Publius Ostorius Scapula (died 52) was a
Roman statesman and general who governed
Britain from 47 until his death, and
was responsible for the defeat and capture of
Caratacus.
Career
Publius Ostorius Scapula was probably the son of
Quintus Ostorius Scapula, the first
joint commander of the
Praetorian
guard appointed by
Augustus and later
prefect of
Egypt.
Nothing is known of his early career. He was suffect
consul, probably in 46. In the winter of 47 he was
appointed the second
governor of
Roman Britain by the
emperor Claudius,
succeeding
Aulus Plautius. The south
and east of the island was securely occupied and alliances had been
made with tribes outside the Roman-controlled area, but other
tribes continued to resist. Believing a new governor would be
reluctant to campaign so late in the year, they staged attacks and
uprisings.
Ostorius disabused them of this notion and responded vigorously,
attacking relentlessly and allowing the native resistance no time
to regroup. He apparently (based on an emendation of a corrupt
passage in
Tacitus's
Annals) declared his intention to
disarm all the Britons south and east of the rivers
Trent and
Severn.
The geographical area described has led to discussion about the
role of the
Fosse Way as a desired
frontier line during the period as it links the Trent and the
Severn.
The
Iceni, a tribe based in
Norfolk who had not been conquered but allied
themselves with the Romans voluntarily, objected to this plan and
led neighbouring tribes in an uprising.
Ostorius defeated them
by storming a hill fort, possibly Stonea Camp
in the
Fens
near March
in Cambridgeshire, in
a hard-fought battle. His son,
Marcus Ostorius Scapula, won the
corona civica for saving a
Roman citizen's life during the fighting. The Iceni remained
independent, and it is likely that
Prasutagus was installed as a pro-Roman ruler at
this time.
After
putting down the rebellion he began expeditions beyond the
frontier, beginning with a productive campaign against the Deceangli tribe in north Wales
and the
Cheshire
Gap
in 48. This was an astute move as it divided
the tribes of North Britain from those in Wales. He was recalled
east however after a new rebellion by a faction of the
Brigantes. This was quickly suppressed but
revealed the dangers in the Romans'
client kingdom system of which the Brigantes
were a part; troops from the
Legio
XIV Gemina were stationed in the area to keep the
Brigantian peace.
At this time the Legio II Augusta held the command in
the south east, the Legio IX
Hispana was campaigning the north east beyond the Trent,
the Legio XX Valeria
Victrix held Colchester
and the Legio XIV was based at Wroxeter
.
Ostorius
initiated further Romanisation during his command in the safer
southern lands, founding Britain's first colony of military
veterans at Camulodunum
(modern Colchester) in 49 and probably establishing a municipium at Verulamium
(St
Albans
). His tactical skill rather than his
political acumen was his strength however. He had received a
difficult brief as the Claudian lowlands were economically
unspectacular and Britain's mineral wealth lay in the barbarian
lands instead. Capture of these would have to wait until later
years.
In the
meantime, Caratacus, whose tribe, the
Catuvellauni, had been defeated in the
first phase of the conquest, had re-emerged as a
leader of the Silures of south east Wales and Gloucestershire
. Their rising was controlled by a programme
of legionary fortress construction, driving Caratacus north into
the lands of the
Ordovices. Ostorius
managed to force him into an open conflict, after several years of
guerrilla war.
They fought a battle,
probably near the River Severn and
possibly near Caersws
, where the
Romans defeated the British leader in 51.
The Ordovices had fortified a ridge of steep hills above the river
and the difficulty of the terrain behind them made an encircling
manoeuvre by the Romans impossible. Although Ostorius was concerned
at the seemingly impregnable defences, Tacitus records that the
eagerness and loyalty of his troops persuaded him to attack and in
the end the Britons were easily defeated. Caratacus' wife and
daughter were captured and his brother surrendered while Caratacus
himself fled to the territory of the
Brigantes. However their queen,
Cartimandua, was loyal to Rome and handed him
over in chains.
After the battle, Ostorius was honoured with
triumphal insignia but the victory did not
entirely quell resistance in the Welsh borders. The
Silures especially continued to harass Roman troops,
supposedly after Ostorius had publicly said that they posed such a
danger that they should be either exterminated or transplanted. A
large legionary force occupied in building forts in Siluran
territory was surrounded and attacked and only rescued with
difficulty and considerable loss. This violent desperation on the
part of the Silures can be attributed to their reaction to what
Peter Salway calls Ostorius' lack of
political judgement. The Silures had been galvanised by Ostorius'
ill-thought out threats to destroy them and began taking Roman
prisoners as hostages and distributing them amongst their
neighbouring tribes. This had the effect of binding them all
together and creating a new resistance movement.
Ostorius died unexpectedly in 52, supposedly "worn out with care"
as Tacitus puts it, leaving Rome with a growing problem on its
British frontiers. Silurian raids continued, defeating a legion led
by
Gaius Manlius Valens, before
Aulus Didius Gallus arrived as
replacement governor. The complete pacification of the area was
achieved only 25 years later by
Sextus Julius Frontinus.
References
- Birley p. 42, Dio 55:10.10
Primary sources
Secondary sources
- William Smith (ed) (1870), Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Biography and Mythology Vol 3 p. 734
- Anthony R Birley (1981), The Fasti of Roman
Britain, pp. 41-44
External links
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