Battle of the Medway
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Battle of the Medway | |||||||
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Part of the Roman conquest of Britain | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Roman Empire |
British tribes | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Aulus Plautius Galba Titus Flavius Sabinus Gnaeus Hosidius Geta Vespasian |
Togodumnus Caratacus | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
unknown | unknown |
The Battle of the Medway took place in 43 AD, probably on the River Medway in the lands of the Iron Age tribe of the Cantiaci, now the English county of Kent. Other locations for the battle have been suggested but are less likely.[citation needed] This was an early battle in the Claudian invasion of Britain, led by Aulus Plautius.
Background
On the news of the Roman landing, the British tribes united to fight them under the command of Togodumnus and his brother Caratacus of the Catuvellauni tribe. After losing two initial skirmishes in eastern Kent, the natives gathered on the banks of a river further west to face the invaders.
At the same time, the Romans received the surrender of the Dobunni tribe in western Britain. The Dobunni were subjects of the Catuvellauni, and this diplomatic gain was probably a blow to native morale and manpower.
Chronology
There was no bridge over the river where the battle was fought, so a detachment of specially-trained Roman auxiliaries (described by
The Britons fell back to the Thames, a larger river more difficult to cross.
Location
Dio does not name the battle's location, nor the river, but its site is claimed to be on the Medway. The Romans would have used existing trackways as they moved west from Richborough, and the most well-travelled prehistoric trackway would have been the route of the later Pilgrims' Way, which forded the Medway at Aylesford. Other theories, however, note that the river is narrow enough at Aylesford not to pose significant difficulties in crossing, and place the battle closer to Rochester, where a large Iron Age settlement stood at the time. Further evidence of a more northerly possible location is at Bredgar, where a hoard of Roman coins from the period was found and has been interpreted as a Roman officer's savings buried for safekeeping before a battle. This hoard could, however, post-date the battle by as much as 20 years. Possibly the Romans followed the future route of Watling Street to the battle, although its role as a pre-Roman communications route is not certain.
Notes
- Frere, S., Britannia (Routledge, 1987)
- Salway, P., Roman Britain (Oxford University Press, 1986)
- Todd, M., Roman Britain (Fontana, 1985)