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Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (or Togidubnus, Togidumnus or similar; see naming difficulties) was a 1st-century king of the
Regni The Regni, Regini, or Regnenses were a Tribe which occupied modern West Sussex, East Sussex, south-west Kent, eastern Surrey, and the eastern edges of Hampshire. Their Tribal centre was at Noviomagus_Reginorum (Chichester in West_Sussex), close ...
or Regnenses
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
in early
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
. Chichester and the nearby
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
at Fishbourne, believed by some to have been Cogidubnus' palace, were probably part of the territory of the
Atrebates The Atrebates (Gaulish: *''Atrebatis'', 'dwellers, land-owners, possessors of the soil') were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region. After the tribes of Gallia Belgica were defeated by Caes ...
tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. Cogidubnus may therefore have been an heir of
Verica Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD. From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the, probably Belgic, Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. Th ...
, the Atrebatic king whose overthrow prompted the
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
to invade. After the conquest the area formed part of the
civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
of the Regnenses / Regni, possibly Cogidubnus' kingdom before being incorporated into the Roman province. The public baths, amphitheatre and forum in
Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
were probably built in Cogidubnus' time.


Sources

In
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...
's ''
Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mid ...
'', published 98, where his name appears as "Cogidumnus" in most manuscripts although they can be considered as copies, and "Togidumnus" in one,RIB 91
Altar dedicated to Neptune and Minerva
he is said to have governed several ''
civitates In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
'' (states or tribal territories) as a
client ruler A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
after the Roman conquest, and to have been loyal "down to our own times" (at least into the 70s). He is also known from an inscription on a damaged slab of marble found in
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
in 1723 and datable to the late 1st century. As reconstructed by J.E. Bogaers, it reads (reconstructed parts in square brackets): PTVNO·ET·MIN RAE
TEMPLVM
R·SALVTE·DO VS·DIVINA br> X·AVCTORITAT ·TI·CLAVD·
OIDVBNI·R G·MANI·BRIT·
OLEIVM·FABROR·ET ·QI·IN·E br> VNT·D·S·D·DONANTE·AREAM
Which translates as: Another fragmentary inscription, reading ..IDVBNVS, was found at the
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
town of
Mediolanum Santonum Mediolanum Santonum was a Roman town in Gallia Aquitania, now Saintes. It was founded in about 20 BC in connection with an expansion of the network of Roman roads serving Burdigala. The name means 'centre of the Santones', the tribe that then ...
(modern Saintes, south-west
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), although it is unlikely this refers to the same person.


Naming difficulties

In the Chichester inscription, the first two letters of the king's native name, given in the
genitive case In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
, are missing. It is usually reconstructed as "Cogidubnus", following the majority of manuscripts of Tacitus, but some, including Charles E Murgia, believe "Togidubnus" is the more linguistically correct form as a Celtic name. The Roman names "''Tiberius Claudius''" indicate that he was given
Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
by the
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
, or possibly by
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
, and probably not, as has been suggested, that he was related to
Claudia Rufina Claudia Rufina was a woman of British descent who lived in Rome c. 90 AD and was known to the poet Martial. Martial refers to her in ''Epigrams'' XI:53, describing her as "''caeruleis ..Britannis edita''" ("sprung from the blue Britons", presumab ...
, a woman of British descent whose marriage to
Aulus Pudens Aulus Pudens was a native of Umbria and a centurion in the Roman army in the late 1st century. He was a friend of the poet Martial, who addressed several of his ''Epigrams'' to him. He has been identified by some with Saint Pudens, an early Roma ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
in the 90s is mentioned by the poet
Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
. He is nearly contemporary with
Togodumnus Togodumnus (died AD 43) was king of the British Catuvellauni tribe, whose capital was at St. Albans, at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius. He is usually thought to have led the ...
, a prince of the
Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their k ...
tribe mentioned by
Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, and the similarity of their names has led some, including Dr Miles Russell of
Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...
and the distinguished
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
professor
Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...
of
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, to suggest that they may be one and the same, thereby making the Fishbourne king a son of
Cunobelinus Cunobeline (or Cunobelin, from Latin , derived from Common Brittonic ''*Cunobelinos'' "Strong as a Dog", "Strong Dog") was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about AD 9 until about AD 40.Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus_ ymbeline/nowiki>_(d._''c'' ...
and brother of Caratacus. However the sources do not appear to support this: according to Dio, Togodumnus was killed in 43 in the early stages of the Roman conquest of Britain, while Tacitus says that Cogidubnus remained loyal to Rome as a client king into the later part of the 1st century. It is of course not unusual for two people to have similar names (cf. Dubnovellaunus). As the Chichester inscription supports Tacitus, Cunliffe's interpretation would appear to imply an error in Dio's ''Roman History'' or in its transmission, and some, including John Hind, have argued that Dio misinterpreted his sources as reading that Togodumnus had died when he had merely been defeated.


