The story of Boudica, the Celtic queen who waged a brave battle against the Roman Empire in 60 AD, is only recorded in two classical manuscripts. They were written decades after by male classical authors, Tacitus and Cassius Dio.

The Iceni tribe

Not a great deal is known about the early life of Boudica, but it is understood that she was of royal descent. In the Celtic language of the Iceni tribe, whose leader she was, her name simply meant ‘Victory’. She married King Prasutagus, leader of the Iceni tribe (based in  modern day East Anglia) and the pair had two daughters.

The Iceni were a small British Celtic tribe that was independent and wealthy, and they were a client kingdom of Rome. When the Romans conquered southern England in 43 AD, they allowed Prasutagus to continue to rule as a subservient to Rome. As part of the agreement, Prasagustus named the Emperor of Rome joint heir to his kingdom along with his wife and daughters.

Unfortunately, Roman law did not allow inheritance through the female line. Following the death of Prasutagus, the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated the property of the leading tribesmen. In a show of Roman power, it is alleged that they publicly flogged Boudica and soldiers attacked her two young daughters.

Making a stand

Instead of accepting her fate, and that of her people, Boudica led a native army of British tribes in revolt against oppressive Roman rule.

Credit: John Opie

Boudica’s revolt had little long-term effect, but the fact that she was a respected woman of the time captured the imagination of many, including Tacitus and Cassius Dio. However, whilst feminists have gone on to champion Boudica as an icon, the very concept of feminism was alien to the society in which she lived. The Romans viewed women warriors as indicative of an immoral, uncivilised society, and these views are reflected in the condemning accounts of both Tacitus and Cassius Dio.

Cassius Dio’s description of Boudica voids her of femininity, portraying her instead with qualities more closely associated with the masculine ideal: “in stature, she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace…”

Boudica’s bloody rampage

While the governor of Britain, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was far away in the west suppressing the last druid stronghold on the Island of Anglesey, Boudica set her plan into action. Allied with the neighbouring Trinovantes, the queen began her rebellion by attacking an almost undefended Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester).

The Ninth Legion, commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis, attempted to relieve the siege but they arrived too late. The tribes had gathered considerable force by the time the Ninth Legion had arrived and the infantrymen found themselves overwhelmed and were annihilated. Boudica and her army burned, butchered and crucified the entire Roman population in the area.

Camulodunum’s surviving citizens retreated to their temple where, for two days, they cowered behind its thick walls. They were eventually forced out of hiding and their sanctuary was torched by Boudica and her followers.

A triumphant Boudica urged her forces on, destroying London and Verulamium (St Albans). Boudica and her estimated 100,000 strong army are believed to have killed and slaughtered some 70,000 Roman soldiers. Modern archaeologists have found a layer of burned earth in each area that they call the Boudican destruction horizon.

After a series of victories, Boudica was eventually defeated by a Roman army led by Suetonius at Watling Street. Rome’s power in Britain was fully restored, and remained for the next 350 years.

The legacy of the warrior queen

The end of Boudica’s life is shrouded in mystery. It is unknown where the site of the battle or of her death was. Tacitus wrote that she took poison to avoid the consequences of her actions, but whether or not this is true remains unclear.

Though she lost her battle and her cause, Boudica is celebrated today as a national heroine and a universal symbol of the human desire for freedom and justice.

In the 16th century Queen Elizabeth I used Boudica’s story as an example to prove that a woman was fit to be queen. In 1902, a bronze statue of Boudica and her daughters riding a chariot was erected at the end of Westminster Bridge, London. The statue is a testament to Britain’s imperial aspirations under Queen Victoria.

The exception is the Soviet Union, which included female battalions and pilots during the First World War and saw hundreds of thousands of women soldiers fight in World War Two.

In the major ancient civilisations, the lives of women were generally restricted to more traditional roles. Yet there were some who broke with tradition, both at home and on the battlefield.

Here are 10 of history’s fiercest female warriors who not only had to face their enemies, but also the strict gender roles of their day.

1. Fu Hao (d. c. 1200 BC)

Lady Fu Hao was one of the 60 wives of Emperor Wu Ding of ancient China’s Shang Dynasty. She broke with tradition by serving as both a high priestess and military general. According to inscriptions on oracle bones from the time, Fu Hao led many military campaigns, commanded 13,000 soldiers and was considered the most powerful military leaders of her time.

The many weapons found in her tomb support Fu Hao’s status as a great female warrior. She also controlled her own fiefdom on the outskirts of her husband’s empire. Her tomb was unearthed in 1976 and can be visited by the public.

2. Tomyris (fl. 530 BC)

Tomyris was the Queen of the Massaegetae, a confederation of nomadic tribes that lived east of the Caspian Sea. She ruled during the 6th century BC and is most famous for the vengeful war she waged against the Persian king, Cyrus the Great.

