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Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 client king
Roman client kingdoms in Britain

The Roman client kingdoms in Britain were native tribes who chose to align themselves with the Roman Empire because they saw it as the best option for self-preservation or for protection from other hostile tribes....
 of the Roman Empire
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....
 in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.

From his coinage, he appears to have been 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...
 tribe and a son of Commius
Commius

Commius was a historical king of the Belgae nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Prehistoric Britain, in the 1st century BC....
. He succeeded his elder brother Eppillus
Eppillus

Eppillus was the name of a Roman client kingdoms in Britain of the Atrebates tribe of the British Iron Age. He was the son of Commius, the Gaulish former ally of Julius Caesar who fled to Britain following the uprising of Vercingetorix, or possibly of his son....
 as king in about 15 AD, reigning at Calleva Atrebatum, today called Silchester
Silchester

Silchester is a village and civil parish in the England county of Hampshire. It is best known for the adjacent archaeological site and Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, which was first occupied by the Romans in about AD 45 and includes what is thought to be the best-preserved Roman Empire wall in Great Britain....
. He was recognised as rex
Rex

Rex is the Latin word for "Monarch" . Rex is an English language male given name.Rex may also refer to:...
 by Rome and appears to have had friendly trade and diplomatic links with the empire.

His territory was pressed from the east by 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....
, led by Epaticcus
Epaticcus

File:Epaticcus.jpgEpaticcus 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....
, brother of Cunobelinus
Cunobelinus

Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Ancient Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins....
, who conquered Calleva in about 25 AD.






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Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 client king
Roman client kingdoms in Britain

The Roman client kingdoms in Britain were native tribes who chose to align themselves with the Roman Empire because they saw it as the best option for self-preservation or for protection from other hostile tribes....
 of the Roman Empire
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....
 in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.

From his coinage, he appears to have been 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...
 tribe and a son of Commius
Commius

Commius was a historical king of the Belgae nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Prehistoric Britain, in the 1st century BC....
. He succeeded his elder brother Eppillus
Eppillus

Eppillus was the name of a Roman client kingdoms in Britain of the Atrebates tribe of the British Iron Age. He was the son of Commius, the Gaulish former ally of Julius Caesar who fled to Britain following the uprising of Vercingetorix, or possibly of his son....
 as king in about 15 AD, reigning at Calleva Atrebatum, today called Silchester
Silchester

Silchester is a village and civil parish in the England county of Hampshire. It is best known for the adjacent archaeological site and Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, which was first occupied by the Romans in about AD 45 and includes what is thought to be the best-preserved Roman Empire wall in Great Britain....
. He was recognised as rex
Rex

Rex is the Latin word for "Monarch" . Rex is an English language male given name.Rex may also refer to:...
 by Rome and appears to have had friendly trade and diplomatic links with the empire.

His territory was pressed from the east by 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....
, led by Epaticcus
Epaticcus

File:Epaticcus.jpgEpaticcus 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....
, brother of Cunobelinus
Cunobelinus

Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Ancient Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins....
, who conquered Calleva in about 25 AD. After Epaticcus's death ca. 35 AD Verica regained some territory, but Cunobelinus's son 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....
 took over and conquered the entire kingdom some time after 40 AD.

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....
 records that "Bericus" (almost certainly Verica) was expelled from Britain around this time during a revolt. 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 Roman Emperor of the Roman Empire written by Suetonius....
 refers to demands by the Britons that Rome return "certain deserters". As rex, Verica was nominally an ally of Rome, so his exile gave Claudius an excuse to begin his invasion.

Verica's relationship with Rome has been used to argue for the site of the Roman invasion of Britain as being along the south coast to assist him, rather than being at the traditional spot 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.

After the invasion, Verica may have been restored as king but this is not attested in the historical or archaeological record. In any case a new ruler for the region, Cogidubnus, soon appeared. Cogidubnus may have been an heir of Verica who by this time would have been very elderly indeed.

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