Britannia

After Caesar's campaigns in Britain in 55 and 54 BC, the southern part of the island lay within Rome's sphere of influence. It was not until the Claudian invasion in 43 AD, however, that Britain was annexed as a Roman province, although the 'conquest' of Britain in the west and north continued and proceeded slowly in the decades thereafter. Apart from a brief interlude in the mid-2nd century, when the northern border of the province was fixed at the Antonine Wall in Scotland, from the 120's the northern frontier of the island lay on Hadrian's Wall stretching from the west to the east coast. The provincial capital was Londinium (London) on the Thames River.

Britain is geographically and geologically diverse, and it was characterized in the Roman period by a variety of confined ecosystems. Even before the conquest, grain, cattle, and metals, were exported to the continent. Cereal production, chiefly spelt wheat and barley, were the mainstay of the Roman agrarian economy of the province. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Britain was a prosperous and secure place, little threatened by the barbarian incursions disrupting life across the channel in Gaul and Germany. In 359/360, shipments of sorely needed British grain were procured to supply the harassed army and civilians on the Rhine. By the late Roman period, British woollen textiles also were valued exports. Under Septimius Severus (193-211), the island was split into two provinces: Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. During the reign of Diocletian (284-305), the two British provinces were further divided into four: Britannia Prima, Maxima Caesariensis, Britannia Secunda and Flavia Caesariensis. The capitals of these provinces were Corinium (Cirencester), Londinum (London), Eboracum (York) and Lindum (Lincoln) respectively.

Dates

43 CE to ~410 CE

Places

• Britannia (province) Pleiades: 981513
• Britannia (province) TGN: 7030316