Villa at Fishbourne

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...
(the archaeologist who uncovered Fishbourne) has put forward the theory that
Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is located in the village of Fishbourne, Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest Roman residence north of the Alps. and has an unusually early date of 75 CE, around thirty years af ...
was Cogidubnus's royal seat. Certainly the early phase of the palace, which dates to around AD 65, could have belonged to him or to one Tiberius Claudius Catuarus, whose inscribed gold ring was found in excavations close by. Miles Russell, however, has suggested that, as the main constructional phase of the palace proper at Fishbourne seems to have been in the early AD 90s, during the reign of the emperor
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 â€“ 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
who built the
Domus Flavia The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus,''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. XI. Cambridge: C ...
, a palace of similar design upon the
Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.
Hill in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, Fishbourne may instead have been built for
Sallustius Lucullus Sallustius Lucullus (possibly died 89 or 93 AD) was a governor of Roman Britain during the late 1st century AD, holding office after Gnaeus Julius Agricola, although it is unclear whether he was the immediate successor or if there was another unkno ...
, a Roman governor of Britain of the late 1st century. Lucullus may have been the son of the British prince
Adminius Adminius, Amminius or Amminus was a son of Cunobelinus,_ruler_of_the_Catuvellauni.html" ;"title="ymbeline/nowiki>_(d._''c'' ..., ruler of the Catuvellauni">ymbeline/nowiki>_(d._''c'' ..., ruler of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain. His ...
.


In fiction

Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus appears in the
Cambridge Latin Course The Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) is a series of textbooks published by Cambridge University Press, used to teach Latin to secondary school pupils. It provides a grounding in vocabulary, grammar and sense which allows progression through Common ...
Books II and III, and lives in the Palace of Fishbourne mentioned above. He falls ill during the book and moves to Bath as he believes the sacred baths can cure him of his illness, but he meets Salvius. In the books, he is in the middle of a conspiracy against his life, headed by the wicked Salvius and the Emperor
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 â€“ 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
. He dies under house arrest in the spring of 83, after being ill for some time, and his will is recreated by Salvius in order to give himself the Palace of Fishbourne. He is also the central character in
Mark Patton Mark Patton (born September 22, 1959) is an American interior designer and actor. Beginning his professional acting career in 1982, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the dramatic film '' Come Back to the ...
's novel, ''An Accidental King'', and a minor character in Douglas Jackson's novel, ''Claudius''. He is the father of the central characters of ''They of Rome'' He is a minor character in
Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...
's novels, ''
A Body in the Bath House ''A Body in the Bath House'' is a 2001 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 13th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Rome and Britannia in AD 75, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial ...
''. and ''
The Jupiter Myth ''The Jupiter Myth'' is a 2002 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 14th book in the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Londinium, Britannia in August AD 75, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial ...
''. He is the first person protagonist in
Linda Proud Linda Proud (born 1949) is a British author of historical fiction. She is best known for ''The Botticelli Trilogy'', which is set in late fifteenth-century Florence. Early life and career Proud was born in Hertfordshire and was an only child. As ...
's novel, ''Chariot of the Soul'', Linda Proud, ''Chariot of the Soul'', in which he describes his education in Rome, studying Stoicism with
Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...
, and his return to Britain charged with the mission of persuading the tribal kings not to resist the invasion of the Romans. He is mentioned in
Ben Aaronovitch Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the ''Peter Grant (book series), Rivers of London'' series of novels. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-of ...
's novel Broken Homes, where he is one of the "Rivers of London".


Sources

* Roger Gale (1722)
"An Account of a Roman Inscription, Found at Chichester"
''Philosophical Transactions'' (1683–1775) Vol. 32 (1722), pp. 391–400 * Anthony A Barrett (1979), "The Career of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus", ''Britannia'' 10, pp. 227–242 * J. E. Bogaers (1979), "King Cogidubnus in Chichester: Another Reading of 'RIB' 91", ''Britannia'' 10, pp. 243–254 * Peter A. Clayton (ed) (1980), ''A Companion to Roman Britain'' * Sheppard Frere (1987), ''Britannia: a history of Roman Britain'' (3rd edition) * Martin Henig

British Archaeology, no 37, September 1998. * Martin Henig (2002, 2012), ''The Heirs of King Verica, Culture and Politics in Roman Britain'' * Miles Russell (2006) ''Roman Britain's Lost Governor'', Current Archaeology, no 204. * Miles Russell (2006) ''Roman Sussex''. * Miles Russell (2010) ''Bloodline: The Celtic Kings of Roman Britain''.


References


External links


Regnenses
a
Roman-Britain.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogidubnus, Tiberius Claudius 1st-century births Year of death unknown Briton rulers 1st-century monarchs in Europe 1st-century Romans Cogidubnus, Tiberius