‘Tomyris Plunges the Head of the Dead Cyrus Into a Vessel of Blood’ by Rubens

Image Credit: Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Initially the war did not go well for Tomyris and the Massaegetae. Cyrus destroyed their army and Tomyris’ son, Spargapises, committed suicide out of shame.

The grief-stricken Tomyris raised another army and challenged Cyrus to battle a second time. Cyrus believed another victory was certain and accepted the challenge, but in the ensuing engagement Tomyris emerged victorious.

Cyrus himself fell in the melee. During his reign he had won many battles and defeated many of the most powerful men of his time, yet Tomyris proved a Queen too far.

Tomyris’ vengeance was not sated by Cyrus’ death. Following the battle, the Queen demanded her men find Cyrus’ body; when they located it, the 5th century BC historian Herodotus reveals Tomyris’ gruesome next move:

…she took a skin, and, filling it full of human blood, she dipped the head of Cyrus in the gore, saying, as she thus insulted the corpse, “I live and have conquered you in fight, and yet by you am I ruined, for you took my son with guile; but thus I make good my threat, and give you your fill of blood.”

Tomyris was not a queen to mess with.

3. Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC)

The Ancient Greek Queen of Halicarnassus, Artemisia ruled during the late 5^th century BC. She was an ally to the King of Persia, Xerxes I, and fought for him during the second Persian invasion of Greece, personally commanding 5 ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Herodotus writes that she was a decisive and intelligent, albeit ruthless strategist. According to Polyaenus, Xerxes praised Artemisia above all other officers in his fleet and rewarded her for her performance in battle.

Battle of Salamis. Artemisia appears highlighted center-left of the painting, above the victorious Greek fleet, below the throne of Xerxes, and shooting arrows at the Greeks

Image Credit: Wilhelm von Kaulbach, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

4. Cynane (c. 358 – 323 BC)

Cynane was the daughter of King Philip II of Macedon and his first wife, the Illyrian Princess Audata. She was also the half-sister of Alexander the Great.

Audata raised Cynane in the Illyrian tradition, training her in the arts of war and turning her into an exceptional fighter – so much so that her skill on the battlefield became famed throughout the land.

Cynane accompanied the Macedonian army on campaign alongside Alexander the Great and according to the historian Polyaenus, she once slew an Illyrian queen and masterminded the slaughter of her army. Such was her military prowess.

Following Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, Cynane attempted an audacious power play. In the ensuing chaos, she championed her daughter, Adea, to marry Philip Arrhidaeus, Alexander’s simple-minded half-brother who the Macedonian generals had installed as a puppet king.

Yet Alexander’s former generals – and especially the new regent, Perdiccas – had no intention of accepting this, seeing Cynane as a threat to their own power. Undeterred, Cynane gathered a powerful army and marched into Asia to place her daughter on the throne by force.

As she and her army were marching through Asia towards Babylon, Cynane was confronted by another army commanded by Alcetas, the brother of Perdiccas and a former companion of Cynane.

However, desiring to keep his brother in power Alcetas slew Cynane when they met – a sad end to one of history’s most remarkable female warriors.

Although Cynane never reached Babylon, her power play proved successful. The Macedonian soldiers were angered at Alcetas’ killing of Cynane, especially as she was directly related to their beloved Alexander.

Thus they demanded Cynane’s wish be fulfilled. Perdiccas relented, Adea and Philip Arrhidaeus were married, and Adea adopted the title Queen Adea Eurydice.

5. & 6. Olympias and Eurydice

The mother of Alexander the Great, Olympias was one of the most remarkable women in antiquity. She was a princess of the most powerful tribe in Epirus (a region now divided between northwest Greece and southern Albania) and her family claimed descent from Achilles.

Roman medallion with Olympias, Museum of Thessaloniki

Image Credit: Fotogeniss, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Despite this impressive claim, many Greeks considered her home kingdom to be semi-barbarous  – a realm tainted with vice because of its proximity to raiding Illyrians in the north. Thus the surviving texts often perceive her as a somewhat exotic character.

In 358 BC Olympias’ uncle, the Molossian King Arrybas, married Olympias to King Philip II of Macedonia to secure the strongest possible alliance. She gave birth to Alexander the Great two years later in 356 BC.

Further conflict was added to an already tempestuous relationship when Philip married again, this time a Macedonian noblewoman called Cleopatra Eurydice.

Olympias began to fear this new marriage might threaten the possibility of Alexander inheriting Philip’s throne. Her Molossian heritage was starting to make some Macedonian nobles question Alexander’s legitimacy.

Thus there is a strong possibility that Olympias was involved in the subsequent murders of Philip II, Cleopatra Eurydice and her infant children. She is often portrayed as a woman who stopped at nothing to ensure Alexander ascended the throne.

Following Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, she became a major player in the early Wars of the Successors in Macedonia. In 317 BC, she led an army into Macedonia and was confronted by an army led by another queen: none other than Cynane’s daughter, Adea Eurydice.

This clash was the first time in Greek history that two armies faced each other commanded by women. However, the battle ended before a sword blow was exchanged. As soon as they saw the mother of their beloved Alexander the Great facing them, Eurydice’s army deserted to Olympias.

