AD 43 (XLIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius (or, less frequently, year 796 Ab urbe condita). The denomination AD 43 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Events
By place
Britain
- Roman conquest of Britain:
- May – Aulus Plautius, crossing (probably) from Boulogne (Bononia) in the Classis Britannica, lands with four Roman legions (20,000 men) and the same number of auxiliaries at Rutupiae (probably modern Richborough) on the east coast of Kent. General (future emperor) Vespasian plays a major role in the defeat of the Britons led by the brothers Caratacus and Togodumnus (leaders of the Catuvellauni) in the 2-day Battle of the Medway (probably at the river near Rochester) and the Romans drive them back to and across the River Thames; Togodumnus dies soon after. Plautius becomes the first Governor of Roman Britain.