Heritage > Rulers
Iceni
The Iceni were an East Anglian tribe, northern neighbours of the Trinovantes. At the time of Roman Conquest they were ruled by a king named Prasutagus, who was one of the few British rulers allowed to keep some autonomy as a 'client-King' after the conquest. On his death, dispute over his succession provoked a major revolt against the Roman rule, led by his widow Boudicca.
 Boudicca led her army toward Colchester which at the time was the Roman capital. The governor of the time, Suetonius Paullinus had come to power in AD 58 and had spent the next two years effectively quelling the Welsh opposition. By the time Boudicca had gathered the Iceni for war he was leading the main body of the Roman army into Anglesey and was destroying the sanctuary of the druids in an attempt to rid the empire of the evil religions practised by the druids.
When Boudicca arrived at Colchester the city was virtually defenceless and the townspeople, when confronted by the advancing army, fell back to the temple of Claudius. After two days of siege the defences of the temple were broken and everyone inside was killed. Boudicca burnt Colchester to the ground and headed towards Londinium and after destroying the town she moved on to Veralamium (St Albans).
Boudicca had managed to destroy the three most important towns in Roman Britain and had by know gathered together a huge army as more and more britons flocked to her cause.
The site of the final battle remains a mystery but what we do know is that the outcome was decisive and by the end of the battle 80,000 britons had fallen compared to just 400 romans. Boudicca herself did not die in battle and she is said to have committed suicide soon after the battle and was buried in a secret location by her people.
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