Twenty years after the invasion, Britain was feeling oppressed by the Roman Empire, none more so than the Iceni tribe. Their late king, Prasutagus, had left the Icenian land to the Romans in his will, but on certain conditions. Upon his death, the Romans took over without abiding by any of these conditions, treating the land as if it was theirs by right of conquest. There was looting and tyranny, the king’s family was abused and the Romans savagely ruled over the Iceni. Another factor in aggravating the Britons was that the occupiers began to recall large loans which had been forced upon unwilling Britons. Some Britons were conscripted into the army, the Roman procurators wanted to extract as much wealth as could be had from the latest addition to the empire.
Boudica, having been treated and indeed flogged as a slave, decided to rebel. She joined forces with the Trinovantes, who had their own reasons to hate the Romans. Some of their land had been taken from them to form part of Camulodunum (now Colchester). One of buildings in it was the Temple Of Claudius, it was hated by the oppressed masses and became the first target of Boudica’s attack. The colonists appealed for help and troops were sent from Londinium, but these amounted to just 200 and were ill equipped for the task. The veterans and the troops took cover in the Temple but were soundly beaten after two days, the temple was destroyed and the town sacked. Petillius Cerialis, camped with Legio IX eight miles away at Longthorpe heard of the revolt and set off for the town, but he was ambushed and at length defeated. Boudica heartened by this success now marched on Londinium.
Suetonius Paullinus was at an island in north Wales when he heard of the rebellion. He made haste for Londinium with Legio XIV, but his journey was slow and when at length he arrived in Londinium he realised that he did not have enough troops to defend it, and so the largest town in Britain was abandoned. Verulamium too could not be held and so the army retreated.
When Boudica’s army reached London they thought of nothing but loot and so did not make for the militarily strategic points but instead to wherever they could plunder the most money, this proved their downfall.
While the Britons looted, Paullinus gathered his men which amounted to some ten thousand and chose a place of battle most advantageous to him.
What would you do if you were stranded on an Island all by yourself with a few
Kapelle, W.E. ‘The Norman conquest of the North:The region and its transformation 1000-1135’ (Croom Helm 1979)
When the Romans Invaded Briton each Celtic tribe was treated differently. The Celtic Iceni tribe kept out of the violent conflict, and because of this they were awarded ‘client kingdom’ status by the Romans. Being a client kingdom meant that the Iceni tribe maintained a considerable amount of independence. They were allowed to keep their rulers, and they were allowed to mint coin. They were bound by treaty to Rome, who in return would back them up, often against rival tribes. Yet the Romans took the view that they had the authority, to at any time intervene in the internal affairs of their client kingdoms. On the other hand the main city of the Trinovantes tribe, which was located just south of the Iceni tribe, was declared by Emperor Claudius as the capital of his British province. The Trinovantes people lost their freedom as well as having most of the...
The Romans thought that Britain was worth conquering because it yields gold, silver and other metals and pearls in the seas. The Britons were rather submissive following being conquered, in that they were obedient to the new leaders. Even so, they dreaded slavery and always put up a fight to prevent it. Unlike the Romans, the Britons didn't view women as inferior, but instead allowed them to hold very high ranks and offices in society, government, and the military.
Not only did he conquer them but offered them a means of integration through the construction of roads and security in trading routes and the ability to govern themselves at the cost of a tributary payment. “Upon their submission I restored their territories to them, subject to the payment of tribute”. This integration of the conquered nation resembles that of the Roman Empire as they as well offered similar integration methods for the
3. I often waged war, civil and foreign, on the earth and sea, in the whole wide world, and as victor I spared all the citizens who sought pardon. As for foreign nations, those which I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy. About five hundred thousand Roman citizens were sworn to me. I led something more than three hundred thousand of them into colonies and I returned them to their cities, after their stipend had been earned, and I assigned all of them fields or gave them money for their military service. I captured six hundred ships in addition to those smaller than triremes.
Following the end of the Great Latin War (340-338 BCE), Latium came under the control of Rome. Unlike Greece’s approach to the subjugated, described by Steven Kries as one that “…sought to demolish the social institutions of conquered lands and to replace them with Greek institutions,” (2009, para. 15), Rome took a different approach, one that allowed the people Rome conquered to keep their culture and language. Cities and towns were allowed to keep their administrative structures. This allowed the populace to maintain some sense of self-leadership and their history. This is the subtle start of Roman Imperialism, a policy of assimilation into the Roman “Cosmopolis” (2009).
Felix Brutus On mony bonkkes ful Where were and wrake and wonder Bi syez hatz wont erinne, And oft boe blysse and blunder Ful skete hatz skyfted synne. (1-19) After the siege and the assault had ceased at Troy, the city battered and burnt to coals and ashes, the fellow that there wrought the machinations of treason was tried for his treachery, the foulest on earth: It was Aeneas the noble, and his noble kin, who then subjugated provinces, and became masters of well-nigh all the wealth in Western Europe. Then noble Romulus directs himself hurriedly to Rome. With great arrogance he builds that city in that place, and gives it his own name, as it is now called; (likewise) Ticius (travels) to Tuscany and founds dwellings, Longbeard lifts up homes in Lombardy, and far over the French Flood [i.e., the English Channel] Felix Brutus with joy on many broad banks plants Britain, where war and vengeance and wonder have existed in alternation therein, and often both bliss and blunder have very often alternated since. )
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone.
Widukind was a monk at the monastery of Corvey in the mid-tenth century. His trilogy, Deeds of the Saxons, is an account of the Saxons under the rulers of Henry I and his son Otto I. This essay will evaluate Widukind’s understanding and depiction of the nature of warfare during the first two generations of the Ottonian Dynasty. In the three books of Deeds of the Saxons, Widukind made the Saxons look superior by providing a biased impression of what warfare was like under the rule of Henry I and Otto I and examining their battles solely through the lens of the Saxon people.
Tacitus. The Annals of Tacitus. Edited and annotated by Henry Furneaux. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.
and the rest of the Roman Empire. In 31 BC the Battle of Actium occurred. This was one
(1901). Outlines of Roman History. Chapter X: The Conquest of Latium. Section II: The Great Latin War. Demands of the Latins. Retrieved from: http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey10.html
"The Anglo Saxons appear as a race of fierce, cruel, and barbaric pagans, delighting in the seas, in slaughter, and in drink "(Allen, 17). The character of the ancient Saxons displayed the qualities of fearless, active, and successful. The Anglo-Saxons are mostly a barbaric race, not savage and rude but mostly military and...
After the conclusion of the Gauls sacking Rome, Rome became obsessed with the security of their empire and acutely aware of any and all potential threats. “Following the sack by the Gauls, the Romans were frightened by strong neighbors and sometimes made preemptive strikes against peoples they believed were becoming too powerful” (Kidner, 129). Rome became a walled city that would not let any foreign soldiers through its gates from the conclusion of the sacking in 390 B.C. until 410 A.D., earning it the nickname of the Eternal City. The Roman mantra of Lex Fetiale, which prohibited Rome from going to war unless under siege or asked for assistance, was suddenly much easier to justify than before.