Roman conquest of Anglesey
The Roman conquest of Anglesey refers to two invasions of the island that occurred during the early decades of the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st Century CE. Beginning in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, the Roman legions supported by auxiliaries had progressively subjugated British tribes. Anglesey, which was known as Mona by the Romans, was an important religious centre for Celtic druids and its peoples. The Romans first invaded the island in around 60/61 CE and again in 77 CE.
| Roman conquest of Anglesey | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Roman conquest of Britain | |||||||
 Anglesey within Wales. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Roman Empire | Britons | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Agricola | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ? | ? | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ? | ? | ||||||
Although the only written record of these events is in the Annals written by the Roman historian Tacitus, archaeologists uncovered the first 1st century fort near Cemlyn Bay - on the northern coast of the island - in 2015. They believe similar camps, from the time of these Roman invasions, will be discovered.[1]
First invasion, 60 CE
Tacitus was the son-in-law of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who was probably present on the campaign. Cassius Dio's History of Rome (62#1-11) makes a brief mention, as does Tacitus in De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae. Roman forces may have only reached the marshes around Llangefni before they were recalled from the island due to the outbreak of Boudica's rebellion.[2]
Tacitus writes:
- "Britain was in the hands of Suetonius Paulinus, who in military knowledge and in popular favour, which allows no one to be without a rival, vied with Corbulo, and aspired to equal the glory of the recovery of Armenia by the subjugation of Rome's enemies. He therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives. He built flat-bottomed vessels to cope with the shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses.
- On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies, with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds. Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails.
- Suetonius while thus occupied received tidings of the sudden revolt of the province...
Second invasion, 77 CE
The second invasion of Mona was undertaken by Agricola, the Provincial Roman Governor of Britannia, in late 77. It was part of his campaign to subjugate the Ordovices, a British tribe that held lands across modern-day Gwynedd.[4]
Tacitus describes the invasion in his book De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae.
- "Such was the state of Britain, and such were the vicissitudes of the war, which Agricola found on his crossing over about midsummer. Our soldiers made it a pretext for carelessness, as if all fighting was over, and the enemy were biding their time. The Ordovices, shortly before Agricola's arrival, had destroyed nearly the whole of a squadron of allied cavalry quartered in their territory. Such a beginning raised the hopes of the country, and all who wished for war approved the precedent, and anxiously watched the temper of the new governor. Meanwhile, Agricola, though summer was past and the detachments were scattered throughout the province, though the soldiers' confident anticipation of inaction for that year would be a source of delay and difficulty in beginning a campaign, and most advisers thought it best simply to watch all weak points, resolved to face the peril. He collected a force of veterans and a small body of auxiliaries; then as the Ordovices would not venture to descend into the plain, he put himself in front of the ranks to inspire all with the same courage against a common danger, and led his troops up a hill. The tribe was all but exterminated. Well aware that he must follow up the prestige of his arms, and that in proportion to his first success would be the terror of the other tribes, he formed the design of subjugating the island of Mona, from the occupation of which Paullinus had been recalled, as I have already related, by the rebellion of the entire province. But, as his plans were not matured, he had no fleet. The skill and resolution of the general accomplished the passage. With some picked men of the auxiliaries, disencumbered of all baggage, who knew the shallows and had that national experience in swimming which enables the Britons to take care not only of themselves but of their arms and horses, he delivered so unexpected an attack that the astonished enemy who were looking for a fleet, a naval armament, and an assault by sea, thought that to such assailants nothing could be formidable or invincible. And so, peace having been sued for and the island given up, Agricola became great and famous..."
References
- "First early Roman era fort found on Anglesey". Daily Post. 26 November 2015.
- Lynch, Frances (1970). Prehistoric Anglesey: The Archaeology of the Island to the Roman Conquest. Anglesey Antiquarian Society. p. 285.
- Annals 14.29 to 14:33
- Malcolm Todd, ed. (2008). A Companion to Roman Britain. John Wiley & Sons. p. 71. ISBN 9780470998854.