Britannia Superior

thumb|Map of Britannia Superior in 260 AD

thumb|Major cities of Britannia Superior in the 2nd century

thumb|Part of a map of the European provinces of the Roman Empire, specifically of Upper and Lower Britain, offering a different perspective to the borders than is currently represented on Wiki commons. Usually printed in New York by Henry Colt and Co.

[[File:Roman Empire - Britannia Superior (AD 210).svg|thumb|

Britannia Superior within the Roman Empire]]Britannia Superior (Latin for "Upper Britain") was a province of Roman Britain created after the civil war between Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. Although Herodian credits Severus with dividing Roman Britain into the Northern territory of Britannia Inferior and the Southern territory of Britannia Superior, modern scholarship argues that it is more likely that Caracalla was the person who made the split sometime in the early 3rd century CE. The previous British capital Londinium remained the centre of Britannia Superior while Eboracum, or modern York was the capital of Britannia Inferior. Epigraphical evidence shows that Upper Britain encompassed approximately what is now Wales, southern England and East Anglia. However, the official boundary between Britannia Superior and Inferior is still unclear.

Although Londinium went through a period of decline during this time, the province as a whole continued to be developed. Villas were expanded and a new wall around the capital was created.

Governors of Britannia Superior are difficult to trace and it is hard to decipher exactly when the province became distinct from its twin Britannia Inferior. Also, little information about their system of governance or their peoples exist today. However, some archeological research of Britannia Superior leads historians to believe that Romano-British relations may have to be restudied with a more modern approach.

Due to instability within the Roman Empire, reforms by Diocletian and Carausius' usurping total provincial power in the late 3rd century, the province was restructured by Constantius early in the 4th century.

Build up and civil war

After the murder of Emperor Commodus on 31 December 192 AD, Pertinax was chosen by Commodus' conspirators as a suitable replacement for the title of Roman ruler. He would be the first of five Emperors during 193AD, known as the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. During this year, the leader of the Roman Empire was to be decided within a civil war between its three largest military forces. This civil war was contested by Clodius Albinus in Britain, Septimius Severus in the Danube and Syrian leader Pescinnius Niger.

Following the murder of Pertinax by his own guard on 28 March 193 AD Severus and Albinus swore an alliance as shown on the altar Ostia. The altar shows that all names (including Albinus') apart from Severus' have been etched out of the inscription. This is evidence that Severus eventually become the victor of the civil war. During the alliance with Albinus, Severus gave himself the name Petrinax to avenge the recently murdered emperor. Severus marched on Rome and disbanded the Praetorian guard with his own installment. Once he realized that his defeat was imminent Albinus committed suicide giving Severus total control of the Roman Empire.

The split of Roman Britain

According to Roman historian Herodian's work History of the Empire, Severus split Roman Britain into Upper and Lower provinces soon after the Battle of Lugdunum. Graham concludes that Severus did not split Roman Britain himself. Instead Graham argues the split would have officially taken place under the power Severus' co-emperor Caracella sometime between 211 and 220 AD. Graham concludes that although the specifics of the division are inconclusive the nature of the split is still important. The distinction of Superior and Inferior is important because the inferior Lower Britain lay in the northernmost part of the province. This fact reveals Caracella's passive nature of agreement and retreat with the Maetian barbarians beyond the Roman border.

thumb|A plaque dedicated to the fortified defences at [[Calleva Atrebatum, a town in Britannia Superior]]

Epigraphical evidence shows that an inscription made during the time of Lucius Julius Julianus between 198-209 AD describes his legions being based at Caerleon in what was to become Upper Britain. This leads historians to believe Britain had still not been divided by 209 AD. This is also evidence that although fewer legions were in the north, Lower Britain relied on soldiers from the south. Evidence pointing towards the existence of a southern concord serving near Corbridge in Lower Britain exists. Another altar devoted to a southern commander proves that detachments of two Upper Britain legions were serving together on the northern frontier.

The rank between the governors of Superior and Inferior is important. Because of the division of legions historians assume that the governor of Britannia Superior held a consular rank while his opposite in Britannia Inferior was a lower praetorian rank. This also has created confusion among historians because it has been suggested that during wartime the governor of Britannia Superior would take lead of the northern armies which would vitiate the reasons behind the split in the first place. What historians can safely agree on is that Roman Britain had very different systems of rule between the imperial reign of Severus and his successor Caracalla. Although not totally a similar move, this has been extrapolated by historians as a general policy move the Roman Empire had made towards its provinces at the time.

The split of Britain into upper and lower provinces demonstrates a problem that faced the Roman province. It was necessary to prevent a large army being in the hands of a single governor on the peripheries of the empires. The power base was too strong as seen in Albinus' ability to mobilize a large military in his conflict with Severus.

