ROMAN LONDONTHE FOUNDING OF LONDON (LONDINIUM)Roman London, has generally been accepted as the first major settlement of the city. There are several legends relating to the foundation of London, but these have all been discounted as being just that, Legends, which are popular stories handed down from earlier times, the truths of which, have not, or cannot be verified.However, these fables, if indeed that is what they are (just because they have been discounted, is not proof in itself, that they are untrue) will be retold by A-London-Tourist-Guide, in London History without prejudice, but keeping an open mind on the subject. Although there certainly have been discoveries of pre - Roman Settlements in the area, it is now generally accepted that the City was indeed founded by the Romans. Having been invaded in 55 B.C. and again in 54 B.C. by Julius Caesar, it was not until 43 A.D. when Claudius invaded, that Britain came fully under the control of the Romans. After the invasion had been completed and their positions in Kent consolidated, the Romans pushed north. Their speedy advance however, was halted when they came up against the River Thames, forcing them to build a bridge by which the legions of soldiers were able to cross. On crossing the river, the invading forces constructed roads which, after fanning out across the marshy ground, became major arterial road systems covering the whole country. This facilitated the crucial need for speed, which has been an essential requirement of every invading army throughout history. The strategic importance to the Romans of this new crossing point cannot be overstated. With a very large navigable, tidal river, connected to a brand new national road network, it was a natural progression that this pulsating and rapidly expanding logistical hub of the Roman conquest, would with the Victorious completion of the invasion, become its' major Trading Centre. Londinium, the Roman name for this now critically important outpost of the Roman Empire had been born. Roman London was now the main political and commercial centre of Roman Britain. The arrival of the Romans was without doubt the most momentous episode in the history of England and by association, the other three countries, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which combine to form what has come to be known as the British Isles. At the centre was Londinium, which thirteen centuries after the Romans left, would itself become the centre of an even greater Empire. |