Upon capturing Eurydice and Philip Arrhidaeus, Eurydice’s husband, Olympias had them imprisoned in squalid conditions. Soon after she had Philip stabbed to death while his wife watched on.

On Christmas Day 317, Olympias sent Eurydice a sword, a noose, and some hemlock, and ordered her to choose which way she wanted to die. After cursing Olympias’ name that she might suffer a similarly sad end, Eurydice chose the noose.

Olympias herself did not live long to cherish this victory. The following year Olympias’ control of Macedonia was overthrown by Cassander, another of the Successors. Upon capturing Olympias, Cassander sent two hundred soldiers to her house to slay her.

However, after being overawed by the sight of Alexander the Great’s mother, the hired killers did not go through with the task. Yet this only temporarily prolonged Olympias’ life as relatives of her past victims soon murdered her in revenge.

7. Queen Teuta (fl. 229 BC)

Teuta was the Queen of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria during the late third century BC. In 230 BC, she was acting as regent for her infant stepson when a Roman embassy arrived at her court to mediate concerns about Illyrian expansion along the Adriatic shoreline.

During the meeting however, one of the Roman delegates lost his temper and began to shout at the Illyrian queen. Outraged by the outburst, Teuta had the young diplomat murdered.

The incident marked the outbreak of the First Illyrian War between Rome and Teuta’s Illyria. By 228 BC, Rome had emerged victorious and Teuta was banished from her homeland.

8. Boudicca (d. 60/61 AD)

Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe, Boudicca led an uprising against the forces of the Roman Empire in Britain after the Romans ignored her husband Prasutagus’ will, which left rule of his kingdom to both Rome and his daughters. Upon Prasutagus’ death, the Romans seized control, flogged Boudicca and Roman soldiers raped her daughters.

Boudica statue, Westminster

Image Credit: Paul Walter, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Boudicca led an army of Iceni and Trinovantes and waged a devastating campaign on Roman Britain. She destroyed three Roman towns, Camulodinum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans) and Londinium (London), and also all-but annihilated one of the Roman legions in Britain: the famous Ninth Legion.

In the end Boudicca and her army were defeated by the Romans somewhere along Watling Street and Boudicca committed suicide not long after.

9. Triệu Thị Trinh (ca. 222 – 248 AD)

Commonly referred to as Lady Triệu, this warrior of 3^rd century Vietnam temporarily freed her homeland from Chinese rule.

That is according to traditional Vietnamese sources at least, which also state that she was 9 feet tall with 3-foot breasts that she tied behind her back during battle. She usually fought while riding an elephant.

Chinese historical sources make no mention of Triệu Thị Trinh, yet for the Vietnamese, Lady Triệu is the most important historical figure of her time.

10. Zenobia (240 – c. 275 AD)

The Queen of Syria’s Palmyrene Empire from 267 AD, Zenobia conquered Egypt from the Romans only 2 years into her reign.

Her empire only lasted a short while longer, however, as the Roman Emperor Aurelian defeated her in 271, taking her back to Rome where she — depending on which account you believe — either died shortly thereafter or married a Roman governor and lived out a life of luxury as a well-known philosopher, socialite and matron.

Dubbed the ‘Warrior Queen’, Zenobia was well educated and multi-lingual. She was known to behave ‘like a man’, riding, drinking and hunting with her officers.

Here are 10 facts about the Iceni queen.

1. Her daughters were bequeathed the Iceni Kingdom…

Following the death of Prasutagus, Boudicca’s husband, the Iceni chieftain had willed that his kingdom be divided equally between his two daughters and the Roman Emperor Nero. Boudicca would retain the title of Queen.

2. …but the Romans had other ideas

Rather than abide by the late Prasutagus’ wishes, the Romans had other plans. They wanted to seize Iceni wealth.

Throughout Iceni territory, they committed mass ill-treatment of both the native nobility and the common folk. Lands were pillaged and homes were plundered, sparking great resentment among all levels of the tribal hierarchy towards the Roman soldiers.

Iceni royalty did not avoid the Roman scourge. Prasutagus’ two daughters, supposedly meant for joint rule with Rome, were raped. Boudicca, the Iceni queen, was flogged.

According to Tacitus:

The whole country was considered as a legacy bequeathed to the plunderers. The relations of the deceased king were reduced to slavery.

An engraving depicting Boudicca haranguing the Britons. (Credit: John Opie).

3. She roused the Britons to revolt

The injustice Boudicca, her daughters and the rest of her tribe suffered at Roman hands sparked rebellion. She became a figurehead for revolt against Roman rule.

Citing her family’s mistreatment she harangued her subjects and neighbouring tribes, encouraging them to rise up and join her in forcing the Romans out of Britain by the spear.

Past Roman oppression against these tribes ensured that Boudicca’s rallying cry met with much approval; very quickly the ranks of her rebellion swelled.

