Segontiaci
The Segontiaci were a tribe of Iron Age Britain encountered by Julius Caesar during his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC.[1] They are not attested elsewhere. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "four kings of that region" and in the archaeological record by distinct pottery assemblages.[2]
Following Caesar's military success and restoration of King Mandubracius to power over the Trinovantes, opposition to the Romans coalesced around Cassivellaunus which led to divided loyalties among the Britons, as Caesar records. Emissaries of five British tribes, including the Cenimagni (the others being the Ancalites, the Cenimagni, the Bibroci and the Cassi), arrived at the Roman camp to treat for peace, and agreed to reveal details of Cassivellaunus' stronghold. Caesar besieged him there and brought him to terms. When Caesar left Britain he took hostages from the Britons, although which tribes were compelled to give any is not specified.[3]
Segontiaci means "people of the place of victory". There was a later Roman fort in north Wales, near the River Seiont, called Segontium, but it is probably not the place referred to in the tribal name. Brittonic *seg-ontio-n meant "place of victory", and might easily arise independently in different areas.
References
- ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.21
- ^ Barry Cunliffe, Iron Age Communities in Britain, fourth edition, Routledge, 2005.
- ^ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.17-23
External links
- Segontiaci and Segontium at Roman-Britain.org