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Caratacus
Caratacus (lived 1st century) was a Celtic warrior from the Catuvellaunii tribe. Probably the youngest son of king Cunobelin (William Shakespeare's Cymbeline), he was a loyal follower of his uncle Epaticcus during the internal struggles for power. Caratacus fame as a warrior started during the war against the Atrebates tribe and their king Verica. The Catuvellaunii defeated Verica who, in a last attempt to secure power, appealed to the Roman Empire for help. This plea was the excuse emperor Claudius used to invade Britain. Along with his brother Togodumnus, Caratacus led the defence of the country, but they were defeated: Togodumnus was killed in the battle of Medway and Caratacus was forced to escape. Afterwards, when his tribesmen accepted and subdued to Roman presence, Caratacus continued to struggle. He fought actively against governor Aulus Plautius both in Southern England as in Wales, where he fled to after the Catuvellaunii surrender. In Welsh lands, he organised the resistance of the Silures and Ordovices tribes against Roman presence. Caratacus gave plenty of trouble to Plautius successor, governor Ostorius Scapula, who had great difficulty in dealing with his uprisings. Finally in 50 AD, Scapula manages to defeat Caratacus in the battle of Caer Caradock and the rebel is force to escape once more, this time to the North. Seeking asylum in the Brigantes lands of queen Cartimandua, Caratacus is betrayed by her and delivered to the Romans as a proof of her alliance. After his capture, Caratacus was sent to Rome as a war prize and presumably to be killed after a triumphal parade. Although a captive, he was allowed to speak in the senate and made such an impression that was pardoned and allowed to live in peace inside Rome. Afterwards, Caratacus disappears from the sources and probably died in around 54.
His fame survived for several centuries. A genealogy of an otherwise unknown British king in the Historia Britonum traced his ancestory to Caratacus.
Referenced By
AD 50 | Battle of Medway | Cartimandua | Catuvellauni | Catuvellaunii | Cornovi | Cornovii | History of Britain/Roman Britain | History of Wales | List of Roman battles | List of battle 1400 BC-600 AD | List of battles 1400 BC-1400 | List of battles 1400 BC-600 AD | Major General's Song | Roman Britain | Roman invasion of Britain | Silures
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