4. She swiftly sacked three Roman cities

In due succession Boudicca and her horde razed the Roman cities of Camulodonum (Colchester), Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium (London).

Slaughter was rife in these three Roman colonies: according to Tacitus some 70,000 Romans were put to the sword.

The sacking of Camulodonum was particularly brutal. Known for its large population of Roman veterans and epitomising Roman over-lordship, Boudicca’s soldiers vented their full fury at the largely-unprotected colony. No-one was spared.

This was a terror campaign with a deadly message to all Romans in Britain: get out or die.

5. Her forces then massacred the famous Ninth Legion

Though the Ninth Legion is best remembered for its later disappearance, in 61 AD it played an active role opposing Boudicca’s revolt.

Upon hearing of the sacking of Camulodonum, the Ninth Legion – stationed at Lindum Colonia (modern day Lincoln) – marched south to come to the aid. It was not to be.

The legion was annihilated. En-route Boudicca and her large army overwhelmed and destroyed almost the entire relief force. No infantrymen were spared: only the Roman commander and his cavalry managed to escape the slaughter.

6. Her defining encounter was at the Battle of Watling Street

Boudicca confronted the last, great bastion of Roman resistance in Britain somewhere along Watling Street. Her opposition consisted of two Roman legions – the 14th and parts of the 20th – commanded by Suetonius Paulinus.

Paulinus was the Roman Governor of Britain, who had previously been preparing to attack the Druid haven on Anglesey.

General route of Watling Street overlaid on an outdated map of the Roman road network in Britain (Credit: Neddyseagoon / CC).

7. She greatly-outnumbered her opponent

According to Cassius Dio, Boudicca had amassed an army of 230,000 warriors, though more conservative figures place her strength near the 100,000 mark. Suetonius Paulinus meanwhile, had just under 10,000 men.

Despite being greatly-outnumbered, Paulinus could take heart in two factors.

First of all, the governor had chosen a battleground that helped to negate his foe’s numerical advantage: he had placed his forces at the head of a bowl-shaped valley. Any attacking force would be funnelled in by the terrain.

Secondly, Paulinus knew that his soldiers had the advantage in skill, armour and discipline.

8. History has provided her a fiery pre-battle speech…

Tacitus provides her a glorious – if not certainly fictitious – speech before the decisive battle. She ends her vicious disparagement of her foe with the words:

On this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed: the men, if they please, may survive with infamy, and live in bondage.”

9. …but her army still lost the battle

Paulinus’ tactics negated Boudicca’s numerical advantage. Compressed in the bowl-shaped valley, Boudicca’s advancing soldiers found themselves hemmed in and unable to use their weapons. Their numbers worked against them and the ill-equipped warriors became sitting targets for their enemy. Roman pila javelins rained down on their ranks, inflicting terrible casualties.

Paulinus seized the momentum. Taking out their short swords, the Romans advanced down the hill in wedge formation, carving through their foe and inflicting terrible casualties. A cavalry charge put to flight the last remnants of organised resistance.

According to Tacitus:

…some reports put the British dead at not much below eighty thousand, with roughly four hundred Roman soldiers killed.

Statue of Suetonius Paulinus, the victor of Watling Street, at the Roman Baths in Bath (Credit: Ad Meskens / CC).

10. She committed suicide following the defeat

Although the sources debate her exact fate, the most popular story is that Boudicca committed suicide with poison, along with her daughters.

The primary sources tell us this was a river crossing battle, which we think today was probably on the River Medway probably near Aylesford to the south of Rochester. So you can imagine the Roman legionary spearhead marching east to west along the slopes of the North Downs until they get to the River Medway.

It’s there, on the western bank, that the native Britons are waiting for them in force. There takes place a dramatic battle, a battle the Romans nearly lose. It takes them two days to win.

How did the battle progress?

On the first day the Romans try and force the river, but they fail. Therefore, they have to retreat to their marching camp to lick their wounds, pursued by the Britons who are throwing javelins and firing slings at them.

Plautius is an experienced general, and determines what he’s going to do. He’s going to flank the Britons overnight.

So he gathers an auxiliary unit of Batavians from the Rhine Delta who are used to swimming, and who allegedly are famous for being able to swim in armour. He sends them to the north, just immediately below Rochester.

They cross the River Medway to the north of the British camp, and in the early hours of the following day, circle around behind the native Britons. They attack the British horses (that pull their chariots) in their corrals by hamstringing them. This causes panic in the British forces.

As dawn breaks, Plautius orders his troops to fight their way over the river, but it’s still a hard fight. Ultimately they succeed at the point of the gladius, and the Britons break and flee down the river back to their capital. Eventually they retreat all the way back to the Catuvellauni capital of Camulodunum, later Colchester.

What was the Battle of Watling Street?

The key battle of the Boudiccan Revolt took place somewhere to the northwest of St Albans, along Watling Street. Boudicca had already marched all the way from East Anglia, and torched Camulodunum, the provincial capital. She’s already torched London, and she’s reached torched St. Albans.

