Boudicca   bodecia

                                                                                 Iceni

                  Boudicca (died 61) ruled over a small tribe of Celt who challenged the colonization plans of the   Roman Empire in England.

                                         The insurrection she lead almost succeeded in turning back the Roman colonizers.Very little historical evidence survives about the queen named Boudicca,

                                                                                                         ruler of a small tribe of Celtic peoples known as the Iceni during the first century C.E. The Iceni made their home near what is now Norfolk, England,

and it is known that Boudicca inherited her crown upon the death of her husband. Not long afterward, she was integral in forming a pan-tribal alliance of Celtic warriors who carried      through a decisive, bloody, and very nearly successful uprising against their despised Roman colonizers in C.E. 61. The revolt that bears Boudicca's name would be remembered in history as one of the most significant insurrections against the mighty Roman Empire during Europe's classical era.

The Iceni and Pre-Roman Britain

Boudicca, whose name is sometimes spelled Boadicea, may or may not have been of direct Icenian heritage; it is only known that she was married to the Iceni king, Prasutagus, and among royal Celtic houses marital alliances with other tribes were not unusual. Knowledge of Boudicca survives from the writings of two historians of the Roman empire, Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The latter penned his impression of the Iceni queen: Boudicca, wrote Dio as quoted in The Rebellion of Boudicca, "was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees: she wore a great twisted golden necklace, and a tunic of many colours, over which was a thick mantle, fastened by a brooch."

The Iceni held the territory in what is present-day Norfolk, England, and historians assume they migrated at one point in the late Bronze Age from the European continent. In England they established a farming economy, were weavers of cloth and also made pottery. Their stability was threatened by the arrival of the Belgae from Gaul (France). The Belgae had earned the enmity of the Roman emperor Caesar for providing help to their brethren back in Gaul who were resisting Caesar and Roman rule there. For this, Caesar began attacking Britain around 55 B.C.E.

Matters were further complicated by the superiority of the Belgae over their Celtic neighbors, such as the Iceni. The Belgae were skilled ironsmiths, more adept at farming, and most importantly, possessed a well-organized military force. They soon began taking over other tribes in the area. The Iceni built forts against them, but when the Romans launched a massive military invasion of the British Isles in C.E. 43, the Belgae capitulated. In total, eleven kings of varying Celtic tribes surrendered in a formal signing. The Arch of Claudius in Rome commemorates this historic surrender. Two kings, however, had engineered agreements with the Romans early on in exchange for retaining some power over their tribes. These rulers were Cogidubnus of the Regni tribe and Prasutagus, Boudicca's husband.

The Roman Empire in Britain

Over the next few years, Romans established a strong military presence in Britain, as they did elsewhere in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Roman colonization meant financial hardship for the conquered peoples. Their economy was immediately forced to gear itself toward the production of food for the massive legions of Roman soldiers stationed in their lands. Also, Roman officials imposed heavy taxes for an array of services and goods, and Roman moneylenders arrived in Britain to take advantage of the situation by making loans. Britain's Rome-appointed governor, Suetonius Paulinus, was also dedicated to eradicating Druidism, the native Celt religion. Its priests retained a great deal of influence over both common Celts and royal lines.

The origins of Boudicca's revolt began when the despised Procurator Catus Decianus rescinded the terms of a financial agreement between the Emperor Claudius and Prasutagus. It had been called a grant, but then was renamed a loan. In response, Prasutagus left a stipend of half his kingdom in his will to Nero, Claudius's successor, to satisfy the debt. Roman officials under Catus Decianus arrived in Iceni lands and instead took the whole. Boudicca, who had inherited the kingdom since she and Prasutagus had no male heirs, was arrested and beaten, and her two daughters raped. The estates of wealthy Iceni were liquidated, and lesser relatives of the royal house sold into Roman slavery

principles period bronze axe Celtic Oppidum