Everything about Togodumnus totally explained
Togodumnus (d. AD
43) was a historical king of the British
Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the
Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king
Guiderius.
Togodumnus is known only from
Dio Cassius's
Roman History, according to which he was a son of
Cunobelinus. He probably succeeded his father to the kingship of the Catuvellauni, who were the dominant kingdom in the south-east of Britain at this time. Their territory took in the lands of several other nations, including their neighbours the
Trinovantes, and possibly the
Dobunni further west.
He had two notable brothers,
Adminius and
Caratacus. In Cunobelinus's later days Adminius gained control of
Kent, but was driven from Britain in 40 AD, seeking refuge with the
Roman emperor Caligula. Caligula planned an invasion of Britain in response, but called it off at the last minute.
Based on coin distribution it appears that Caratacus, following in the footsteps of his uncle
Epaticcus, completed the conquest of the
Atrebates, the main rival to the Catuvellauni, in the early 40s. The Atrebatian king,
Verica, fled to Rome and gave the new emperor,
Claudius, a pretext to conquer Britain in
43.
According to Dio's account, Togodumnus led the initial resistance to the invasion, but was killed after the battle on the
Thames. The Roman commander
Aulus Plautius then dug in at the Thames and sent word for Claudius to join him for the final march on the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum (
Colchester). Dio says that this was because the resistance became fiercer as the Britons tried to avenge Togodumnus, and Plautius needed the emperor's help to complete the conquest; however, as Claudius was no military man and in the end spent only sixteen days in Britain, it's likely the Britons were already as good as beaten. Leadership passed to Caratacus, who took the fight outside Roman-controlled territory and remained at large until
51.
Togodumnus is nearly contemporary with
Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (or Togidubnus), a pro-Roman king of the
Regnenses in the period after the Roman conquest, who is known from
Tacitus's
Agricola and an inscription found in
Chichester. The similarity of their names has led some, including the distinguished
archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, to suggest that they may be one and the same. However the sources don't support this: according to Dio, Togodumnus was killed in
43, while Tacitus says that Cogidubnus remained loyal to Rome into the later part of the 1st century, and his inscription dates after
79. It is of course not unusual in historical records for two people to have similar names (cf.
Dubnovellaunus). As the Chichester inscription supports Tacitus, Cunliffe's interpretation would appear to imply an error in Dio's
Roman History or in its transmission.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Togodumnus'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://togodumnus.totallyexplained.com">Togodumnus Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