Statue of Boudicca by Thomas Thornycroft.

She’s seeking an engagement because she knows if she wins, it’s the end of Roman Britain. The province will fall.

The British governor, Paulinus, has been fighting in Anglesey in Wales. He also knows, as soon as he hears word of the revolt, that the province is in danger. So he hotfoots it down Watling Street. Paulinus had probably got about 10,000 men with him: one legion, bits of other legions.

He gets to High Cross in Leicestershire where the Fosseway meets Watling Street. He sends word down to Legio II Augusta who are based in Exeter and he says, “Come and join us”. But the third in command of the legions is in charge there, and he refuses. He later commits suicide as he’s so ashamed of his actions.

What happened during the battle?

So Paulinus has only these 10,000 men to face Boudicca. He’s marching down Watling Street and Boudicca is marching northwest up Watling Street, and they meet in a big engagement.

Think of the numbers. Boudicca has got 100,000 warriors and Paulinus has only got 10,000 troops, so the odds are hugely against the Romans. But Paulinus fights the perfect battle.

He chooses the ground spectacularly well in a bowl-shaped valley. Paulinus deploys his troops with the legionaries in the middle and the auxiliaries on the flank at the head of the bowl-shaped valley. He has woods to his flanks as well, so they can protect his sides, and he puts the marching camp at his rear.

Boudicca comes into the bowl-shaped valley. She can’t control her troops and they attack. They get forced into a compressed mass which means they can’t use their weapons. As soon as they’re disabled like that, Paulinus forms his legionaries into wedges and then they launch a savage assault.

They get their gladiuses out and their scutum shields ready. The pila and javelins are thrown at point-blank range. The native Britons fall in rank after rank. They’re compressed, they can’t fight.

The gladius has started doing its murderous job. The gladius creates hideous wounds and soon it becomes a slaughter. Ultimately, the Romans are fabulously successful, the revolt ends and the province is saved. Boudicca commits suicide and Paulinus is the hero of the day.

So what have the Romans ever done for us?

They brought a stone-built urban environment, which wasn’t present before. Interestingly, because of the lengthy campaigns of conquest in Britain, you can trace the origins of many of the towns and cities of Britain today to Roman fortifications from that conquest.

Also, most of the main pre-motorway roads, like the A road network, can also be traced back to the Roman Period.

For example, we can look at former legionary fortresses, which later became towns, and which today are cities. Think Exeter, think Gloucester, think York, think Lincoln, these are all places which were originally legionary fortresses. For Roman forts, consider places like Manchester and Leicester. Carlisle and Newcastle were also originally Roman fortifications.

All of these forts became part of the original fabric of Roman Britain, which is still the urban fabric of Britain today. If you had to think about the capital of Britain today, it’s the Roman capital. It’s London, Londinium, which became the capital after Boudicca’s Revolt. So, the urban landscape of Britain can be directly traced back to the Roman period.

In terms of the Roman road network, let’s consider Watling Street. So Watling Street is the line of the A2 and the M2 in Kent, which becomes the line of the A5 after it leaves London. Also, think of the A1: the Roman Ermine Street, which for much of its length links London to Lincoln to York.

Roman culture

The Romans brought many other aspects of Roman life to Britain. For example, they brought Latin as the official language. One of the ways that the Romans encouraged people, especially at an elite level to start engaging with the Roman experience, was to get the aristocrats, the elites, to start behaving in Roman ways. And many of them did.

So local elites would start funding the construction of public buildings, which was a very Roman aristocratic thing to do. They would also send their sons to Rome to learn Latin, and they would wear togas.

Cupid on a Dolphin Mosaic, Fishbourne Roman Palace.

Cultural oppression?

Interestingly though, the Romans ruled their provinces with a very light touch providing that there was no trouble, and providing that money was coming out of the province into the Imperial Fiscus Treasury.

So the Romans actually were fairly relaxed about members in society, especially at a middle-ranking or an elite level, who didn’t want to buy into the Roman experience providing they behave.

Consider many curse scrolls, which are scrolls where somebody who’s cursing somebody writes their names on them and then throws it away in a religious context. Many of their names are Latin, but often many of the names are also Brythonic, the native British language.

So these are people choosing specifically to style themselves as either Roman, or choosing to style themselves as not Roman. So the Romans ruled their province with a fairly light touch, but, certainly, they brought every aspect of their culture to Britain.

A cosmopolitan empire

If you travelled from Antioch, from Syria, from Alexandria, from Leptis Magna, if you travel from Rome to Britain, you would experience the same manifestations of Roman culture here as you would have done from the places you came from.

Bear in mind that Roman society was very cosmopolitan. So if you’re a Roman citizen, you could travel freely provided that you could afford it.

The Arch of Severus in Leptis Magna.

As a result, there are many skilled workers like stone-workers, originating perhaps in Anatolia, who would find their way to work in Britain. You would find similarly merchants from North Africa, from Gaul, and from Spain, all finding their way to Britain.

