Aulus Plautius

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Aulus Plautius

Aulus Plautius was a Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
politician and general of the mid-1st century. He led the Roman conquest of Britain

Roman conquest of Britain

By AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion of Britain, Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire....
in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.

Career
Little is known of Aulus Plautius's early career. An inscription reveals he was involved in the suppression of a slave revolt in Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south....
, probably in 24, alongside Marcus Aelius Celer. He was suffect consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
for the second half of 29, and held a provincial governorship, probably of Pannonia

Pannonia

Pannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
, in the early years of Claudius

Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
's reign: another inscription shows he oversaw the building of a road between Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and port in northeastern Italy very near to the Slovenian border, to the North, East, and South. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea....
and Rijeka

Rijeka

Rijeka is the principal seaport of Croatia, located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea. It has 144,043 inhabitants and is Croatia's third largest city....
at this time.

Claudius appointed him to lead his invasion of Britannia

Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
in 43, in support of Verica

Verica

Verica was a United Kingdom Roman client kingdoms in Britain of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Roman invasion of Britain of 43 AD....
, king of the Atrebates

Atrebates

The Atrebates were a Belgae tribe of Gaul and Great Britain before the Roman conquests. According to Alexander MacBain, the name Attrebates is related to the Irish language aitreibh, ?building,? Old Irish aittreb, ?building,? and Welsh language adref, ?homewards,? going on to state that the Celtic languages root treb cor...
and an ally of Rome, who had been deposed by his eastern neighbours the Catuvellauni

Catuvellauni

The Catuvellauni were a Celtic/Belgae tribe or state of south-eastern Prehistoric Britain before the Roman conquest of Britain.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories....
.

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Encyclopedia

Aulus Plautius was a Roman

Roman Empire

Roman conquest of Britain

Career

Little is known of Aulus Plautius's early career. An inscription reveals he was involved in the suppression of a slave revolt in Apulia

Apulia

Consul

Pannonia

Claudius

Trieste

Rijeka

Roman Britain

Verica

Verica was a United Kingdom Roman client kingdoms in Britain of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Roman invasion of Britain of 43 AD....
, king of the Atrebates

Atrebates

Catuvellauni

Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
, IX Hispana

Legio IX Hispana

Legio nona Hispana , sometimes known as Legio IX Hispana was a Roman legion. The legion's symbol is unknown, likely a Taurus , as other legions created by Caesar....
, then in Pannonia, II Augusta, XIV Gemina

Legio XIV Gemina

Legio decima quarta Gemina was a Roman legion of the Roman Empire, levied by Augustus after 41 BC. The cognomen Gemina suggests that the legion resulted from fusion of two previous ones, one of them possibly being the Fourteenth legion that fought in the Battle of Alesia....
, and XX Valeria Victrix

Legio XX Valeria Victrix

Legio vigesima Valeria Victrix was a Roman legion, probably raised by Augustus some time after 31 BC. It served in Hispania, Illyricum, and Germania before participating in the invasion of Britannia in 43 AD, where it remained and was active until at least the beginning of the 4th century....
, plus approximately 20,000 auxiliary troops, including Thracians

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
and Batavians

Batavians

The Batavians were a Germanic tribes tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the ocean in...
. In this occasion, II Augusta was commanded by the future emperor Vespasian

Vespasian

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
. Three other men of appropriate rank to command legions are known to have been involved in the invasion: Vespasian's brother Titus Flavius Sabinus II and Gnaeus Hosidius Geta

Gnaeus Hosidius Geta

Gaius or Gnaeus Hosidius Geta was a Roman Senator and General who lived in the 1st century. Geta was a praetor some time before 42. In 42, commanding a Roman legion, probably the Legio VIIII Hispana in the Africa Province, he was a part of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus' campaigns into Mauretania....
appear in Dio Cassius

Dio Cassius

Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English language as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a noted Roman Empire historian and public servant....
's account of the invasion; Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus

Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus

Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus was the name of two Ancient Rome Roman senate, father and son.* The elder Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus was one of three sons of Gaius Sentius Saturninus the elder, who was imperial legate to Syria in 9 BC-6 BC....
is mentioned by Eutropius

Eutropius

IntroductionNot much is known about the early life of Eutropius because there are no written texts that document his life. Eutropius should not be confused with Eutropius of Valencia or Saint Eutropius....
, although as a former consul he may have been too senior, and perhaps accompanied Claudius later.

On the beaches of northern Gaul

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
Plautius faced a mutiny by his troops, who were reluctant to cross the Ocean

Oceanus

Oceanus was believed to be the World Ocean in classical antiquity, which the Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece considered to be an enormous river encircling the world....
and fight beyond the limits of the known world. They were persuaded after Claudius's freedman

Freedman

Freedman is the term used to describe a former Slavery who has been Manumission or Emancipation. The first means the freeing of an individual by the owner, often through deed or will, and sometimes by legislative petition....
and secretary Narcissus

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus was one of the freedman who formed the core of the imperial court under the Roman emperor Claudius. He is described as praepositus ab epistulis ....
addressed them: seeing a former slave in place of their commander, they cried "Io Saturnalia!" (Saturnalia

Saturnalia

Saturnalia is the festival with which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn , which was on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, to 23 December....
being a Roman festival in which social roles were reversed for the day) and the mutiny was over.

