🏛️The Roman Period in Britain

How Rome came to Britain, ruled for centuries, and left.

1. Caesar invades 55 BC

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   Julius Caesar led a Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC. It was unsuccessful, and for nearly 100 years Britain stayed separate from the Roman Empire.

2. Claudius succeeds AD 43

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   In AD 43 the Emperor Claudius led a new Roman invasion. Despite resistance from some British tribes, the Romans occupied almost all of Britain.

   a century later

3. Boudicca resists

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   Boudicca, queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England, was a tribal leader who fought the Romans. She is remembered with a statue on Westminster Bridge.

   but some tribes fought

4. Hadrian's Wall

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   Scotland was never conquered. The Emperor Hadrian built a wall in the north of England to keep out the Picts, the ancestors of the Scottish people.

   to defend the north

5. 400 years of rule

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   The Romans stayed 400 years. They built roads and public buildings and created a structure of law, and the first Christian communities began to appear.

   and during this time

6. The Romans leave

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   In AD 410 the Roman army left Britain to defend other parts of the Empire, and never returned.