Britannia Inferior (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Lower

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

") was a new

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

carved out of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

probably around AD 197 during the reforms of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

although the division may have occurred later, between 211 and 220, under

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

. The removal of the

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

from control over the legions guarding

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

was aimed at reducing their power, given

Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania after the murder of Pertinax in 193 (known as the "Year of the Five Emperors") ...

's recent bid to become

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. The province was probably formalised around 214 by Severus's son

. Including most of modern

northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

and the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

, the region was governed from the city of

Eboracum Eboracum () was a castra, fort and later a coloniae, city in the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the ...

(modern

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

) by a praetorian legate in command of a single legion stationed in the city. This subdivision of Britannia lasted throughout the

Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty, sometimes called the Septimian dynasty, ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. It was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus () and Julia Domna, his wife, when Septimius emerged victorious from civil war of 193 - 197, ...

until the reorganisation of the empire under

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

in 296.

Establishment

During the reign of

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

, the defences along the northern border of the empire in

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

fell into neglect and disrepair. The peace of the region was further disturbed in the tumultuous period after Commodus' death as the military power vacuum on the continent distracted the defensive legions stationed in Britannia. After his accession in 193, Severus took special interest in refortifying the northern border in Britannia, and in 208 he moved to

to oversee the military campaigns against the northern tribes. While there is some confusion as to the exact date when the subdivision of Britannia was made, it seems clear that Severus's intentions were to break up the size of the military under the command of an individual governor (as he had done in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

), preventing them from wielding too large a military force, or at least one that could destabilize the emperor's control. An African inscription dated to the reign of Caracalla provides a potential early confirmation of the division occurring under Severus.

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

puts the date of the split in 197, although there is no evidence of this distinction being formalised in inscriptions until after the death of Severus in 211. Thus, it is likely that the division of military control in Britannia was formally established by

sometime between 211 and 20.''The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XII'', p. 8 Caracalla also moved the southern border of the province northwards from the line established by Severus, transferring northern modern Wales and the region surrounding Chester to Britannia Superior.

History

In the reign of Severus, the province's fortifications were significantly improved in order to provide better defence against northern tribes. A major rebuilding of Hadrian's Wall was included among these efforts. The province hosted a single legion during Caracalla's reign, the VI Victrix, which was stationed at Eboracum. However, although Britannia Inferior had only the single legion (compared to the two stationed in Britannia Superior) the northern province actually had more soldiers than the south did, as a result of the large number of auxiliaries in the north. After the successes of Severus against the northern tribes, these troops furnished small units known as exploratores which were sent beyond the frontier to oversee native activities and ensure that the terms of Roman treaties with these groups were upheld. These measures were mostly effective and during Britannia Inferior's existence the northern border was largely peaceful after the campaign of Severus. From 260 to 273 AD Britannia Inferior, along with much of the rest of the western Empire, broke away from the rest of the Roman Empire to form the Gallic Empire. The second half of the province's history also coincided with a period of poor economic conditions across Roman Britain. The symbol of the province, attested by several lead sealings, was a bull.

Reorganisation

In 296, the emperor

conducted a major reorganisation of the empire. The newly named Diocese of Britannia was subdivided into four provinces, Britannia Prima and

Maxima Caesariensis Maxima Caesariensis (Latin for "The Caesarian province of Maximus"), also known as Britannia Maxima, was one of the provinces of the Diocese of " the Britains" created during the Diocletian Reforms at the end of the 3rd century. It was probably c ...

from

Britannia Superior Britannia Superior (Latin for "Upper Britain") was a province of Roman Britain created after the civil war between Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. Although Herodian credits Severus with dividing Roman Britain into the Northern territory of ...

and Britannia Secunda (capital in Eboracum) and Flavia Caesariensis (capital in Lindum) from Britannia Inferior."124: The Provincial Reorganisation", ''Roman Civilization Volume II: Selected Readings, The Empire,'' ed. Naphtali Lewis and Meyer Reinhold, 3rd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990, pp. 427–428.

References

{{Authority control Late Roman provinces States and territories established in the 190s 3rd century in Roman Britain States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century 197 establishments 190s establishments in the Roman Empire 2nd-century establishments in Roman Britain 290s disestablishments in the Roman Empire 3rd-century disestablishments in Roman Britain Northern England

Establishment

History

Reorganisation

See also

References