Catuvellauni
Encyclopedia
The Catuvellauni were a tribe or state of south-eastern Britain
before the Roman conquest
.
The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius
, who implies they led the resistance against the conquest in AD 43. They appear as one of the civitates
of Roman Britain
in Ptolemy
's Geography in the 2nd century, occupying modern Hertfordshire
, Bedfordshire
and southern Cambridgeshire
and based around the town of Verlamion
(modern St Albans
).
Their territory was bordered to the north by the Iceni
and Corieltauvi, to the east by the Trinovantes
, to the west by the Dobunni
and Atrebates, and to the south by the Regnenses
and Cantiaci
.
The Catuvellauni may be related to the Catalauni, a people of Belgic Gaul
attested in the region of Châlons-en-Champagne
. The name itself is derived from the Old Brythonic catu - wellauni meaning "battle chieftains" or "battle leaders". This ultimately derives from the Proto-Celtic "catu", battle, and "wali", to lead.
, who led the resistance to Julius Caesar
's first expedition to Britain in 54 BC, is often taken to have belonged to the Catuvellauni. His tribal background is not mentioned by Caesar, but his territory, north of the Thames
and to the west of the Trinovantes
, corresponds to that later occupied by the Catuvellauni. The extensive earthworks at Devil's Dyke
near Wheathampstead
, Hertfordshire
are thought to have been the tribe's original capital.
Tasciovanus
was the first king to mint coins
at Verlamion
, beginning ca 20 BC. He appears to have expanded his power at the expense of the Trinovantes to the east, as some of his coins, ca 15–10 BC, were minted in their capital Camulodunum
(modern Colchester
). This advance was given up, possibly under pressure from Rome
, and a later series of coins were again minted at Verulamium.
However, Camulodunum was retaken, either by Tasciovanus or by his son Cunobelinus
, who succeeded him ca AD 9 and ruled for about thirty years. Little is known of Cunobelinus's life, but his name survived into British legend, culminating in William Shakespeare
's play Cymbeline
. Geoffrey of Monmouth
says he was brought up at the court of Augustus and willingly paid tribute to Rome. Archaeology indicates increased trading and diplomatic links with the Roman Empire
. Under Cunobelinus and his family the Catuvellauni appear to have become the dominant power in south-eastern Britain. His brother Epaticcus
gained territory to the south and west at the expense of the Atrebates
until his death ca AD 35. The grave of the "Druid of Colchester
" dates to this period, providing evidence of medical practices and technology within the Catuvellauni tribe.
Three sons of Cunobelinus are known to history. Adminius
, whose power-base appears from his coins to have been in Kent
, was exiled by his father shortly before AD 40 according to Suetonius
, prompting the emperor
Caligula
to mount his abortive invasion of Britain. Two other sons, Togodumnus
and Caratacus
, are named by Dio Cassius. No coins of Togodumnus are known, but Caratacus's rare coins suggest that he followed his uncle Epaticcus in completing the conquest of the lands of the Atrebates. It was the exile of the Atrebatic king, Verica
, that prompted Claudius
to launch a successful invasion, led by Aulus Plautius
, in AD 43.
Dio tells us that by this stage Cunobelinus was dead, and Togodumnus and Caratacus led the initial resistance to the invasion in Kent. They were defeated by Plautius in two crucial battles on the rivers Medway
(see Battle of the Medway
) and Thames
. He also tells us that the Bodunni, a tribe or kingdom who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, switched sides. This may be a misspelling of the Dobunni
, who lived in Gloucestershire
, and may give an indication of how far Catuvellaunian power extended. Togodumnus died shortly after the battle on the Thames. Plautius halted and sent word for the emperor to join him, and Claudius led the final advance to Camulodunum. The territories of the Catuvellauni became the nucleus of the new Roman province
.
's Annals
, leading the Silures
and Ordovices
in what is now Wales
against the Roman governor Publius Ostorius Scapula
. Ostorius defeated him in a set-piece battle somewhere in Ordovician territory (see Battle of Caer Caradoc
) in AD 51, capturing members of his family, but Caratacus again escaped. He fled north to the Brigantes
, but their queen, Cartimandua
, was loyal to the Romans and handed him over in chains.
Caratacus was exhibited as a war-prize as part of a triumphal parade
in Rome. He was allowed to make a speech to the Senate
, and made such an impression that he and his family were freed and allowed to live in peace in Rome.
Verulamium
, the Roman settlement near Verlamion, gained the status of municipium
ca 50, allowing its leading magistrates to become Roman citizens. It was destroyed in the rebellion of Boudica
in 60 or 61, but was soon rebuilt. Its forum
and basilica
were completed in 79 or 81, and were dedicated in an inscription
by the governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola
, to the emperor Titus
. Its theatre, the first Roman theatre
in Britain, was built ca 140.
An inscription records that the civitas of the Catuvellauni were involved in the reconstruction of Hadrian's Wall
, probably in the time of Septimius Severus
in the early 3rd century. Saint Alban
, the first British Christian
martyr
, was a citizen of Verulamium in the late 3rd or early 4th century, and was killed there. The city took its modern name from him. The tombstone of a woman of the Catuvellauni called Regina, freedwoman and wife of Barates, a soldier from Palmyra
in Syria
, was found in the 4th century Roman fort of Arbeia
in South Shields
in the north-east of England.
