Dioecesis Britanniae

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The dioceses from about 293 to before 337.
The dioceses around AD 400 ( late antiquity )

The Dioecesis Britanniae was a late antique administrative unit ( Dioecesis ) of the Roman Empire in what is now England and Wales . It existed from 296 to 410 AD. The main town was Camulodunum Londinium .

Territory structure

The Dioecesis Britanniae comprised the following 4 provinces:

In 369, after the island was pacified again by Flavius ​​Theodosius , a fifth province, Valentia , was added under Emperor Valentinian I , possibly in the north of Hadrian's Wall.

history

The final conquest of Britain by Rome took place in AD 43. At that time, the Roman Empire was divided into 46 provinces . Soon after AD 197 - after the victory over Clodius Albinus - the province of Britain was divided into two under Emperor Septimius Severus :

Under Diocletian, the provinces were essentially increased by division around 300 AD to 101 provinces, which in turn were combined into dioceses. The head of the dioceses (and provinces) was the vicarius , deputy of the civil officer who emerged from the military praetorian prefect after 312 . Already with the division of the empire in 395 , the structure of the dioceses was changed into four prefectures, 15 dioceses and 119 provinces. 409 said the British provinces of Constantine III. go, there was probably a riot. Traditionally, the years 409/10 are considered to be the time when the last regular troops of Rome left the island. It is very likely that, as mentioned above, this mainly affected the mobile field army, while large parts of the border troops may have stayed in the country, but gradually withdrew from the north. Nevertheless, at least in older research, the year 410 was considered the "end" of Roman Britain. Only recently has this date been given less practical importance than it used to be.

See also

→ Great Britain in Roman times

literature