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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Quote:When they get there he is no longer there
Because he's... gone to Cunetio! Confusedmile:

OK, I see where you're going with this now. It's a plausible scenario, and there's something to be said for widening the picture beyond a simple A to B: Ockham's Razor can sometimes pare away a little too much meat. However, a few potential problems spring to mind:

1. The Iceni didn't need to 'take back their land' - at this point, the only Romans in their territory would be small groups sent by the procurator, probably land surveyors assessing for tax purposes, freedmen and soldiers grabbing whatever Decianus felt might be portable: plunder, certainly, but not yet occupation. These groups, being mobile, would certainly have hightailed it to Colchester at the first sign of trouble, taking their loot with them. If the Iceni wanted vengeance, rather just to be left alone, they'd have to leave their own territory to get it...

2. Tacitus says the Iceni neglected to plant summer crops before the revolt. This means they were intending to leave their land, for a season at least, and planning to find grain elsewhere - Roman supplies surely. So there would be no reason for them to return home to their fallow fields, and plenty of reason for them to go after the Roman supply dumps.

3. The Trinovantes had plenty of opportunities for attacking Colchester before this. They did not, IIRC, participate in the Iceni revolt of 47. So why did they rise in 61? The Iceni crossing their borders bent on revolt, swelling their numbers and bringing rousing stories of Roman injustice may have been a cause.

4. At the final battle the Britons were more numerous than ever. Coordinating a big multi-tribe group would be very difficult, especially if they were splitting up into smaller groups and wandering about the country. Smaller groups could be destroyed piecemeal. Far more likely that Boudica and the other leaders kept them together in one mass (more a swarm than an army, but cohesive at least).

Quote:A little harsh considering I haven't posted my alien invasion theory yet!!!
Ah yes, but I haven't posted my theory that Tacitus himself burned London as part of the publicity campaign for his new fictional epic 'The Histories', sequel to his blockbuster 'Agricola' - he was the Dan Brown of his day... :wink:
Nathan Ross
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Nathan Ross - 08-22-2012, 02:10 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM

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