Governors of Roman Britain

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This is a partial list of Governors of Roman Britain. As Britannia, Roman Britain was a consular province, which means its governors need to be appointed consul by Rome before they could govern it. While this rank could be obtained either as a suffect or ordinares, a number of governors were consul ordinares, and also appear in the List of Early Imperial Roman Consuls. Later governors could be of the lower, equestrian rank.

Not all the governors are recorded by Roman historians and many from epigraphic evidence or from sources such as the Vindolanda letters. Beyond the recall of Gnaeus Julius Agricola the dates of service of those who can be named can only be inferred. Others are still entirely anonymous and by the time of the division of Britain into separate provinces, the record is very patchy.

Contents

[edit] Claudian Governors

[edit] Flavian Governors

[edit] Trajanic Governors

[edit] Hadrianic Governors

[edit] Antonine Governors

[edit] Severan Governors

Some sources list a further governor, a second Ulpius Marcellus. He was interpreted as a son of the first Ulpius Marcellus, serving. c. 211. This is based on a misdated inscription and it is now accepted that it refers to the earlier Ulpius Marcellus only.

The two sons of emperor Septimius Severus, Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta, administered the province to some degree during and immediately after their father's campaigns there which took place between 208 and 211.

[edit] Division into Britannia Superior and Inferior

This list assumes the final division occurred c. 213 or a year or two before.

[edit] Britannia Superior

[edit] Britannia Inferior

[edit] Diocese of the Britains

Following the reabsorption of Britain into the Roman Empire, the island was further repartitioned by Diocletian, this time into four separate provinces, Maxima Caesariensis in the southeast, with its capital at London, Flavia Caesariensis in the east, with its capital at Lincoln, Britannia Secunda in the north, with its capital at York, and Britannia Prima in the west (including present day Wales), with its capital at Cirencester. A fifth province called Valentia also briefly existed, probably in the far north. Each had a governor of equestrian rank (a praeses) and they were overseen by a vicarius. Later in the fourth century, the governor of Maxima Caesariensis had to be of consular rank. The following names are the few which have survived from this era, covering the almost 100 years until c. 408, when the Roman cilvilian administration was expelled by the native population.

[edit] Vicarii

[edit] Governors

[edit] Other rulers in Roman Britain

[edit] Usurpers and British-based rulers of the Western Empire

[edit] Native rulers

[edit] Military leaders

[edit] References

  • Frere, S, Britannia, Routledge, London, 1987
  • Salway, P, Roman Britain, OUP, Oxford, 1986