Tuesday, November 27, 2018

The Heir of Caligula and the Son of Commius

-So, Julius Caesar was now gone for good (seeing as how he'd been assassinated in Rome in 44 BC) and Commius had gone to Britannia as an ambassador for the Romans but secretly was hoping to forge his own kingdom!
   -It is surprising that Commius was actually somewhat successful, as it would be assumed that he was just a Roman shill.  However, he gained popularity by renouncing the Romans and sticking true to his word.  Maybe it made him look good that the Romans had tried to have him assassinated. 
-34 BC- Octavian was now in power in Rome, and had put into motion plans to invade Britannia!
   -However, in the eastern half of the Roman empire Marc Antony and Cleopatra were out of control, so Octavian's Britannia campaign had to be temporarily suspended.
      -Unfortunately for Octavian, this kept on getting delayed again and again due to constant drama back in Rome and within the empire (even after Octavian became emperor (and thus became known as Augustus).
         -Meanwhile, because of this relatively peaceful time in Britannia, trade had picked back up between the island and the mainland.
            -Gold, livestock, slaves, etc. were exported for wine (British wine sucked ass, apparently), olive oil, and glass.
-After Augustus, Tiberius (Augustus' adopted son) was emperor of Rome.
   -Tiberius' adopted son, Germanicus, was commander over a number of Roman legions. 
      -During this time, a small band of his soldiers actually got shipwrecked in Britannia and returned to Rome with stories of magic, monsters, etc.  This really seemed to intimidate the Romans, and so they put off any ideas of invasion for the time being!
-After Emperor Tiberius died he was replaced by Caligula (son of Germanicus).
   -It seems as if he wasn't intimidated at all by the horror stories of Britannia, as he declared a complete invasion of the island in 40 AD.
      -However, it's unclear what exactly went down, but after sailing around the English channel for a bit just off the coast of Gaul, Caligula returned to land and ordered for the legions to start picking up seashells off the beach (??).
         -Caligula and the legions then returned to Rome, declaring victory or something.
-After Caligula was assassinated by Praetorian officers, Caligula's uncle Claudius was emperor.
-Meanwhile in Britannia, Commius' new kingdom of Atrebates was eventually divided up into three separate kingdoms by his three sons (or it was his two sons and some other dude; it's unclear) after Commius kicked the bucket.
   -Eventually, this kingdom was re-unified and ruled by Commius' son Verica (recorded by the Romans as "Bericus") in 15 AD.
      -Verica ruled as king of the Atrebates from the city of Calleva Atrebatum (outside of modern-day Basingstoke, Hampshire) from 15-40 AD.
         -During this time the Atrebates began fighting with their rivals the Catuvellauni. 
            -Eventually, the Catuvellauni were victorious in conquering the Atrebates, so Verica fled to Rome to appeal to the Romans for help to get their kingdom back!
               -This was great timing for Verica, as Claudius had been desperate to do something dramatic and grandiose that would show the Romans that he was a powerful guy.

No comments:

Post a Comment