Roman Rule Research Paper

The End of Roman Rule in Britain The British Islands were inhabited by several cultures during the old times. The Celts were there when the Romans arrived in AD 43 and stayed in the island for almost four centuries. However, after being in total control of the province of Britannia, the Romans had to withdraw due to different reasons. Although the main cause of their withdrawal from Britain was the threat to the Empire in the mainland itself, there were other causes such as the constant pressure suffered from hostile groups -like the Picts, Scots and Saxons- and an increasing corruption that also weakened Roman Britain.

Roman garrison was forced to concentrate its army in the continent because Barbarians pushing westwards posed a major threat to the Roman Empire. According to Richards (1973), Romans maintained their frontier up to Danube line till its collapse due to barbarian pressure in the 5th century A.D. These tribes (the Goths, Visigoths and Huns) were all moving westwards in search of food, supplies and fresh lands. Threatened by these groups, the Roman Empire was obliged to reinforce its army by withdrawing their legions from Britain and forcing them to return back to Italy.

Saxons, Scots and Picts from the north were constantly pushing for more land. Consequently, Romans took some measures: they built forts, formed naval patrols, and new posts were created to deal with those groups like the Count of the Saxon Shore or the Duke of Britain. However, in 386, the invaders of Britain overran Hadrian’s wall, heading straight to kill the Count of the Saxon Shore and succeeding in destroying the army of the Duke of Britain. Britain remained vulnerable to the plunders and ravages making it more difficult to stand firm against the pressures of the Germanic