If you took Londinium as an example, it’s a very cosmopolitan city.

Let’s face it, London is the Italian colonial city on the banks of the River Thames.

From the period of its founding around AD 50 through to the Boudiccan Revolt AD 61, it’s my belief that only about 10% of Londinium’s population would have been British.

Most of the population would have been from elsewhere in the empire. Even after it becomes a provincial capital, it is still this very cosmopolitan place with a very mixed population from across the empire.

Featured Image: Mosaic from Bignor Roman Villa. Credit: mattbuck / Commons.

Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni after her husband, who was an ally of Rome, died. The Iceni were actually a client state to the Romans. The Romans never bothered at that stage to conquer the far north of East Anglia (north Norfolk) because the Iceni were a client state and friends of Rome.

In his will Boudicca’s husband had set out that his daughters would inherit his kingdom, but the Romans, being the Romans, ignored this.

When the king died, the Romans wrapped the kingdom of the Iceni into the province of Roman Britain. This ignited a huge rebellion, which became this enormous conflagration across the entirety of the southeast, down to the line of the Thames.

Interestingly, the Cantiaci in Kent didn’t join in. Certainly, the Iceni, the Catuvellauni, and the Trinovantes in the southeast above the line of the Thames joined in, and it became a cataclysmic rebellion going from north to south through East Anglia.

What did the revolt achieve?

Firstly, these 100,000 warriors (within a body of 250,000 individuals) arrive in Colchester, defeating on the way an attempt from Legio IX Hispana to try and stop them. Torching Colchester, which was set up by Claudius as the capital of the province after the AD 43 invasion, they murdered and burnt all of the refugees in the Temple of Claudius.

After also torching London, they followed the line of Watling Street, the great military trunk road of Roman Britain. It went through Richborough, Rochester, London and St. Albans, to the Welsh Marches, and then north to Chester and south to Caerleon in southeast Wales.

Statue of Paulinus in Bath. Credit: Ad Meskens / Commons.

Boudicca’s army followed the line of Watling Street up to St. Albans, torching it too. Just above St. Albans, probably near where the M1 is today, they found their path blocked by the Roman Governor, Paulinus.

How was it defeated?

Paulinus was successfully campaigning in Anglesey when he heard about the revolt and marched what limited troops he had (only one legion and elements of another) the other way down Watling Street, to stop Boudicca in her tracks.

Let’s consider the numbers of soldiers here. The probability is that Paulinus, the warrior governor, only had about 10,000 troops – both legionaries and auxiliaries. Boudicca may have had 100,000 warriors and within a body of 250,000 people. Still, Paulinus fights a spectacularly successful battle by choosing his ground very carefully.

He selects a bowl-shaped valley where he can put his defence on the upper slopes at the end of the valley, which has wooded sides to defend the flanks. Therefore, when the mass of Britons comes into this bowl-shaped valley, they become compressed. Then the legionaries launch their attack with their pila (javelins) and then their gladii (swords), and they slaughter the Britons.

The Britons are defeated, Boudicca commits suicide, and the province is saved; but only by the skin of its teeth.

One of the outcomes is the Romans move the provincial capital from Camulodunum, Colchester, down to the growing city of London, and the province starts to develop from that point.

The city was sited in a strategic position. It was on high ground overlooking the Thames, at the lowest crossing-point on the river, and at a point at which it was also still tidal, enabling easy access to the open sea and the empire beyond.

If Rome was built on seven hills, Roman London was built on two: Ludgate Hill to the west, and Cornhill to the east, with the valley of one of the “lost” Thames tributaries – the Walbrook – in between.

At Boudicca’s mercy

The early Roman city was razed to the ground by revolting ancient Britons under Boudica or Boudicca (Boadicea of the Victorian re-imagining), the Queen of the Iceni, in 60 or 61.

Boudicca’s late husband, Prasutagus, had been a nominally independent ally of the Romans; when he died, he willed his tribal kingdom jointly to his daughters and to the Roman Emperor.

The Romans, however, chose to ignore his wishes, and annexed his land and property for their exclusive use.  Moreover, they had Boudicca flogged and her daughters raped, driving the Iceni to revolt alongside the Trinovantes, their tribal neighbours.

Boudicea haranguing the Britons.

At the time of the revolt, several Roman legions under the Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus were away attacking  the druid stronghold on Anglesey, and they had to be rapidly recalled to London to face the advancing Britons, who had already destroyed Colchester (or Camulodunum).

Realising that he was confronted by a much larger army, Suetonius essentially abandoned the city to its fate in order to regroup (St Albans, or Verulamium, would also be destroyed).

Tacitus wrote:

“The inhabitants … who stayed because they were women, or old, or attached to the place, were slaughtered ….  … For the British … could not wait to cut throats, hang, burn and crucify – as though avenging, in advance, the retribution that was on its way”.

