- Quintus Lollius Urbicus
Quintus Lollius Urbicus was made governor of
Roman Britain in138 , by one of the early decrees of the Roman EmperorAntoninus Pius .Early life
Lollius Urbicus was the son of a Libyan landowner [Charles Freeman. "Egypt, Greece, and Rome" p508. Oxford University Press ,1999. ISBN 0198721943] and a native of Tiddis in
Numidia (modernAlgeria ). He quickly rose to prominence, serving during theJewish Rebellion of132 -135 , and then governingGermania Inferior .Governor of Britain
Emperor
Antoninus Pius soon reversed the containment policy of his predecessor,Hadrian , and Lollius was to ordered to begin the reconquest ofLowland Scotland by moving north ofHadrian's Wall . Between139 and140 he rebuilt the fort at Corbridge and by142 or143 , commemorative coins were issued celebrating a victory in Britain. It is therefore likely that Lollius led the reoccupation of southern Scotland c.141 , probably using Legio II "Augusta". In143 Lollius probably also oversaw the initial construction of theAntonine Wall and refurbished many forts including those atNewstead ,Risingham and High Rochester.He evidently campaigned against several
British tribes (possibly including factions of the northern Brigantes), certainly against the lowland tribes ofScotland ; the Votadini and the Selgovae of the Scottish Borders region, also the Damnonii of Strathclyde and the Novantae of Dumfries andGalloway . It seems likely that he personally campaigned with theSecond Legion Augusta as this unit is mentioned on four (out of five) inscriptions recording building work undertaken during his governorship. Thislegionary core was, no doubt, backed up by a substantial contingent of auxiliary units, of which we have record of at least one part-mounted regiment (vide RIB 1276 infra). Contingents from at least one otherBritish legion are known to have assisted in the construction of the new turf barrier, as evidenced by an inscription from the fort at Old Kilpatrick (RIB 2205), theAntonine Wall 's western terminus.It seems likely that Urbicus planned his campaign of attack from Corbridge in
Northumberland , just to the rear ofHadrians Wall , as dedicatory inscriptions positively dated to the early 140's have been uncovered at the Antonine storage-depot there. From here he drove north-north-west into the Scottish Borders along the Agricolan military road Dere Street, leaving garrison forts at High Rochester in Northumberland and possibly also at Newstead in Borders, as he struck towards the Firth of Forth. Both of these sites, likewise similar such military installations atRisingham ,Chew Green ,Cappuck andElginhaugh were very likely used as bases from which to launch strikes against the lowland tribes, the Votadini to the east and the Selgovae to the west.Having secured an overland supply route for military personnel and equipment along Dere Street, Urbicus very likely set up a supply port at Carriden for the supply of grain and other foodstuffs before proceeding against the Dumnonii tribe who inhabited South Strathclyde. This done, came the task of completing a new barrier of turf and timber stretching for thirty-five miles from east to west across the narrow neck of land separating the mighty Rivers Forth and Clyde, nowadays known as the
Antonine Wall .It was possibly after the defences were finished that Urbicus turned his attention upon the last lowland Scottish tribe, the Novantae who inhabited the Dumfries and Galloway peninsula. These four lowland tribes, sandwiched as they were between Hadrian's Wall of stone to the south and the new turf wall of
Antoninus to the north, later formed a confederation against Roman oppression collectively known as theMaeatae .Citing an inscription detailing the career of Quintus Lollius Urbicus, Colin Wells, offers an eloquent account of what today might be dubbed the "multicultural ism" and equal opportunity of life in the
Roman empire . He concludes that: "At no other period of history could the second or third son of a Berber landowner from a very small town in the interior enjoy a career which took him toAsia ,Judaea , theDanube . . . the lowerRhine andGreat Britain , culminating in a position of great power and honor in the capital of the empire to which all these regions belonged." [Collin Wells. "The Roman empire" p226. Harvard University Press, 1995. ISBN 0674777700 ]Notes
External links
* [http://www.roman-britain.org/people/urbicus.htm Lollius Urbicus]
sequence
prev=Unknown, thenPublius Mummius Sisenna
next=Gnaeus Papirius Aelianus
list=Roman governors of Britain
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