The invasion force sailed in three divisions, and is generally believed to have landed at Richborough

Richborough

Richborough is a settlement north of Sandwich, Kent on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet....
in Kent

Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
, although parts may have landed elsewhere (see Site of the Claudian invasion of Britain

Site of the Claudian invasion of Britain

The site of Roman conquest of Britain#Landing to Thames battle in AD 43 is a matter of some controversy. Although it is generally believed that the force left from Gesoriacum , it is possible that part of the fleet sailed from near the mouth of the Rhine....
). The Britons, led by Togodumnus

Togodumnus

Togodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius....
and Caratacus

Caratacus

Caratacus was a historical British Iron Age chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. The legendary Welsh mythology character Caradoc and the legendary British king Arvirargus may be based upon Caratacus....
of the Catuvellauni, were reluctant to fight a pitched battle, relying on instead on guerrilla tactics

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
. However, Plautius defeated first Caratacus, then Togodumnus, on the rivers Medway

River Medway

The 'River Medway', which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
and Thames

River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
. Togodumnus died shortly afterwards, although Caratacus survived and continued to be a thorn in the invaders' side.

Having reached the Thames, Plautius halted and sent for Claudius, who arrived with elephants and heavy artillery and completed the march on the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum (Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is a town, and the largest settlement within the Colchester , in Essex, England.It has a population of List of English cities by population....
). A Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
was established in the conquered territory, and alliances made with nations outside direct Roman control. Plautius became governor of the new province, until 47 when he was replaced by Publius Ostorius Scapula

Publius Ostorius Scapula

Publius Ostorius Scapula was a Roman empire statesman and general who governed Roman Britain from 47 until his death, and was responsible for the defeat and capture of Caratacus....
. On his return to Rome and civil life, Plautius was granted an Ovation

Ovation

The ovation was a less-honored form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted, when war was not declared between enemies on the level of states, when an enemy was considered basely inferior , and when the general conflict was resolved with little to no bloodshed or danger to the army itself....
, during which the emperor himself walked by his side to and from the Capitol.

Relatives

Plautius was a (probably distant) relative of Claudius's first wife, Plautia Urgulanilla

Plautia Urgulanilla

Plautia Urgulanilla was the first wife of the future Roman Emperor Claudius. They married sometime around the year 9 Common Era, when Claudius was 18 years old....
. Quintus Plautius, who was consul in 36, was probably his younger brother. His sister married Publius Petronius; their (adopted?) son, Publius Petronius Turpilianus

Publius Petronius Turpilianus

Publius Petronius Turpilianus was a Roman Empire politician and general.He was consul in AD 61, but in the second half of that year he laid down that office and was appointed governor of Roman Britain, replacing Gaius Suetonius Paulinus who had been removed from office in the wake of the rebellion of Boudica....
, was later consul and governor of Britain.

Plautius's wife, Pomponia Graecina

Pomponia Graecina

Pomponia Graecina was a noble Ancient Rome woman of the 1st century who was related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the wife of Aulus Plautius, the general who led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and was renowned as one of the few people who dared to publicly mourn the death of a kinswoman killed by the Imperial family....
, after the execution of her kinswoman Julia Drusi Caesaris

Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger)

Julia Drusi Caesaris Filia was the daughter of Julius Caesar Drusus and Livilla and granddaughter to the Roman Emperor Tiberius....
by Claudius and Messalina

Messalina

Valeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, was a Ancient Rome Empress as the third wife of Roman Emperor Claudius. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation for promiscuity, she conspired against her husband and was executed when the plot was discovered....
, remained in mourning for forty years in open, and unpunished, defiance of the emperor. In 57 she was charged with a "foreign superstition", interpreted by some to mean conversion to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
. According to Roman law, she was tried by her husband before her kinsmen, and was acquitted.

Plautius was probably the uncle whose "distinguished service" saved Plautius Lateranus from the death penalty in 48 after his affair with Messalina

Messalina

Valeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, was a Ancient Rome Empress as the third wife of Roman Emperor Claudius. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation for promiscuity, she conspired against her husband and was executed when the plot was discovered....
. By the time Lateranus was eventually executed, in 65 for his part in a conspiracy against Nero

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
, his uncle was probably dead and could no longer help him.

Namesakes

Three other men of the same name are known:

Aulus Plautius, a tribune
Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by 10 elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the exclusive right to propose legislation before it....
of plebs in 70, later the legate of Pompey
Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
responsible for Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
in the war against the pirates. Appian
Appian

Appianus , of Alexandria was a Ancient Rome historian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, Appian....
refers to him as Plautius Varus
Aulus Plautius, a tribune
Tribune

Tribune was a title shared by 10 elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the exclusive right to propose legislation before it....
who read a letter from Ptolemy XII of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
before the Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
in 56 BC.. Urban praetor in 51, later the governor of Bithynia
Bithynia

Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thrace Bosporus and the Euxine ....
and Pontus
Pontus

Pontus or Pontos is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in Antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos Euxeinos , or simply Pontos....
.
Aulus Plautius, suffect consul in 1 BC
Aulus Plautius (fl. 1st century), probably the son of the conqueror of Britain, and allegedly the lover of Agrippina the younger
Agrippina the Younger

Julia Agrippina; known as Agrippina Minor , was a great granddaughter of Emperor Augustus, great niece and adoptive granddaughter of Emperor Tiberius, sister to Emperor Caligula, wife of Emperor Claudius and mother of Emperor Nero....
, who was murdered by Agrippina's son Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
.

Secondary sources

William Smith (ed) (1870), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
George Patrick Welch (1963), Britannia: the Roman Conquest and Occupation of Britain
Anthony R Birley (1981), The Fasti of Roman Britain, pp. 37-40

Aulus Plautius

Career

Relatives

Namesakes

Secondary sources

External links