The revolt ended with the Romans crushing the Britons at the so-called Battle of Watling Street, one of the many purported locations for which is Ambresbury Banks in Epping Forest. At the end of the battle, facing capture, Boudicca chose to end her own life by taking poison.

Reconstruction

After the Boudiccan revolt, the city was rebuilt, initially by the Procurator Julius Alpinus Classicianus under the Emperor Nero and subsequently under the Flavian, Trajanic and Hadrianic emperorships, in the late 1st to early 2nd centuries.

There being no local source of stone, construction work involved extensive use of Kentish Ragstone, transported down the Medway and up the Thames to London on barges (the remains of one which have been found at Blackfriars, with its 50-ton cargo intact).

The city wall was originally built at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and subsequently extended and reinforced in the late 3rd, when a river wall was added, and again in the mid 4th, when bastions were added. In its heyday in the 2rd century, Londinium was an important trading, commercial and administrative centre, with its port at its heart.

A scale model of the port and bridge of Londinium around 100 AD from the Museum of London. Image Credit: Kleon3 / Commons.

Decline and fall

The city declined through the “crisis” of the 3rd century and into the 4th, during which time the Roman Empire as a whole came under increasing attack from within as well as without.

Britain was ruled by its own rival Emperors on several occasions: by Clodius Albinus in the late 2nd century, and Carausius and Allectus in the 3rd, after which it was retaken by the Emperor Constantius Chlorus in 296.

It appears that many of Roman London’s public buildings, including the “Governor’s Palace”, and the Basilica and Forum, were substantially demolished at the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries – perhaps as punishment for its perceived support of the “Carausian Revolt”.

A marble bust of Clodius Albinus in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Credit: Sailko / Commons.

Christianity replaced polytheistic paganism in London, as throughout the Roman Empire, after the conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 and the passage of the Edict of Milan, which ensured tolerance of the new religion, in 313.

At least one representative from Londinium, named Restitutus, attended the Christian Council of Arles in 314. Little evidence of Christian worship survives, however, and essentially no places of Christian worship.

The city finally fell, and was essentially abandoned, in the early 5th century, around 410, after the occupying army and the civilian administration, the instruments of Empire, were recalled to Rome to assist in its defence against the encroaching Barbarians (on the orders of the Emperor Honorius).

New discoveries

Recent archaeological excavations around Poultry and Walbrook have led to one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in London, that of the “Pompeii of the North”.

Here have been uncovered an entire waterfront development, and thousands of artefacts – including, importantly, many made of organic materials that would normally have perished but that were preserved in the abnormal anaerobic conditions of the waterlogged deposits of the river Walbrook.

Large numbers of skulls have also been found over in the Walbrook. It is likely that some originated in the Roman burial ground north of the City wall in Moorfields, and were subsequently naturally transported and deposited to the south, in the process becoming hydro-dynamically sorted from their skeletons.

Some others, though, appear to have been deliberately placed in pits, and, moreover, exhibit evidence of trauma. These could be those of victims of gladiatorial combat, or of judicial execution, or perhaps of ritual decapitation.

Alternatively, they could be those of victims of the “Boudiccan Revolt” or the “Carausian Revolt”. Or possibly of a  native British uprising during the Hadrianic emperorship.

Dr Robert Wynn Jones is a retired professional palaeontologist, interested amateur archaeologist and historian. His most recent book, ‘The Flower Of All Cities: The History of London From Earliest Times to the Great Fire‘ was published by Amberley Publishing on 15 July.

Featured image credit: Thomas Thornycroft’s statue of Boadicea and her Daughters in London Jason Halsall / Commons.

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Ancient ammo at Asculum

In 89 BC, during a war between the Romans and many of their allied-Italian states, a Roman army besieged the Italian stronghold of Asculum in southern Italy. According to our sources, the siege was long and the fighting fierce. And archaeological surveys have made fascinating discoveries.

Numerous pieces of lead slingshot left from the siege have been discovered around the ancient city. Some are inscribed with various ‘black humour’ messages; but others depict Roman numerals, believed to represent legions in the Roman besieging force. Among those discovered are some mentioning a Legio IX, a ninth legion. This is the first attested evidence for the existence of a ninth legion in the Roman army.

Caesar’s companions

From then on the Ninth Legion would play a leading role in some of the great wars of antiquity. In 59 BC it was one of the four original legions that Julius Caesar was granted from the senate – the manpower he needed to begin his famous Gallic conquest. From his early battle with the Helvetii at Bibracte to the epic siege of Alesia, the Ninth played a critical role in the success of Caesar’s Gallic campaign and his rise to prominence.

Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar, 52 BC.

Following the end of Caesar’s Gallic Wars and 9 years of fighting, the Ninth Legion was formidable: its soldiers battle-hardened, its loyalty to Caesar paramount. Caesar knew this full well and would often rely upon it.

During the ensuing civil war between Caesar and Pompey the Great, the Ninth continued to serve Caesar with distinction. Although it was severely mauled by Pompey’s forces at the Battle of Dyrrachium it remained an integral part of Caesar’s army, going on to partake in his remarkable victories, first at Pharsalus and then at Thapsus.

