Roman client kingdoms in Britain

Map of Roman Britain and the client kingdom territories in 150 AD.

The Roman client kingdoms in Britain were native tribes which chose to align themselves with the Roman Empire because they saw it as the best option for self-preservation or for protection from other hostile tribes.[citation needed] Alternatively, the Romans created (or enlisted) some client kingdoms when they felt influence without direct rule was desirable. Client kingdoms were ruled by client kings. In Latin these kings were referred to as rex sociusque et amicus, which translates to "king, ally, and friend".[1] The type of relationships between client kingdoms and Rome was reliant on the individual circumstances in each kingdom.[1]

The beginnings of the system are to be found in Caesar's re-enthroning of Mandubracius as king of the Trinovantes, who had been dethroned by Cassivellaunus and then aided Caesar's second invasion of Britain in 54 BC.[2] The system further developed in the following hundred years, particularly under Augustus's influence, so that by the time of the Roman invasion in 43 AD several Roman client kingdoms had become established in the south of Britain.[citation needed] Client kingdoms were annexed when Rome needed to reaffirm their power in Britain or when the client kings could not manage the kingdoms and surrounding areas any more.[3]

These were also partially due to the expansion of the Catuvellauni under Cunobelinus in the southeast, and partly as a result of the invasion itself, and included Cogidubnus of the Regni, Prasutagus of the Iceni and Cartimandua of the Brigantes and, probably, Boduocus of the Dobunni.[4] The antecedents of the Regni, the Atrebates, had (in their Gallic and British forms) been client kingdoms of Rome since Caesar's first invasion in 55 BC.[5] In the north of Britain, ongoing border struggles across the defensive walls led to the establishment of buffer states, including the Votadini in Northumberland.[5]

  1. ^ a b Braund, David C. (22 December 2015). "client kings". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1677. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  2. ^ "The Internet Classics Archive | The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar". classics.mit.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  3. ^ Everatt, J. D. (1972). "A study of the client kings in the early Roman period". Masters Thesis, Durham University.
  4. ^ "Cassius Dio — Book 60". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Christopher A. Snyder (2003). The Britons. Internet Archive. Blackwell Pub. ISBN 978-0-631-22260-6.