- Roman Wales
Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, the native inhabitants of
Roman Britain spokeBrythonic languages (a sub-family of theCeltic languages ) and were regarded as Britons (or Brythons). The area of modernWales was divided among a number of tribes, of which theSilures in modern south-east Wales and theOrdovices in central and northwest Wales were the largest and most powerful. These two tribes were the ones who put up the strongest and sustained resistance to the Roman invasion.The first attack on the Celtic tribes of what is now Wales was made under the
legate Publius Ostorius Scapula about48 AD . Ostorius first attacked theDeceangli in the north-east, who appear to have surrendered with little resistance. He then spent several years campaigning against theSilures and the Ordovices. Their resistance was led byCaratacus , who had fled what is now southeastEngland when it was conquered by the Romans. He first led the Silures, then moved to the territory of the Ordovices, where he was defeated by Ostorius in51 AD . Caratacus fled to theBrigantes , whose queen handed him over to the Romans.The Silures were not subdued, however, and waged effective guerrilla warfare against the Roman forces. Ostorius died with this tribe still unconquered; after his death they won a victory over the Roman Second Augusta Legion,
Legio II Augusta . There were no further attempts to extend Roman control in Wales until the governorship ofCaius Suetonius Paulinus , who attacked further north and captured the island ofAnglesey in60 or61 AD . However he was forced to abandon the offensive to meet the threat from the rebellion ofBoadicea . The Silures were eventually subdued bySextus Julius Frontinus in a series of campaigns ending about78 AD . His successorGnaeus Julius Agricola subdued the Ordovices and recaptured Anglesey by the beginning of79 AD .The Romans occupied the whole of the area now known as Wales, where they built
Roman road s andRoman fort s, mined gold and conducted commerce, but their interest in the area was limited because of the difficult geography and shortage of flat agricultural land. Most of the Roman remains in Wales are military in nature. The area was controlled byRoman legion ary bases atDeva Victrix (modernChester ) andIsca Augusta (Caerleon ), with roads linking these bases toRoman auxiliary forts such asSegontium (Caernarfon ) and Moridunum (Carmarthen ). Romans are only known to have founded one town in Wales,Venta Silurum (Caerwent ) in (Monmouthshire ), although the fort at Moridunum (Carmarthen ) was later superseded by a civilian settlement. The modern-day Wales is thought to have been part of the Roman province ofBritannia Superior and later of the province ofBritannia Prima , which also included what is now the West Country of England.See also
*
British military history
*History of the United Kingdom
*History of Wales
* Welsh PeopleExternal links
* [http://www.cpat.org.uk/outreach/exrimw/romanmw8.pdf Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust info on Roman Wales]
* [http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/map_romans_roads_in_britain.htm Map of Roman roads of Britain (inc. Wales)]
* [http://www.gtj.org.uk/search/simpleSearch.php?srch=rOMAN&lang=en 58 pages of artifacts and places associated with Roman Wales on Gathering the Jewels the website of Welsh cultural history]
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