farms suggesting a certain level of continuity while most of the romano british villas remained fairly modest some like the palace at fishborne were developed on a grand scale unlike anything ever seen before in britain [Music] agriculture remained as important as ever in roman britain and in large tracts of the province city life failed to take hold mostly in the north and the western hill country of what would eventually become wales there life changed little for the populace who continued to live in old celtic roundhouses and the celtic language along with its strong oral traditions also remained strong roman influence in these areas tended to be much more limited with only some aspects of roman life like pottery making inroads here in contrast to the first century a.d during which time many campaigns were fought across britain the second century was much more peaceful [Music] this period is by far most famous for the construction of hadrian's wall a massive network of fortifications built along the entire northern frontier of britain its purpose was to monitor and control movement in and out of roman territory whilst also acting as a means of delaying any invasion force until an army could be gathered to repel them in battle [Music] in addition the wall acted as a launching pad for expeditions into the north or caledonia as it was generally known the roman emperor antoninus pius briefly expanded imperial control beyond hadrian's wall building his own great wall there this one made of earth but this antonine wall was abandoned soon afterwards by pious successor the philosopher emperor marcus aurelius who clearly did not consider the more distant conquests of the previous emperor worth holding plague ravaged the empire during this time too which had stopped growing more than a generation earlier [Music] without the steady influx of fighting men from conquered places seeking employ and advancement in the army ever so slowly imperceptibly to those living through them things began to go wrong [Music] in the 180s a.d after marcus aurelius the last of the so-called five good emperors was succeeded by his infamous son commodus a caledonian army was able to penetrate hadrian's wall ravaging far and wide in the north of the province even defeating a roman force before the situation was stabilized by the general opius marcellus comodos commodus's assassination in 192 was then followed by a spate of usurpations including one from britain claudius albinus for some time albinus was able to rule the empire jointly as caesar alongside another general with roots in northern africa septimius severus another gifted politician who was able to seize power in the wake of commodus's fall [Music] however in 197 relations between the two men collapsed with severus defeating albinus at the battle of lugdunum one of the largest clashes ever fought in pre-modern times not for the last time britain's roman garrison was pulled away and involved in this war suffering serious casualties and encouraging the caledonians to begin launching renewed attacks the roman governor his available forces too few to properly fight back was forced to buy peace from the enemy in 207 a.d this piece broke down and severus himself then came to britain with a huge army 50 000 strong launching a massive punitive campaign into the north but also working hard to repair the defenses along hadrian's wall contrary to popular belief at first he doesn't seem to have wished to expand roman control further north but to pacify those who lived there by 210 a.d septimius severus had spent two years ravaging the lands north of the wall yet time and time again his enemies eluded him slipping back into mountain and forest to fight another day by this time two major tribal confederacies existed in the north the mai tai and beyond them the caledonians severus had hacked his way to power in rome 17 years previously during the infamous year of the five emperors and by 208 a.d he headed out of york at the head of 50 000 legionaries the empire at the very height of its power this was a military force which wouldn't be surpassed in britain until the later middle ages [Music] finally after two years of brutal warfare severus gave his now infamous order to kill every man woman and child his men came across leaving none alive within a matter of months severus would be dead his young son and heir caracalla just a teenager nevertheless carried out his genocidal orders to the letter already showing psychopathic tendencies he would be emperor next on paper the caledonians had been defeated though in reality in the next century they would be back in force with a new name called by romans the painted men we know them as pics meanwhile caracalla made the ultimately disastrous decision to turn every civilian in the empire into a roman citizen no longer did regional areas have to engage with the rest of the empire to pursue advancement the long march of regionalization began to kick in severus had intended the empire to be jointly ruled by his sons caracalla and guetta and among his dying wishes was that the two would be able to co-exist [Music] unfortunately the brothers were already intense rivals and soon enough caracalla had ghetto murdered assuming the sole rulership of the empire he himself was assassinated soon afterwards in a conspiracy while campaigning in parthia unfortunately for rome the rest of the 3rd century a.d would be similarly chaotic with dozens of usurpers rushing to take the throne in a series of disastrous civil wars that crippled