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
before the Roman conquest
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
.
The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius
Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
, who implies they led the resistance against the conquest in AD 43. They appear as one of the civitates
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
of Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
in Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's Geography in the 2nd century, occupying modern Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
and southern Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and based around the town of Verlamion
Verlamion
Verlamion, or Verlamio, was the tribal capital of the Catuvellauni tribe in Iron Age Britain from approximately 20 BC until shortly after the Roman invasion of 43 AD...
(modern St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
).
Their territory was bordered to the north by the Iceni
Iceni
The Iceni or Eceni were a British tribe who inhabited an area of East Anglia corresponding roughly to the modern-day county of Norfolk between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD...
and Corieltauvi, to the east by the Trinovantes
Trinovantes
The Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes of pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni...
, to the west by the Dobunni
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. The latter part of the name possibly derives from Bune, a cup or vessel...
and Atrebates, and to the south by the Regnenses
Regnenses
The Regnenses, Regni or Regini were a British Celtic kingdom and later a civitas of Roman Britain. Their capital was Noviomagus Reginorum, known today as Chichester in modern West Sussex....
and Cantiaci
Cantiaci
The Cantiaci or Cantii were a Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a civitas of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England...
.
The Catuvellauni may be related to the Catalauni, a people of Belgic Gaul
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...
attested in the region of Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims....
. The name itself is derived from the Old Brythonic catu - wellauni meaning "battle chieftains" or "battle leaders". This ultimately derives from the Proto-Celtic "catu", battle, and "wali", to lead.
Before the Roman conquest
CassivellaunusCassivellaunus
Cassivellaunus was an historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. The first British person whose name is recorded, Cassivellaunus led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was...
, who led the resistance to Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's first expedition to Britain in 54 BC, is often taken to have belonged to the Catuvellauni. His tribal background is not mentioned by Caesar, but his territory, north of the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and to the west of the Trinovantes
Trinovantes
The Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes of pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni...
, corresponds to that later occupied by the Catuvellauni. The extensive earthworks at Devil's Dyke
Devil's Dyke, Hertfordshire
Devil's Dyke is the remains of a defensive ditch around an ancient settlement of the Catuvellauni tribe of Ancient Britain. It lies at the east side of the current village of Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England...
near Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
are thought to have been the tribe's original capital.
Tasciovanus
Tasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain.-History:Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence. He appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni ca. 20 BC, ruling from Verlamion...
was the first king to mint coins
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
at Verlamion
Verlamion
Verlamion, or Verlamio, was the tribal capital of the Catuvellauni tribe in Iron Age Britain from approximately 20 BC until shortly after the Roman invasion of 43 AD...
, beginning ca 20 BC. He appears to have expanded his power at the expense of the Trinovantes to the east, as some of his coins, ca 15–10 BC, were minted in their capital Camulodunum
Camulodunum
Camulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester, a town in Essex, England. Camulodunum is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and...
(modern Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
). This advance was given up, possibly under pressure from Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, and a later series of coins were again minted at Verulamium.
Cunobelinus
Cunobeline or Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins...
, who succeeded him ca AD 9 and ruled for about thirty years. Little is known of Cunobelinus's life, but his name survived into British legend, culminating in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
. Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
says he was brought up at the court of Augustus and willingly paid tribute to Rome. Archaeology indicates increased trading and diplomatic links with the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Under Cunobelinus and his family the Catuvellauni appear to have become the dominant power in south-eastern Britain. His brother Epaticcus
Epaticcus
Epaticcus or Epaticcu was a brother of Cunobelinus, king of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain.Coins bearing his name begin to appear in the northern lands of the neighbouring Atrebates tribe and their capital, Calleva Atrebatum , probably fell to him around AD 25...
gained territory to the south and west at the expense of the Atrebates
Atrebates
The Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests.- Name of the tribe :Cognate with Old Irish aittrebaid meaning 'inhabitant', Atrebates comes from proto-Celtic *ad-treb-a-t-es, 'inhabitants'. The Celtic root is treb- 'building', 'home' The Atrebates (singular...
until his death ca AD 35. The grave of the "Druid of Colchester
Druid of Colchester
The grave of the "Druid of Colchester" was discovered by archaeologists in 1996. The find, at the village of Stanway, Essex, near Colchester, is believed to be that of an Iron Age druid dated c. 40-60 AD. It is among a number of graves of eminent people found, believed to be buried around the time...
" dates to this period, providing evidence of medical practices and technology within the Catuvellauni tribe.
Three sons of Cunobelinus are known to history. Adminius
Adminius
Adminius, Amminius or Amminus was a son of Cunobelinus, ruler of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain. His name can be interpreted as Celtic *ad-mindios, "to be crowned"....
, whose power-base appears from his coins to have been in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county 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 Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, was exiled by his father shortly before AD 40 according to Suetonius
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
, prompting the emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
to mount his abortive invasion of Britain. Two other sons, Togodumnus
Togodumnus
Togodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius....
and Caratacus
Caratacus
Caratacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest....
