Cassivellaunus, also known as Cassibelanus, was a Celtic warrior and military leader who led the defence against a Roman invasion. He led an alliance against Julius Caesar's second expedition, but was eventually defeated when traitors revealed his location to the Roman leaders.
Biography[]
According to Caesar's account of his invasion, Cassivellaunus was a tribal leader from a territory north of the River Thames (possibly the Catuvellauni tribe). As was typical of the time, he was frequently in combat with other tribes, and supposedly overthrew the king of the Trinovantes tribe around the time of the invasion.
During the Roman invasion of 54 BC, Cassivellaunus led the main efforts to repel Caesar's armies from conquering the land. His tactics included ravaging lands they retreated from to stop the Romans from plundering or making use of them. Despite this, the Romans arrived at the Thames and managed to cross the only fordable point, even though it was heavily defended. In response, Cassivellaunus was forced to reduce the size of his army and start engaging in guerrilla warfare against the Romans.
Shortly after the Romans reached the Thames, five Celtic tribes surrendered to the Romans and agreed to lead them to the area where Cassivellaunus was hidden. Cassivellaunus put up a valiant fight, bringing in the four kings of Kent to launch a devastating attack on the Romans, but the Romans defeated the armies. Cassivellaunus had no choice but to surrender. He was then able to negotiate a treaty with the Romans whereby the invading forces withdrew in return for the Celts returning all hostages, and the deposed king of the Trinovantes was re-installed.
Posthumously, Cassivellaunus made an impact on the British consciousness. He appears in British legend as Cassibelanus, one of Geoffrey of Monmouth's kings of Britain, and is also a figure in Welsh mythology.