I is for… Iceni

/ historicallywoman

Warning for a brief mention of rape

The Iceni were a Britonnic tribe during Iron Age and Roman Britain, located in present-day Norfolk and Suffolk. They were a border tribe, existing on the edge of Rome’s control, and so they were allowed to continue being ruled by a ‘client king’ – a ruler who was more or less friendly to Rome. In the case of the Iceni, this was Prasutagus.

The Iceni lived in relative peace from Claudius’s conquest in AD 43 until Prasutagus’s death in AD 60. Left without a male heir, he had decided to split his kingdom between his two daughters and Emperor Nero in order to settle a debt to Rome. Unsatisfied by this arrangement, the Romans annexed the entire kingdom and began robbing Iceni land of its people and valuables. They also refused to recognise the leadership and authority of Boudicca (also known as Boadicea), Prasutagus’s widow, due to her being a woman.

A black and white drawing of Boudicca addressing some men who are crouched at her feet
‘Boadicea Haranguing the Britons’ by John Opie, engraved by William Sharp

Boudicca was outraged by this turn of events, but her appeals to the Roman Procurator ended with further brutality against the Iceni. According to Tacitus, her two teenage daughters were raped and Boudicca herself was publicly beaten and flogged.

It is important to note at this juncture that we have two main accounts sources for this event- Tacitus and Cassius Dio. These accounts often conflict, for example, Dio’s story does not include beatings or rape. Tacitus’s account is likely more reliable as he was a Roman Senator and his father-in-law held a senior military position at the time of the revolt, whilst Dio was writing over 100 years later. Nevertheless, even Tacitus’s writings are questionable and not entirely trustworthy.

That being said, we can only cover what information we do have. 

After this humiliation, Boudicca declared (again, according to Tacitus): “Nothing is safe from Roman pride and arrogance. They will deface the sacred and will deflower our virgins. Win the battle or perish, that is what I, a woman, will do.”

She mobilised the Iceni and other tribes dissatisfied with Roman rule, and even made peace with the neighbouring Trinovantes to join them all in an army to take on Rome. In all, there were around 100,000 warriors, men and women, led by Boudicca herself.

The army’s first stop was Camulodunum (present-day Colchester), which was seen as a symbol of oppression for Britons, partially due to a temple honouring Emperor Claudius built using funds from enforced taxation. The city was poorly-defended, so it was easy for the Britons to raze it to the ground, destroying everything in their path.

Though Boudicca is often seen now as a British heroine, a symbol for nationalism and patriotism, this is a somewhat warped way of looking at her. She did not discriminate; Romans and Britons alike were killed by her army, and even those taking refuge in the temple at Camulodunum were put to the torch.

The 9th Legion attempted to drive back Boudicca’s forces at Camulodunum, but their 2000 soldiers were quickly overwhelmed and almost annihilated. The Britons had proved themselves as more than just undisciplined barbarians; they could take on a Roman army and win.

The Governor of Britain, Gaius Suetonius Paulinius, correctly guessed that Boudicca’s next target would be Londinium (London) and sent reinforcements to the city – then, the largest in the British Isles.

He was too late, however. By the time Suetonius arrived (ahead of the main army), it was clear that the city was similarly ill-defended – a lost cause. He pulled military personnel from Londinium and abandoned it, leaving 25,000 inhabitants to be massacred when Boudicca and her army descended.

Evidence of the attack can still be found today if you dig deep enough. London is built on top of a thick layer of ash, all that was left after it was decimated by flame.

The final city attacked by Boudicca was Verulanium (St. Albans), which was mostly inhabited by other Britons. Again, the city was destroyed and its populace killed; by the end of it, Boudicca’s forces had killed roughly 80,000 people and now outnumbered Suetonius 23-1.

‘We British are used to women commanders in war; I am descended from mighty men! But I am not fighting for my kingdom and wealth now. I am fighting as an ordinary person for my lost freedom, my bruised body, and my outraged daughters….’

Boudicca to her army, according to Tacitus

The location of their final stand is unknown, though it is generally agreed that it was somewhere along Watling Street. Most estimations centre around the Midlands, with suggested locations including Mancetter (Warwickshire), Kings Norton (Birmingham), High Cross (Leicestershire), and Church Stowe (Northamptonshire).

With 10,000 Romans against 230,000 Britons who had more than proven their mettle, it would seem that the battle had already been fought and won. But the Romans were armoured and disciplined; Boudicca’s forces, by contrast, were bare-chested, fought with scavenged weaponry, and were more of a mob than an army. Further, they were weakened by hunger after Suetonius strategically burned Roman food stores, which the Britons had been intending to steal. 

A black and white landscape of Boudicca entering a flaming city, flanked by an army. She holds a lit torch aloft.
Boudicca and her army

Boudicca roused her army into a frenzy, but it was not enough. The Britons were easily cut down – according to Tacitus there were some 80,000 British casualties to just 400 Roman. It is likely that these numbers were exaggerations to make the Roman victory more impressive, but we cannot know for certain.

As for Boudicca, she survived the battle (as, supposedly, did her daughters, but their fate is entirely unknown). Tacitus recorded that she took poison after her defeat to avoid capture; meanwhile, Dio suggests she escaped and later died of illness. She was credited in Dio for having a ‘greater intelligence than often belongs to women’.

The Iceni revolt had been the most devastating rebellion Rome had faced in two decades, and it encouraged some smaller insurrections, however Rome learned from its mistakes and quickly quashed those. There was not another threat like it for the rest of Rome’s occupation of Britain.

Boudicca’s story was almost completely forgotten for centuries, until Tacitus’s ‘Annals’ were unearthed in 1360, and she became a popular figure during the reign of Elizabeth I. Nowadays, a bronze statue of Boudicca and her daughters stands triumphant outside the Houses of Parliament as a celebration of British imperialism – a somewhat ironic fate for a woman who fought against the very concept, and once burned the city in which the statue stands to the ground.

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