End of Roman rule in Britain
Between Magnus Maximus’s departure in 383 and Honorius’s reply of 410 telling the Britons to look to their own defence, the Roman army and administration left Britain, which slipped out of the empire.
- Date
- 383–410year known · duration: ≈ 27 years
- Place
- Londiniumapproximate locationtoday: London, England · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Roman Empire, Western Roman Empire, Honorius
- Threads
- Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)
- Also known as
- Roman withdrawal from Britain; Rescript of Honorius; Рескрипт Гонория
In 383 the general Magnus Maximus crossed to Gaul with troops to seize the throne; there is little evidence of Roman garrisons in northern and western Britain after that date. Coins stopped arriving in quantity after 402, and in 407 the usurper Constantine III took most of the remaining army to the continent. Around 409, according to Zosimus, the Britons expelled the Roman officials and defended themselves against the barbarians.
In 410 Honorius is said to have written to the cities of Britain telling them to look to their own defence, although some scholars think the letter was addressed to Bruttium in Italy. Roman towns and villas declined over the following decades, and the island entered the obscure sub-Roman period that preceded the Anglo-Saxon settlement.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Crossing of the Rhine31 December 406 · Western and Central Europethe army in Britain answered with the usurpation of Constantine III
Related events
- Roman conquest of Britain43 – between 83 and 84 · Western and Central Europethe end of the province conquered from AD 43
- Hadrian’s Wall122 – c. 128 · Western and Central Europethe frontier of Roman Britain until its end
- Gregorian mission to the Anglo-Saxons597 · Western and Central EuropeRoman Christianity returned to the former province, now ruled by pagan Anglo-Saxons
Same participants
- Division of the Roman Empire17 January 395 · Western and Central Europevia Roman Empire
Same place
- Magna Carta15 June 1215 · Western and Central Europe
- Treaty of Windsor9 May 1386 · Western and Central Europe
- Slave Trade Act 180725 March 1807 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Eastern Europe
- Vinitharius’ war with the Antes of Bozbetween 375 and 380
- Chernyakhov culturebetween 200 and 250 – between 400 and 430
- Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430
Balkans and Anatolia
- Edict of Thessalonica27 February 380
- Gothic War (376–382)376 – 3 October 382
- Battle of Adrianople9 August 378
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): End of Roman rule in Britain
- Wikipedia (Russian): Уход римлян из Британии
- Esmonde Cleary A. S. The Ending of Roman Britain. — London: Batsford, 1989.
- Wikidata: Q2632793