To Rule Britannia

The Claudian Invasion of Britain AD 43

John Waite

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9780752451497
• eBook ISBN:
  9780752466903
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

In AD 43, the Romans landed an invasion force on the shores of Britain that heralded the beginnings of recorded British history and laid the cultural foundations of today's national identity. Yet despite the crucial importance of this event, the actual location of the landings remains unclear. From Victorian antiquarians to today's modern scholars and archaeologists, there has been much written over the years with regard to this particular question, with Richborough in Kent and Chichester in Sussex proposed as contemporary favourites. Whilst still being universal in its approach, this book is less reliant on archaeology or literary records to support its conclusions, and instead places greater emphasis on the practical problems the Romans faced in deciding on a landing site. The result is a book which presents a straightforward and logical study which can be readily appreciated by both the general reader and the specialist alike.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• I A Short History of Pre-Claudian Britain
• 1 Britain Before Rome
• 2 Caesar’s Invasion of Britain – 55 BC
• 3 The Second Expedition – 54 BC
• 4 Britain Between the Invasions
• II The Claudian Invasion – A Perspective
• 5 Armies & Generals
• 6 To Land an Army
• 7 Invasion
• Appendix A The Atrebatean Royal Line Between Caesar and Claudius
• Appendix B The Cantiacan Royal Line Between Caesar and Claudius
• Appendix C The Catuvellaunian Royal Line Between Caesar and Claudius
• Appendix D The Trinovantean Royal Line Between Caesar and Claudius
• Appendix E Structure of the Cursus Honorum
• Appendix F Typical Command Structure and Organisation of an Imperial Legion
• Appendix G Dio’s Account of the Claudian Landings
• Appendix H Overview of Daily Dry Fodder Requirements Per Unit
• Appendix I Consuls and Suffect Consuls of the First Century Ad
• Appendix J Narrative Descriptions of Images
• Bibliography
• Classical References
• Plates
• Copyright