the empire exposing the frontiers to attack in some instances the empire's enemies were able to penetrate deep into the provinces such as when the persians sacked antioch in 252 or when the goths sacked athens a few years later this period characterized by break away roman empires hacking off vast chunks of territory for decades an era which very nearly saw the collapse of the empire as fittingly been dubbed by modern historians as the crisis of the third century records concerning what happened in roman britain during this time are unfortunately very murky and incomplete overall britain appears to have been able to avoid the worst of the crisis probably due to being the remotest part of the empire and separated from it by the sea although there nevertheless does appear to have been some raiding by barbarian tribes from beyond the wall and increasingly from beyond the sea from fierce irishmen and sea-borne germanic fighters [Music] these new threats may have been prompted by a large reduction in the size of the garrison in britain britain also declared for the usurper posthumous in 260 a.d he was able to keep it and the areas of gaul and spain under his control for several years sometimes considered a gallic separatist trying to break away from the roman empire in truth posthumous was more of an opportunistic usurper like any other whose power base was merely in gaul he his successors and subjects still considered themselves roman [Music] as seen for example by coinage minted in his territory proudly bearing the words roma eterna on them britain had not seceded by joining posthumous but merely selected a different candidate for the position of roman emperor to serve but in 274 a.d britain switched sides from posthumous successor tetricus after he was defeated by the emperor aurelian [Music] a grizzled veteran and in large part the man responsible for putting the empire back together defeating the breakaway palmyrene empire and subduing the gallic one before he was betrayed and killed by his own officers [Music] yet the worse was yet to come in 286 a.d britain was targeted by a large force of germanic warriors heading over the sea in search of glory and plunder but it wasn't to be their day being defeated by a talented general named carousias however carousias was then accused of fraudulent distribution of war plunder to line his own pockets and whether these accusations were true or not he felt forced to declare himself emperor in order to fight back quickly gaining the support of all of britain and even parts of northern gaul before defeating the emperor maximian in 289 when he tried to retake britain from the usurper [Music] carousias appears to have tried to seek recognition from maximian and his co-ruler diocletian as joint rulers of the empire yet his appeals fell on deaf ears in 293 the caesar constantius clorus regained carouse's territory in gaul leading to his assassination by one of his own officers electus who then began to portray himself under the auspicious title emperor of britannia [Music] this would be short-lived however three years later constantius personally invaded britain defeating and killing electus and receiving a rapturous welcome at londinium no doubt in response to the increasingly severe attacks from beyond the ride it was also around the late 3rd century a.d that a major line of fortifications along britain's eastern coast was built the visible remnants of which can still be seen today at places like port chester castle to defend against future barbarian attacks this would be known as the saxon shore additionally britain had been extensively reorganized under diocletian becoming one of the empire's new diocese [Music] in turn divided into four separate provinces in order to curtail the power of a leader of any individual one these appear by name in the historical record for the first time no later than 314 a.d as britannia primer britannia secunda maximus cesariensis and flavius caesariensis with another called valentia possibly existing beyond the wall a buffer zone of semi-romanized britons who often would do rome's work for them though it remains difficult to pinpoint exactly where the borders between these provinces were set each province had its own governor but all answered to a fiscal official titled as vicarius brittany arum in turn the vicarius and his diocese were subordinate to another official known as the praetorian prefect who headed a series of prefectures across the empire britain was part of the prefecture of gaul this was meant to increase imperial oversight among the provinces while also negating the military powers of individual governors thus in theory at least mitigating the risk of civil wars [Music] although roman britain had survived the chaotic third century in the fourth it started to gradually decline [Music] early in the century constantius was back in britain campaigning against the picts where he also summoned his young son to partake in the war his name was constantine [Music] and he was also there to be presented to the army as constantius's preferred heir the timing proved right for in 306 constantius succumbed to old age and constantine was declared as his successor at ebarakum raised up on the shields of his men [Music] his first act was to complete the war against the picts [Music] constantine would go on to fight several civil wars with other rival emperors for control of the empire eventually emerging as sole ruler in 324 a.d it was also around this time that britain was introduced to christianity on a