43 AD - Commion, a boy from Dover in the land of the Atrabates

Commion lived in the village of Dubrae now Dover, in the South East of England. It was an area of forested valleys and high chalk hills, like the area where Etha had died about 120 years before in her village far to the west. She had belonged to the Belgae tribe. In the Midlands the lands of the tribes of Silures, Doboni, Coritani and Cornovii met in a vast thick forested area which had not been yet cleared and was still almost empty of people. Later people called the area the Forest of Arden and it covered all the Birmingham area.

As one of the young warriors Commion was keeping watch on top of the great white cliffs. His people had heard that the dreaded Romans were building transport galleys at Gessoriacum now Boulogne and at Calais ready for an invasion. The Romans had invaded over 100 years before but fierce opposition from the British, severe storms which destroyed their fleet and rebellions in Gaul (France) made Julius Caesar's visit a short one.

Commion explained to his sister Boadora why the Romans wanted Britain. Britain was a wealthy country split into tribal lands. The iron tools had led to a rapid expansion of farming so corn and fodder were available for export.

Gold, silver and iron were mined and exported along with hides (skins)and slaves. These goods were eagerly imported by the Roman empire which wanted food and raw materials. They had also been helping the rebels in Gaul.

Now the Romans had decided they wanted to conquer Britain rather than just trade with the people.

Late in the afternoon sails and oars were sighted and the Romans landed. The fighting was fierce but the Britons were no match for the trained soldiers of the Roman army. Commion was captured and put to work as the slave-servant of Gronicus who was one of the Roman generals.

The army moved rapidly north and west and after only 16 days eleven of the British kings had submitted to the Emperor Claudius, who had come with his troops. By AD 50 almost all of southern England had been conquered and the main resistance came from the far west, Wales and the Pennines.

One of the most famous rebellions was in 61 AD by the tribe of Iceni which was led by Queen Boadicca. The tribe had been badly treated by greedy local Romans but the main Roman forces were led by General Suetonius and he simply destroyed the tribe and its queen.

After that there was peace over most of England for the next 200 years. The northern lands were different and here there was spasmodic unrest. Agricola built a line of forts in AD 80 across what is now the Scottish border, trying to contain the warlike Caledonian tribes who lived further north.

In AD 122 Emperor Hadrian visited the north and planned a continuous line of walls and forts to link those built by Agricola 40 years before. Hadrians wall started as a turf bank 8 metres high and protected by a deep ditch. Emperor Severus built stone barracks, walls and mile castles.

The Romans fought a continuing battle with local tribesmen in the wall area, while the rest of the country remained quiet.

After 337 AD various foreign invaders landed. They came from Ireland, Scotland, Saxony and Denmark, and from this time until the Romans finally withdrew in 410 there were various battles and contests for leadership of the country.

Roman Roads