To begin with the picture from last time...
This is Boudica. She was queen of the Iceni, a British tribe from the area that today roughly corresponds with the county of Norfolk. In AD 60 or 61, Boudica led an uprising against the Roman Empire. Boudica's husband, Prasutagus, was king of the Iceni. The Iceni had actually allied themselves with Rome voluntarily. At Prasutagus' death, Rome ignored his will that stated Rome was to get some of his kingdom while reserving some for his daughters and Boudica. While Rome didn't agree to this in the first place (Rome often only allowed allied kingdoms to remain independent during the life of the king they were allied with before leaving the entirety of their kingdoms to Rome in their will), Rome did not recognize female inheritance. Because Prasutagus had no sons, Rome annexed the entire kingdom as if it had been conquered. They flogged Boudica and her daughters were raped. This initiated the alliance between the Iceni and their neighboring tribes. Boudica led these tribes into a revolt that destroyed three cities. The first of these cities was Camulodunum (now the city of Colchester). Rome had taken this city to be used as a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers. Ix Hispana, a Roman legion (or section of an army like a regiment), was sent to stop the rebels, but they were ultimately defeated soundly by Boudica and her army. Camulodunum was a special target because the Roman soldiers that were discharged there mistreated the locals and built a temple to Claudius at local expense. In the end, the city was burnt down and only a few soldiers and the commander were left of the soldiers in Ix Hispana. Second, Boudica turned her attentions to Londinium (or modern-day London). Suetonius, the current governor of British Rome, came back in order to stop the rebels before they reached Londinium. Shortly before Boudica's arrival, Suetonius realized that he had no chance at victory because the Roman soldiers were too far outnumbered. He abandoned Londinium to Boudica and her rebels. It, like Camulodunum, was burned to the ground with its citizens slaughtered. Verulamium was next on Boudica's list. It was burned down much like the other two cities that they attacked before. All in all, between seventy and eighty thousand people lost their lives in the slaughtering and burning of these three cities. According to Tacitus, a Roman historian, the Britons (Boudica and her army) had no use for capture of or selling of prisoners. She and her army only sought destruction and death in retribution for what the Romans had been doing. This amounted to a feeling of humiliation felt by the Romans. They were being slaughtered in such numbers and with such ease by a woman?! In the end, Boudica met with a legion of Romans in a disputed field. This field was set up to give an advantage to the far-outnumbered Romans. The narrowness of this field meant that Boudica could not use her huge numbers to overwhelm the Romans. Also, Boudica could not effectively command her army because they were not nearly disciplined enough for open combat. This amounted to a defeat by the much smaller Roman forces, who were more disciplined and used to open combat. Unfortunately, Boudica most likely met her end at her own hand. It is believed she committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner.
Boudica was a true warrior queen. She is often forgotten in the annals of history because of her obscurity (the only source of knowledge about her is a Roman account). She is so ambiguous that no one really knows what happens to her. She could have committed suicide or ran off into the woods and remained in hiding. One thing that cannot be forgotten is that she was not only one of the most notable people to oppose Roman rule, but she was a woman who lead an armed force against Rome. She was a woman who had power and used it. She is an interesting figure.
Read more...
Here is her Wikipedia Page
Here is her HistoryNet Page
And For a little teaser to the next post (these posts are not necessarily going to go in chronological order...)
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