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Britannia Inferior was a subdivision of the 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....
 province of Britannia
Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
 established c.214 by the emperor Caracalla
Caracalla

Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
, son of Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus

Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
. Located in modern northern England
Northern England

Northern England, the North, the North of England, or the North Country refers to the parts of England north of an ill-defined line....
, the region was governed from the city of Eburacum (modern York
York

York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire and River Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city status in the United Kingdom is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence....
) by a praetorian legate in command of a single legion stationed in the city. This subdivision of Britannia lasted throughout the Severan dynasty
Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the African general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
 until the reorganisation of the empire under Diocletian
Diocletian

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305....
 in 296.

Note: the name Britannia Inferior does not imply "inferior" in the modern sense.






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Britannia Inferior was a subdivision of the 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....
 province of Britannia
Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
 established c.214 by the emperor Caracalla
Caracalla

Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
, son of Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus

Lucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Empire general, and Roman Emperor from April 14 193 to 211. He was born in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, making him the first emperor to be born in the Roman province of Africa Province....
. Located in modern northern England
Northern England

Northern England, the North, the North of England, or the North Country refers to the parts of England north of an ill-defined line....
, the region was governed from the city of Eburacum (modern York
York

York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire and River Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city status in the United Kingdom is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence....
) by a praetorian legate in command of a single legion stationed in the city. This subdivision of Britannia lasted throughout the Severan dynasty
Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the African general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
 until the reorganisation of the empire under Diocletian
Diocletian

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305....
 in 296.

Note: the name Britannia Inferior does not imply "inferior" in the modern sense. Its literal translation is "Lower Britain", though it is located in Northern England, because Romans named locations according to their proximity to the city of Rome itself. Therefore, Britannia that was further from Rome was called Inferior.

Establishment


During the reign of Commodus
Commodus

Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus , was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 . The name given here was his official name at his accession to sole rule; see 'Commodus#Changes of name' for earlier and later forms....
, the defenses along the northern border of the empire in Britannia fell into neglect and disrepair. The peace of the region was further disturbed in the tumultuous period after Commodus' death as the military power vacuum on the continent distracted the defensive legions stationed in Britannia.

After his accession in A.D. 193, Severus
Severus

Severus is Latin cognomen, most often used for Septimius Severus, Alexander Severus and other members of the Severan dynasty.Severus can also refer to:...
 took special interest in refortifying the northern border in Britannia, and in 208 he relocated in Eburacum to oversee the military campaigns to pacify the northern tribes.

While there is some confusion as to the exact date when the subdivision of Britannia
Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
 was made, it seems clear that Severus' intentions were to break up the size of the military under the command of an individual governor (as he had done in Syria), preventing them from wielding too large a military force, or at least one that could destabilize the emperor's control. Herodian
Herodian

Herodian or Herodianus of Syria was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus in eight books covering the years 180 to 238....
 places the date of the split occurred in 197 , though there is no evidence of this distinction being formalised in inscriptions until after the death of Severus in 211. Thus, it is likely that the division of military control in Britannia was formally established by Caracalla
Caracalla

Caracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 – 217....
 sometime between 211-20.

Reorganisation


In A.D. 296, the emperor Diocletian
Diocletian

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus , born Diocles and commonly known as Diocletian , was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305....
 conducted a major reorganisation of the empire. The newly named Diocese of Britannia was subdivided into four provinces, Britannia Prima
Britannia Prima

Britannia Prima was one of the provinces of Roman Britain in existence by c. 312 AD. It was probably created as part of the administrative reforms of the Roman Emperor Diocletian after the defeat of the usurper Allectus by Constantius Chlorus in 296 AD....
, Britannia Secunda
Britannia Secunda

Britannia Secunda was one of the provinces of Roman Britain in existence by c. 312 AD and probably created as part of the administrative reforms of the Roman Emperor Diocletian after the defeat of the usurper Allectus by Constantius Chlorus in 296 AD....
, Maxima Caesariensis
Maxima Caesariensis

Maxima Caesariensis was the name of one of the four provinces of later Roman Britain . Its capital was Londinium and probably encompassed what is now south east England....
 and Flavia Caesariensis
Flavia Caesariensis

Flavia Caesariensis was one of the provinces of Roman Britain.It was created in the early 4th century under the reforms of Diocletian and it has been suggested that its capital may have been at Lincoln, Lincolnshire ....
.

Britannia Inferior was broken down into the provinces of Britania Secunda, with York (Eburacum) as its capital, and Flavia Caesariensis, with Lincoln (Lindum) as its capital.