Roman Scotland

Roman Scotland. Two thousand years ago the Roman army, one of the world's most successful fighting machines, set out to conquer Scotland. Three invasions were attempted and each ended in withdrawal. These forays have left their mark on today's landscape in the form of impressive earthworks - the remains of forts and frontiers constructed by the army, including the famous and spectacular Antonine Wall. Using the latest archaeological evidence and contemporary Roman documents, including the uniquely informative Vindolanda writing tablets, Dr Breeze assesses these three periods of occupation and the effect they had on Scotland and its people. He asks: why the Romans chose to invade and why they failed what was the strength and nature of the invasion force how strong was the opposition what was daily life like for civilians and soldiers what was the relationship between Rome and the northern tribes after the Roman withdrawal Copiously illustrated with photographs and drawings, this informative and lively guide is enhanced by specially commissioned reconstruction drawings of military installations. Roman Scotland (Historic Scotland).

Roman Scotland. The authors of this book delved into the history of the Wall that ran from coast to coast, dividing Britain in two. Occasionally the Romans would march north and consider the complete conquest of the island; at other times the northern tribes would spill over the Wall to pillage the Roman province. Despite this, for three hundred years, with very few lapses, the peace of the frontier was regulated by the troops along the Wall. Only when the Western Empire fell did the soldiers drift away and the Wall decayed. In their review of the evidence, the authors include details about the Roman army, its religion and daily bureaucratic life on the Wall. Hadrian's Wall (Penguin History).

An in-depth historical study of the northern Roman frontier in Britain, why was the military conquest of Scotland never completed and what were the criteria governing Roman policy over the centuries? The idea of the Roman frontier immediately conjures up pictures of Hadrian's Wall with its forts and other remains, and of the Antonine Wall in Scotland. These two structures, however, represent two elements in a story which took a great deal longer to evolve and which, if taken in isolation, tend to mask a clear appraisal of the way in which the frontier in Britain actually developed. What, after all, did the Romans want to achieve in Britain? Why did they not capitalise on Agricola's victory at Mons Graupius in AD83 to subdue the entire country once and for all? How did the idea for a physical barrier evolve? And why, after all the effort of building Hadrian's Wall, did the emperor Antoninus Pius embark upon fresh conquest in Scotland? This book is intended primarily as an historical treatment of the Roman military occupation in Britain up until the early third century AD, although it does also describe the later history of the frontier zone. It draws upon archaeological evidence, but is not intended as a guide to the remains of Hadrian's and Antonine's Walls. Rather, it aims to set these spectacular fortifications into the broader context of Roman military plans. The Roman Frontier in Britain: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and Roman Policy in Scotland.

As the most advanced frontier construction of its time, and as definitive evidence of the Romans' time in Scotland, the Antonine Wall is an invaluable and fascinating part of this country's varied and violent history. For a generation, from about 140 to 160 AD, the Antonine Wall was the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. Constructed by the Roman army, it ran from modern Bo'ness on the Forth to Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde and consisted of a turf rampart fronted by a wide and deep ditch. At regular intervals were forts connected by a road, while outside the fort gates clustered civil settlements. Antoninus Pius, whom the wall was named after, reigned longer than any other emperor with the exception of its founder Augustus. Yet relatively little is known about him. In this meticulously researched book, David Breeze examines this enigmatic life and the reasons for the construction and abandonment of his Wall. The Antonine Wall.

In the summer of 84 AD the Italian gentleman Gnaeus Iulius Agricola, governor of Roman Britain (78-84 AD), led an army of Roman legionary soldiers and barbarian auxiliaries into northern Britain, known as Caledonia to the Romans. At a place called Mount Graupius, Agricola won a decisive victory over a large Caledonian host, and it appeared at the time that, forty-one years on, the Roman military conquest of Britain had finally been completed. Agricola had already begun thinking about a new challenge - the invasion and conquest of Ireland, but was recalled from Britain by the emperor; and it proved to be Rome's failure, or unwillingness - to assume political control over northern Britain in the wake of Agricola's achievement that would become greatly significant in shaping the medieval and post-medieval political and cultural history of Britain and Ireland. James Fraser is the first historian to identify the true site of this legendary battle, and presents a totally new interpretation of why the Romans invaded Scotland. The Roman Conquest of Scotland: The Battle of Mons Graupius AD 84.