large scale a new religion which would steadily grow in influence and popularity amongst the romans until it was finally made the empire's state religion in 380. the introduction of christianity was arguably the most enduring contribution and legacy of the romans in britain long after imperial control faded christianity remained in the winter of 342 a.d one of constantine's sons constance was briefly in britain probably presiding over another victorious campaign against the norman tribes after which a treaty of some sort was agreed upon the historian amianus marcellinus reports that the tribes of the picts and scots soon broke this treaty in 360 yet again launching a deadly raid into britain before they were finally repulsed by a roman retaliatory force redirected from gaul by the emperor julian the last pagan to sit on the imperial throne in 367 a.d the scots and the pics would be back this time joined by atacaty headhunters and cannibals according to the roman sources as well as saxons from beyond the sea [Music] together they launched the deadliest raid yet into britain in the so-called conspiracy of the barbarians here the enemies of rome were able to bribe a local force of roman scouts called the arkani to provide them with intelligence for their campaign but once again a capable officer the count theodosius was able to restore the situation and repel the invaders in the following year both of these instances clearly show that the frontier in britain was by the 360s a.d seriously weakened allowing for an increase in the scale of barbarian attacks it is also telling that the armies the romans sent to defeat both incursions were very small [Music] the roman military was still significantly superior to any tribal army in britain however the constant civil wars of this period as well as weakening central control and a decline in the complex and sprawling infrastructure meant to support the military gradually led to a sharp decline in the army's ability to effectively deal with invaders in 382 a.d the picts and scots yet again joined forces to attack the british provinces but they were defeated there by a famed general magnus maximus serving as the commander of the troops in britain [Music] emboldened by his victory and aware of the now chaotic and weakening rule on the continent maximus declared himself emperor and invaded gaul seeking to become master of the western roman empire he would live on as a foundational figure in much of the myth and legend of post-roman britain particularly in what is now wales he was opposed nilutia modern-day paris by the emperor gratian fortunately for maximus gratian very young and untested who went everywhere with a hunnic bodyguard allegedly preferring the barbarians to his own troops was widely disliked by the roman army and his men promptly deserted to the usurper after which gratian was captured and executed [Music] the new master of the western empire stopped his advance just short of italy hoping to gain official recognition from theodosius emperor in the eastern provinces and the man responsible for making christianity rome's state religion but negotiations dragged on for several years until in 387 maximus resorted to force overrunning italy before he in turn was defeated and killed by theodosius yet theodosius wasn't alone his power was built on the germanic auxiliaries that he utilized as the center of his force a vast army of gothic swords for hire a nation on the move [Music] it seems likely that british administrators were now doing the same too their swords for hire originating in what is now northern germany and denmark they were the angles saxons jutes and friesians good soldiers fighting for pay things were changing the outer world catching up with rome [Music] by the time a great coalition of so-called barbarians descended on roman britain in 367. the province was already a shadow of its former self according to the historian amianus marcellinus its defenses depleted following the defeat of the usurper magnentius in 353 according to the roman sources fearsome picts scots and atticotti headhunters came down across hadrian's wall by land and sea raiding as far as the thames bringing death and destruction in their wake perhaps even more ominous considering events to come battle hungry saxon and frankish warriors headed over the north sea to link up with the northerners [Music] bypassing the massive saxon shaw forts built to check their raids over the previous decades yet mutinous romans 2 took part in this great barbarian conspiracy in particular an officer named valentinus taking part and it's probable that at least some of the culprits of the violence had been serving in the imperial army germanic mercenaries now making up a bulk of fighting men all over the western empire [Music] during that year of chaos the duke of britannia the count of the saxon shore and much of the garrison of the island were killed chaos taking hold until the count theodosius finally arrived on the island to bring an end to the fighting [Music] but britannia wasn't out of the situation yet not by a long shot [Music] just across the channel yet more germanic newcomers were getting ready their remains have been excavated all over what is now germany and to a certain extent in britain for the most part they weren't coming to raid but to serve the romans in britannia still very much part of the city building world for now though its defenses and garrison continued to decline along with the strength economy and trade of the western roman empire the many