The division created two separate capitals of Roman Britain. Londinium (present day London) was the capital of Superior, and Eboracum (present day York) was created as the capital of Britannia Inferior. Due to the unsettled Maetae population to the north of Britannia Inferior, Severus decided to rule the entire Roman Empire from Eboracum while trying to regain control of island.

Buildings

During Britannia Superior's time as a province, the building of fortifications was seen throughout the territory. This was not for any military purpose because there was no true offensive threat to Upper Britain.

Although the villas mentioned above may not have been heavily fortified there is archeological evidence to suggest a period of intense building to expand the infrastructure of villas around the Upper Province. For example, two villas on the outer ridge of the Cotswolds called Witcombe and Frocester Court were enlarged between 270-275 AD.

It is also thought that the Emperor Probus made sure to fortify coastal dwellings within the province. This was done in tandem with sea fortifications in Gaul to guarantee a safer hold on the Oceanus Britannicus (renamed to English channel). It is clearly known that there was at least enough money and resources to complete a new wall of Londinium during this period. The new wall was 9 ft (2.7m) thick at ground level, including an 8 ft (2.4m)-thick plinth above.

The work was beyond local capability at the time which meant that the order to build it must have come from the top of the Roman Empire. To tell which leader built the wall, both of their motivations have been studied by historians. City walls served as a main protector against enemies, but most towns in Britain did not receive much fortification until the late 2nd century. Archeology shows that the wall was not made in haste to combat any type of emergency at Londinium. Historians say this lack of haste could be proof that Albinus had the wall built foreseeing it would be wise to have a better fortified British capital when he withdrew most of his troops toward Rome to fight for the throne in the 190s.

Historians still ponder why Severus did not knock down Albinus' wall upon his arrival in Britain.

Although this was a time of economic collapse, monumental sculptures which were made during this time have been unearthed too. 52 massive blocks of limestone built into the fourth-century riverside wall (the wall's extension), some with indented ornaments, were found in 1975; 45 of them in turn came from two extremely large monuments figures containing Hercules, Minerva, Mars and many other Roman deities.

Gatehouses were also built at Ludgate, Newgate, Bishopgate and Aldgate.

Governance

Under the peace restored by Caracella, both the Upper and Lower provinces began a system of governance that was both similar and distinct. Although the provinces were technically separated, two inscriptions from Geta Bridge and one from Cherterholm mention that the governor of Superior spoke of beneficiarri from his staff on duty in the Lower province. Scholars note that, for a time at least, Britain continued to be governed as a single entity.

thumb|A plaque dedicated to Britannia Superior settlement [[Calleva Atrebatum]]

The Governors of Upper Britain were generally of consular rank, including the following:

Tiberius Julius Pollienus Auspex, a man who may have governed Numidia c. 217-20. His time as governor of Superior may have occurred sometime during c. 223–226.
Gaius Junius Faustinus Postumianus, a former statesman who had served on Severus' staff in Britain (probably sometime during 222–235).

The dissolution of Britannia Superior

The first rumblings of misfortune for Britannia Superior's prosperity occurred in 260 AD. The Roman Empire was having trouble with German invasions and briefly lost control over some of its provinces. Britannia, along with Germania, Gaul and Hispania adhered to an independent emperor. This territory was called "The Empire of the Gallic Provinces" or in Latin Imperium Galliarum.

The Roman Empire suffered during this period. After the murder of Gordian III in 244 CE and until Diocletian (284 CE) fifty-five different emperors declared themselves Caesar.

The importance of a strong Oceanus Britannicus (between Britannia and Gaul) reoccurs in 287 AD. Carausius, a senior Roman officer was suspected of collusion with pirates on the channel. To save himself from execution, he rebelled and took over the entirety of Britain. Protected by the sea, Carausius' reign was particularly hard to dislodge. In 293, he was murdered by his own finance minister Alectus, but only after he had already lost control over parts of Britain. Alectus was not a very strong strategic commander and he made an error of not instigating a naval battle. Scholars think that Constantius first divided Upper Britain in two, giving Chester to a new province centered on London and chiseled out the eastern part of Superior from the southern part of Inferior. By the time of the Verona List (313–314 AD), the four new provinces of Roman Britain were Britannia Prima, B. Secunda, Maxima Caesariensis and Flavia Caesariensis. In particular, researchers found that areas which fell within Britannia Superior proved that cultural hybridization could occur even within an elite ruling culture. This led researchers to a discovery that Romanization was not necessarily an elitist ideology which forced Britain to aspire to what was "Roman". Official seals coming from Lower Britain usually contained bulls.