Only in 46-45 BC, following his victory at Thapsus, did Caesar finally disband his veterans of the Ninth, many of whom he settled in Picenum. Yet the Legion would soon rise again.

The Ninth rises

Within ten years, the Ninth Legion was re-established and went on to serve with Octavian down to his final victory against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. With this success, Octavian now ruled the whole of the Roman Empire. Yet this did not signal the end for the Ninth. In fact, it was only the beginning.

In 29 BC, Octavian led the Ninth and up to six other legions into northern Spain to campaign against the last non-subjugated tribes in the region. For ten years the war waged, during which it appears the Ninth Legion performed exceptionally. It was for the role they played during these campaigns that the Ninth acquired its permanent title, Legio IX Hispania.

From then on, it appears the Ninth Legion was sent to the Roman frontier in Pannonia, where it remained for much of the primary half of the first century AD. Yet there was one time when the Legion was sent far away from Pannonia.

In 21 AD, the emperor Tiberius relocated the legion to North Africa to crush the revolt led by a Berber called Tacfarinas. For the past four years Tacfarinas had charismatically led a vicious guerrilla war against the encroaching Romans in North Africa and had already stretched the local legion to its limit. So Tiberius called in the Ninth Legion to finally end this uprising.

Aided by the Ninth, a victory soon followed for the Romans. Tiberius believed the war was over, the commander of the Ninth Legion, Publius Scipio, was honoured in Lepcis Magna, and the Legion was recalled to Pannonia.

Bound for Britannia

Upon returning to Pannonia, the Legion remained stationed there until 43 AD, when it once again found itself posted overseas. That year, the Ninth set sail for Britain as part of the Emperor Claudius’ invasion force. It partook in the ensuing Roman occupation and for the next 15 or so years, fought numerous battles against various hostile Celtic tribes.

Britannia duly became the Legion’s new home and in c.55 AD, it established its base at the legionary fort of Lindum Colonia, modern day Lincoln. Yet disaster soon followed for the Ninth.

The warrior queen

In 61 AD, a bloody revolt engulfed Roman Britain. Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni and a woman hell-bent on revenge for Roman brutality and humiliation of her family and her people, amassed a huge British force to drive out the Romans from the island. Success soon followed for Boudicca as she and her huge warband decimated the Roman colony at Camulodonum.

Upon hearing of the attack, the Ninth marched south to come to the aid. It was not to be. As the Ninth was en-route, Boudicca and her large army overwhelmed and destroyed much of the Legion. According to Tacitus every single infantryman was killed, with only the Roman commander and his cavalry managing to escape. 61 AD was not a good year for the Ninth.

Boudicca’s Revolt and the Battle of Camulodonum, also known as the ‘Massacre of the Ninth Legion’, AD 61.

Despite being devastated at the hands of Boudicca, the Romans subsequently quashed the revolt and brought the Ninth Legion back up to strength with reinforcements from the continent. The Legion was also then moved from Lindum to Eboracum, modern day York, to check the powerful Brigantes tribe and defend Roman Britain from the unconquered north.

Yet Boudicca would not be the last enemy to cripple Legio IX.

The IX Hispania moved to Eboracum (Eburacum), modern day York.

Dicing with death (again)

Not long after its establishment at York, the Ninth once again saw action. Under the command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Ninth marched into modern-day Scotland and helped consolidate Roman rule as far as the river Forth.

Although Agricola’s campaign in Scotland achieved success, the Ninth Legion’s experience was far from pleasant. In 82 AD, as part of Agricola’s plan to defeat the Caledonians and secure the Forth-Clyde frontier, Agricola divided his force into three separate divisions. The Caledonians got word that Agricola had divided his army into weaker units however and they seized the opportunity, targeting one of these smaller forces: none other than the Ninth Legion.

Northern Britain in 82 AD, amid Agricola’s campaign. Some believe Agricola had stationed the Ninth at Inchtuthil or at the nearby fort of Pinnata Castra when it diced with death.

Stationed in a turf and timber fort, the Ninth Legion were surprised by the Caledonians in a night assault. Initially the Caledonian plan was perfectly executed; caught completely off-guard, the Legion suffered severely. Desperately with whatever arms and armour they could get their hands on, the Ninth finally managed to form some sort of effective defence. Still it could not withhold forever. Defeat looked inevitable.

Yet just as the Ninth looked doomed to fall, Agricola received word and marched with all haste to relieve the camp. Just in time Agricola and his army arrived at the scene, trapping the Caledonians and slaughtering them. The Ninth Legion had diced with death. Yet it had held on for just long enough!

This is our last literary mention of Legio IX Hispania. Following its serving with Agricola, all mention of it in our literary sources vanishes without a trace. Theories as to what may have happened to the Legion are plenty. Yet one thing is for sure, its history would make for a fascinating novel in itself.