usurpers who arose in britain during this time did not help matters following magnus maximus in the 380s between 406 and 407 no less than three would-be emperors were declared in britain the first two were almost instantly put to death by their own officers when they failed to produce results before a certain constantine iii was able to assert control over the army like maximus before him constantine's first target was the valuable provinces in gaul and the usurper virtually emptied britain of its remaining troops to fight his civil war against the emperor onorius for a time he controlled a significant portion of the western empire getting close to his goal of seizing the whole empire yet like maximus constantine's ascendancy was short-lived soon he was overthrown and murdered even his own power base in britain turned against him [Music] clearly feeling neglected by the withdrawal of the roman army from their provinces in 410 a.d a delegation arrived at the court of honorius then holed up in ravenna asking him to send assistance to britain under attack from outsiders again however the emperor had his own problems to deal with at the time dealing with a massive gothic incursion into italy itself led by a former auxiliary general alaric the man who would soon sack the great city itself dealing a crushing blow to the prestige of the west [Music] at this time it wasn't realistic for the romano britons to expect much in the way of assistance from the imperial government according to the historian zosimus honorius bluntly told the britons they would now have to fend for themselves this episode is often seen as the end of roman britain in modern historiography however even simple things such as roman coinage seem to have stopped reaching britain a few years before this suggesting that even before 410 it no longer was functionally a part of the empire [Music] despite this britain was still widely considered roman in a general sense and around mid-century the britons made their last appeal for help from the western empire against the angles and saxons now hurrying the land these correspondences are now known as the groans of the britons but again rome could not possibly afford to send any assistance to remote britannia mainly due to the ongoing war against the hunnic empire led by attila [Music] by 476 the last roman emperor in the west romulus augustulus was deposed by a germanic officer in his army named odo akka who promptly had himself crowned king of italy [Music] this year is often seen as the moment when the western roman empire finally fell at last but this is a great oversimplification since by that time it had already rotted away in all but name [Music] dominated by germanic officers for going on a hundred years and now it's borders overrun by entire nations on the move to contemporaries the deposition of the little augustus was not a significant event if there were any still in britain hoping for a reunification with the empire these hopes were ill-founded those sources are especially rare for this time the place had probably already fragmented into a series of minor kingdoms spread across the old roman province while from the east germanic invaders would continue to land to carve out their own territories despite the length of time it spent under roman rule britain's roman character very quickly faded away within a few generations ceasing to be even a cultural part of the empire as the influence of invading germanic tribes grew and the old british ways of life reasserted themselves in the west in the south roman law was gradually replaced by germanic law and germanic paganism was widely introduced in place of christianity whilst in the north british culture reasserted its former hold on the land by the end of the fifth century it's clear enough that even faint traces of a roman britain were gone ending one of the most famous periods in british history by the 6th century when the churchmen guild ass the only surviving contemporary british source for the 500s wrote his famous denunciation of the rulers and churchmen of his day on the ruin of britain the island was a post-apocalyptic landscape coinage city life diplomatic links to the outside world all for the most part having collapsed entirely it would be many centuries yet before the island would recover [Music] roman britain may have died but its legacy would live on the well-built road systems ruined cities towns villas and very belief systems of the old empire continuing to frame the existence of those who came after in future generations nobles and great kings alike always hearkening back to that time of glory before depicting themselves as emperors of old for this was the very beginning of the early middle ages one of the periods in history that i specialize in if this is a period that interests you then check out this entire playlist of videos i've made on it and don't forget to subscribe so you can check out all of the future videos i'm going to make thanks for watching my name's pete kelly you've been watching history time don't forget to subscribe and leave a like and i'll see you next time you

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Keywords: rome, roman, britain, romans, britons, ancient warfare, ancient history, ancient britain, prehistoric Britain, Caligula, Julius caesar, Claudius, emperor, empire, roman empre, roman republic, roman empire, history time rome, history timer, history time

Id: dvtVLa4uOYc

Length: 98min 5sec (5885 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 14 2020