Battle of Caer Caradoc

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Battle of Caer Caradoc

The Battle of Caer Caradoc was the final battle in 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....
's resistance to 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....
rule. Fought in 50

Year 50 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, the Romans defeated the Britons and thus secured the southern areas of the province 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....
.

Caratacus chose a battlefield in hilly country, placing the Britons on the higher ground. His forces were probably primarily made up of warriors from the Ordovices

Ordovices

The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Islands, before the Roman invasion of Britain. Its tribal lands were located in Wales between the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east....
though there may have been some Silures

Silures

The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Great Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire in south Wales....
as well.

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The Battle of Caer Caradoc was the final battle in Caratacus

Caratacus

Roman Empire

Year 50 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, the Romans defeated the Britons and thus secured the southern areas of the province of Britannia

Roman Britain

Ordovices

Silures

The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Great Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire in south Wales....
as well. This position made both approach and retreat difficult for the Romans, and comparatively easy for his own forces. Where the slope was shallow, he built rough stone ramparts, and placed armed men in front of them. In front of them was a river, probably the Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at . It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales....
or Teme

River Teme

The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, Powys in Powys, and flows through Ludlow in Shropshire, then to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border there, on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester, England....
.

The Roman commander, 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....
, was reluctant to assault the British lines, but the enthusiasm of his men won him over. The river was crossed without difficulty. The Roman soldiers came under a rain of missiles, but employed the testudo formation

Testudo formation

In Ancient Rome warfare, the testudo or tortoise formation was a formation used commonly by the Roman Legions during battles, particularly sieges....
to protect themselves and dismantled the stone ramparts. Once inside the defences, the Romans proved superior in hand-to-hand combat. The Britons withdrew to the hilltops, but the Romans kept up the pursuit. Their lines broke, and they were caught between the heavily armed legionaries

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....
and the lightly armed auxiliaries

Auxiliaries (Roman military)

Auxiliaries formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate , alongside the citizen Roman legion. By the 2nd century, the auxilia contained the same number of infantry as the legions and in addition provided almost all the Roman army's Roman cavalry and more specialised troops ....
. The Britons' lack of armour made them vulnerable to the Romans' superior weapons, and they were defeated.

Caratacus's wife and daughter were captured and his brother surrendered, but Caratacus himself escaped. He fled north, seeking refuge among the Brigantes

Brigantes

The Brigantes were a List of Celtic tribes who in British Iron Age times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands#The English Midlands....
. The Brigantian queen, Cartimandua

Cartimandua

Cartimandua , whose name appears to contain the Indo-European element *mandu "pony",was a queen of the Brigantes, who formed a large tribal agglomeration in northern England in the early Roman Britain period....
, however, was loyal to Rome, and she handed him over in chains. He was exhibited as part of the emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
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 Roman triumph

Roman triumph

A Roman triumph was a civil religion and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publically celebrate the achievements of an army commander who had won great military successes, originally and traditionally, who had successfully completed a war....
in Rome. He gave a speech which persuaded the emperor to spare him and his family. His defeat was publicly likened by the Senators

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....
to some of Rome's greatest victories, and Ostorius Scapula was awarded triumphal ornaments for defeating him.

The site of the battle is unknown. The hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is type of fortification refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age and Iron Ages....
on Caer Caradoc Hill

Caer Caradoc Hill

Caer Caradoc is a hill in the Counties of England of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards The Wrekin, east to Wenlock Edge, and west over the nearby Long Mynd....
in Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire , alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated, in print only, Shrops, is a Counties of England in the West Midlands of England....
is connected with the battle by virtue of its name. Local legend places it at British Camp

Herefordshire Beacon

The Herefordshire Beacon is one of the hills of the Malvern Hills.The name Malvern is probably derived from the Welsh language moel fryn or "bare hill"....
in the Malvern Hills

Malvern Hills

The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the England counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire. It has been designated by the Countryside Agency as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty....
. However, the Severn, though visible from this location, is too distant to fit Tacitus's description of the site. A position just west of Caersws

Caersws

Caersws is a village and community sitting on the River Severn, at some four miles west of Newtown, Powys, ....
, where the remains of earthworks still stand, has also been suggested, as has a location near Brampton Bryan

Brampton Bryan

Brampton Bryan is a small village situated on the northern boundaries of Herefordshire close to Shropshire and the Wales border.Brampton Bryan lies mid-way between Leintwardine and Knighton, Powys on the A4113 road....
.