, are named by Dio Cassius. No coins of Togodumnus are known, but Caratacus's rare coins suggest that he followed his uncle Epaticcus in completing the conquest of the lands of the Atrebates. It was the exile of the Atrebatic king, Verica
Verica
Verica was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. He succeeded his elder brother Eppillus as king in about 15 AD, reigning at Calleva Atrebatum,...
, that prompted Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
to launch a successful invasion, led by Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
, in AD 43.
Dio tells us that by this stage Cunobelinus was dead, and Togodumnus and Caratacus led the initial resistance to the invasion in Kent. They were defeated by Plautius in two crucial battles 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....
(see Battle of the Medway
Battle of the Medway
The Battle of the Medway took place in 43 AD on the River Medway in the lands of the Iron Age tribe of the Cantiaci, now the English county of Kent...
) and Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. He also tells us that the Bodunni, a tribe or kingdom who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, switched sides. This may be a misspelling of the Dobunni
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. The latter part of the name possibly derives from Bune, a cup or vessel...
, who lived in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, and may give an indication of how far Catuvellaunian power extended. Togodumnus died shortly after the battle on the Thames. Plautius halted and sent word for the emperor to join him, and Claudius led the final advance to Camulodunum. The territories of the Catuvellauni became the nucleus of the new 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 Italy...
.
Under Roman rule
Caratacus, however, had survived, and continued to lead the resistance to the invaders. We next hear of him in TacitusTacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
's Annals
Annals (Tacitus)
The Annals by Tacitus is a history of the reigns of the four Roman Emperors succeeding Caesar Augustus. The surviving parts of the Annals extensively cover most of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero. The title Annals was probably not given by Tacitus, but derives from the fact that he treated this...
, leading the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
and Ordovices
Ordovices
The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain, before the Roman invasion of Britain. Its tribal lands were located in present day Wales and England between the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east...
in what is now Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
against the Roman governor Publius Ostorius Scapula
Publius Ostorius Scapula
Publius Ostorius Scapula was a Roman statesman and general who governed Britain from 47 until his death, and was responsible for the defeat and capture of Caratacus.-Career:...
. Ostorius defeated him in a set-piece battle somewhere in Ordovician territory (see Battle of Caer Caradoc
Battle of Caer Caradoc
The Battle of Caer Caradoc was the final battle in Caratacus's resistance to Roman rule. Fought in 50, the Romans defeated the Britons and thus secured the southern areas of the province of Britannia....
) in AD 51, capturing members of his family, but Caratacus again escaped. He fled north to the Brigantes
Brigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
, but their queen, Cartimandua
Cartimandua
Cartimandua or Cartismandua was a queen of the Brigantes, a Celtic people in what is now Northern England, in the 1st century. She came to power around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, and formed a large tribal agglomeration that became loyal to Rome...
, was loyal to the Romans and handed him over in chains.
Caratacus was exhibited as a war-prize as part of a triumphal parade
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
in Rome. He was allowed to make a speech to the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, and made such an impression that he and his family were freed and allowed to live in peace in Rome.
Verulamium
Verulamium
Verulamium was an ancient town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon...
, the Roman settlement near Verlamion, gained the status of municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
ca 50, allowing its leading magistrates to become Roman citizens. It was destroyed in the rebellion of Boudica
Boudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
in 60 or 61, but was soon rebuilt. Its forum
Forum (Roman)
A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...
and basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
were completed in 79 or 81, and were dedicated in an inscription
Verulamium Forum inscription
The Verulamium Forum Inscription is one of the many Roman inscriptions in Britain. It has been reconstructed as a large dedication slab from five small fragments found in 1955 during construction work in the yard of St Michael's School, St Albans...
by the governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...
, to the emperor Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
. Its theatre, the first Roman theatre
Roman theatre (structure)
The characteristics of Roman to those of the earlier Greek theatres due in large part to its influence on the Roman triumvir Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings...
in Britain, was built ca 140.
An inscription records that the civitas of the Catuvellauni were involved in the reconstruction of Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
, probably in the time of Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
in the early 3rd century. Saint Alban
Saint Alban
Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
, the first British Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, was a citizen of Verulamium in the late 3rd or early 4th century, and was killed there. The city took its modern name from him. The tombstone of a woman of the Catuvellauni called Regina, freedwoman and wife of Barates, a soldier from Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, was found in the 4th century Roman fort of Arbeia
Arbeia
Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s and all modern building on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums as Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum.-...
in South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
in the north-east of England.
List of leaders of the Catuvellauni
- CassivellaunusCassivellaunusCassivellaunus was an historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. The first British person whose name is recorded, Cassivellaunus led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was...
, a military leader and possibly chieftain, often associated with the Catuvellauni c. 54 BC - TasciovanusTasciovanusTasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain.-History:Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence. He appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni ca. 20 BC, ruling from Verlamion...
, c. 20 BC – AD 9 - CunobelinusCunobelinusCunobeline or Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins...
, AD 9 – AD 40 - TogodumnusTogodumnusTogodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius....
- CaratacusCaratacusCaratacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest....