Aim: To introduce the Roman period in North Britain. The Roman Empire Aim: To introduce the Roman period in North Britain.

The first Roman Emperor was Augustus in 27 BC. The city of Rome was supposedly founded in 753 BC by two brothers, Romulus and Remus. The first Roman Emperor was Augustus in 27 BC. The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the army and recognition by the Senate. The Romans were pagan, and worshipped a pantheon of gods. There was an Imperial cult and some emperors were given divine status after death. The Roman Empire was the largest empire in Ancient History, stretching from Britain in the west to northern Africa and the Middle East. Emperors ruled the provinces through their Governors. Octavian was declared Augustus in 27 BC, becoming the first Roman Emperor.

In 285, Diocletian partitioned the Roman Empire's administration into eastern and western halves. The capital of the Eastern Empire was Byzantium/Constantinople (now Istanbul, in modern Turkey). Constantine I (“the Great”), the founder of Constantinople, ended the persecution of Christians, after which time Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Empire endured until its conquest by Ottoman Turks in 1453. Coin of Constantine the Great

The Roman Empire under Trajan, 117 AD

ROMAN CIVILISATION Artist’s impression of Rome at its height

The Colosseum, Rome – built under the Flavian Emperors, Vespasian and Titus, in the 1st century AD

The Pantheon, Rome. A Roman temple and now a Roman Catholic church The Pantheon, Rome. A Roman temple and now a Roman Catholic church. Rebuilt by Hadrian c.126 AD. Still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Roman aqueduct in Provence, France Roman mosaic floor at Fishbourne Palace, Sussex, England

THE ROMAN ARMY The Roman army was needed to conquer new territories and police the provinces, upholding the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”). It also served bureaucratic functions, for example enforcing the collection of taxes and customs duties. The Roman legions formed the backbone of the Roman army. Legionaries were Roman citizens and usually served for a period of 20 years. They were highly-trained elite footsoldiers. Each legion was commanded by a legate and numbered around 5,500 men. A legion was made up of 10 cohorts (the first of which was double-strength) of 480 men. Each cohort contained 6 centuries (80 men), which were commanded by a centurion. Each century was made up of 10 contubernia – fighting units of 8 men. The legions were also supported by a cavalry force of 120 mounted soldiers. Each legionary was equipped with a helmet, shield, body armour, two javelins, a short stabbing sword (gladius)and a dagger.

AUXILIARIES Auxiliaries were recruited from the provinces of the Roman Empire. They were organised in cohorts of around 500 men. These troops included heavy and light infantry, cavalry, archers and slingers.

THE ROMAN CONQUEST OF BRITAIN The Roman Empire was intended to be an imperium sine fine, or “empire without end”. As a result the Roman Emperors followed an expansionist foreign policy, always seeking to conquer new territories. Julius Caesar, who had been busy conquering Gaul, carried out two military expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC. There was no conquest of Britain at this time, but the Roman Empire continued to maintain political and economic links with the tribes of SE England. In 43 AD the Emperor Claudius launched a full-scale invasion of Britain. Claudius ordered his governor, Aulus Plautius, to conquer “the rest”. Much of the fighting was undertaken by the future emperor Vespasian as Rome slowly expanded the province into Wales and northern England.

THE FLAVIAN INVASION OF NORTH BRITAIN It is possible that the Romans first entered Scotland under the governors Petillius Cerealis and/or Julius Frontinus in the AD 70s. However, according to the traditional narrative by Tacitus, Scotland was conquered by his father-in-law, Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, between 79 and 84 AD. Agricola supposedly consolidated Rome’s hold on southern Scotland by building forts and advanced to the Tay before winning a great victory over the “Caledonian confederacy” at Mons Graupius in 83 or 84 AD. The construction of a legionary fortress at Inchtuthil suggests that Rome intended a permanent conquest at this time. However, a revolt on the Danube led to Rome’s withdrawal from the North in c.87 AD, to the Tyne-Solway line. Tacitus stated that Perdomita Britannia et statim missa – “Britain was completely conquered and immediately let go”.

THE HADRIANIC AND ANTONINE FRONTIERS Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in 122 AD. Realising that the empire could not continue expanding indefinitely, he ordered construction of a wall across northern England, from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway. His biographer states that the wall was built “to separate the Romans from the barbarians”. Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pius, needed a military victory and so ordered a reoccupation of southern Scotland in or shortly after 139 AD. A new turf wall was built across the Forth-Clyde isthmus. However, the Antonine Wall was abandoned in c.163-4 AD after an occupation of some 20 years.

THE SEVERAN INVASIONS Following the revolt of the Maeatae and Caledonii in northern Scotland, the Emperor Septimius Severus invaded North Britain again in the early 3rd century. After Severus died at York in 211 AD, his son Caracalla made peace and withdrew Roman forces from the north. This marked the end of the last recorded major campaign in Scotland.

THE END OF ROMAN BRITAIN Peace seems to have endured on the northern frontier for much of the 3rd century, but in the 4th century the ailing empire faced numerous threats. In 367 AD Britain was overrun by a “barbarian conspiracy” which included Picts, Scots, Attacotti and Saxons. Order was restored, but in the early 4th century the last Roman troops were withdrawn from Britannia. In 410 AD the Emperor Honorius instructed the Romano-Britons to look to their own defence. By 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire had itself fallen under waves of barbarian attacks.