Britannia
Kingdom ( Latin: Britannia ) was the ancient name for the then still inhabited by Celts island that is now called, to distinguish it from Brittany ("[ small ] Britain " ), UK. The island today includes the countries of England, Wales and Scotland, the name is, however, sometimes used in German-speaking altogether for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the British Isles.
Name
The name Britannia is related to the Cymric word Prydein (Irish Cruithin ) together, the * qritenī to an older form (" cut, carve " ) goes back, of which probably the name of the Picts ( " the tattooed / Painted "? ). However Importzinn has been called in Egypt of the Pharaohs as Preton, so that the name Britain may be older than the Celtic settlement. Later P by B replaced for reasons still unknown, the word-initial anlautendes.
In modern times, a female figure as an allegorical personification of Britannia (Great ) Britain was popular.
Albion, the ancient name for other UK can be Celtic or pre-Celtic origin.
The Roman province of Britannia
See also: Britain in the Roman period
Britannia was used by the Romans as a name for the set up by them in the southwestern and northern part of the island provinces. Under the name Britannia and the feminine genius of the country was worshiped as a deity by the Romano - British. If you want to refer explicitly to the conquered by the Romans area, so it is also called Britannia Romana. As a contrast, the non- Roman Britain is also called Britannia Barbara.
A large part of the province territory was conquered in AD 43 by the Emperor Claudius, and had ever-changing boundary lines. First, the Roman legions invaded in the years after 80 AD, after the battle of Mons Graupius deep into the territory of modern Scotland, then retreated but 120 AD back to the line of Hadrian's rampart back. In the year 140 AD the Roman troops went on a massive scale in the Lowlands against the tribes of the Picts before and built further north ( Firth of Fourth - Clyde ) the Antonine Wall. This however had to be given up to 160 AD again.
In the year 212 or 213, the province was split by Caracalla in two parts:
- Britannia Inferior (Northern England to Hadrian's Wall ) and
- Britannia superior ( southern England and Wales)
After the administrative reform of the Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century AD, a division of Britannia II by Valentinian I ( 369 AD), there were five provinces:
- Britannia prima in the southwest,
- Britannia secunda and the
- Valentia in the north,
- Flavia Caesariensis in the Northeast and
- Maxima Caesariensis in the southeast.
The provinces of Britannia were also summarized in a diocese.
From the year 343 Britannia was always the target of attacks of the Saxons, Picts and Scots. Even more regular troops were always subtracted from the island, so that the population could not defend last almost exclusively with its own auxiliary troops. The last testified offensive regular imperial troops against the Picts and Scots took place 398 or 399. Hadrian's Wall was abandoned around 400 mostly, the remaining settlements were strengthened against attack. In the year 410, probably the last regular Roman troops left the island after the majority of the units already 401 ( for the defense of Italy against the Visigoths ) and 407 ( relating to the usurpation of Constantine III. ) Had left the island. After the army had withdrawn, but Britannia was initially even further under a Roman civil administration, but slowly dissolved by the further advance of the Picts, Scots and Saxons. Probably Angles and Saxons were recruited as foederati to ensure the defense of the Roman congregations. Contacts between Gaul and the Romans in Britain were still maintained, for example, in connection with religious disputes. There are in Gallic Chronicles evidence that the island then about 440/41 came largely under Anglo-Saxon rule - probably by a rebellion of the foederati. The empire never formally renounced to Britain; nor Emperor Justinian I rose to 540 claims to the island.