Boudica

There is very little information available on early life of Boudica and that too comes from extant sources of ancient Roman senator and historian Tacitus and Roman statesman and historian Cassius Dio. Boudica is considered to be born in 30 AD, in Camulodunum in Britannia.

According to sources she was trained as a warrior similar to other Celtic women. She received training in different techniques of fighting and use of weapons.

Both Tacitus and Cassius Dio suggested that Boudica hailed from a royal family. She was described by Dio as a very tall woman with thick and long reddish-brown hair that hanged below her waist. Dio mentioned that she had a harsh and loud voice and one would feel being stabbed by her piercing glare. He said that she always wore a colourful tunic and a flowing tartan cloak that was attached with a brooch while a large golden torc adorned her neck.

Boudica was Queen of Iceni through her marriage with Prasutagus, king of the British Celtic tribe Iceni during 1st century AD. The tribe was inhabitants of the area that more or less constitute present-day county of Norfolk in East Anglia, England.

Prasutagus was either among the 11 kings who surrendered to Roman Emperor Claudius after the Roman conquest of Britain that began effectively in 43 AD or he was made king after a rebellion of the Iceni in 47 AD was put down.

The Iceni tribe became an ally of Rome and Prasutagus was permitted to reign his kingdom, although as a nominally independent king. He made a will naming his two daughters and the Roman Emperor as the co-heirs, which Tacitus felt was an act of deference by the king to ensure protection of his household and kingdom.

Tacitus mentioned that Prasutagus led a long and prosperous life, however following his death, his will was disregarded by the Romans who took over and pillaged the kingdom including confiscating lands of leading Iceni men. Tacitus added that Boudica was flogged by Roman soldiers while her daughters were raped. According to Tacitus these circumstances led to the uprising.

A different account was however suggested by Cassius Dio that led to the revolt. He partly blamed the uprising on “rapacity” of the procurator of Roman Britain in AD 60 or 61, Catus Decianus who confiscated sums of money given to leading Britons by Claudius, declaring them as loans which were to be paid back with interest.

During AD 60 or 61, as Paulinus was busy making an assault on the island of Mona (present-day Anglesey), the Iceni tribes along with their neighbours, the Trinovantes and others staged a revolt. They selected Boudica as their leader.

According to Tacitus, the Queen addressed her army saying that she is not avenging the loss of freedom, her flogged body and rape of her daughters as a woman hailing from a noble ancestry but as one among the people. She also said that this is a resolve of a woman to either win or die and as far as the men are concerned they may choose to live in slavery.

The first target of Boudica’s army was Camulodunum that earlier remained capital of Trinovantian but evolved as a Roman colonia by that time. A temple to the former emperor Claudius was constructed there at the expense of the locals who were mistreated by the settled Roman veterans. Although reinforcements were called upon by the Roman settlers, only two hundred auxiliary troops were sent by the then procurator, Catus Decianus. The rebels thrived in destroying Camulodunum which was later shown by the Archaeologists as a methodical demolition.

Quintus Petillius Cerialis who was at that time commanding the Legio IX Hispana (Ninth Iberian Legion) tried to relieve the destructed city but as his troops approached the besieged colonia, they faced severe defeat in hands of Boudica’s army in the Battle of Camulodunum. The casualties included perhaps 80% of the Roman foot-soldiers and only Cerialis and the cavalry managed to flee to a fort nearby.

As Suetonius heard news of fall of Camulodunum, he hastened to reach the next target of Boudica’s army, Londinium, and marched there along the Roman road of Watling Street. Londinium was founded following the 43 AD Roman conquest and the new settlement eventually developed as a flourishing commercial centre.