The Conquest Of The Romans

What was the impact of Roman conquest on the British Isles?

Before the Romans, the inhabitants of the British Isles lived for hundreds of years mostly isolated from the mainland of Europe.

The arrival of the Romans in 55 BC put an end to that isolation.  This also ended all debate about the existence of the British Isles.

When the Romans were forced to leave in 54 BC, they left King Mandubracius as their client king of Britain, with a promise to return one day.

The Romans maintained constant contact through trade and diplomacy from that time but were prevented from returning.  

This fundamentally changed the technology and civilization of eastern England as more and more Roman practices were adopted, including their religion.

This lasted until another of their client kings, King Verica, was attacked by High King Caratacus, due to his friendly relationship with the Romans and adopting their religion.  King Verica fled to Rome to ask for help.

So, the Romans returned to conquer England.

 

In 43 AD, the Romans returned and conquered the eastern two-thirds of modern England (Loegria) to form Roman Britain.

 

Among the eleven British Celtic kings that submitted to the rule of Emperor Caligula was the king of Orkney, an island kingdom north of the mainland of Scotland. 

In this same year, Pomponius Mela had made a map of the British Isles that not only included the thirty islands of Orkney, but also the seven islands of Haemodae (the Shetland Islands) north of Orkney.  So, the Romans probably knew more about the geography of the British Isles than the inhabitants did when they invaded.

 

Soon, High King Caratacus was captured and taken captive to Rome, where he lived the rest of his days in freedom.  King Verica was recognized as the High King of the British in his place.

 

Shortly afterwards, High King Verica died.  His son Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, then became the new client king over Roman Britain.  King Cogidubnus and was also recognized as the next High King of the British.

In 44 AD, Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka the Apostle Paul) left Antioch to start his first mission trip.  At this time, his disciple Saint Ilid moved from Antioch to Rome to teach the believers there about the Gentiles being able to come into the House of Truth without needing to be circumcised.  

(Saint is not used in the sense of the False Church of Rome in this post.  It is used in the sense of the Book of Truth (The Bible), where the term is used for all the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him).  It is used to distinguish the Children of Truth from others in this post.)

After Saint Ilid arrived in Rome, he met King Caratacus and his daughter Eigin.  Saint Eigin soon came into the House of Truth.

 

By this time, the Romans had turned the capital city of King Caratacus, Camulodunum (Colchester), into the first Roman colony in Roman Britain.  It had also been made the capital of Roman Britain.

 

The Romans then turned the settlement of King Lud into a Roman settlement in 47 AD.  They took the British Celtic name of the settlement and modified it into the Latin name of Londonium (London). 

 

By this time, Emperor Claudius had passed a law calling for everyone who practiced the religion of the Druids in the Roman Empire to either convert to a different religion or be put to death.

In 48 AD, the Romans began to conquer the southern part of Cambria (Wales).   

 

King Lludd Llaw Ereint, the heir of King Beli Mawr, led the resistance against the Romans.  The Welsh army referred to the Romans as "dwarfs from the East", an exaggeration in the how much shorter the Romans were than the Welsh.

His brother, Llefelys, had become a king in Gaul in what would be later called Brittany, at this time.

 

It was now time for the Good News to come to the British Isles.

 

In 49 AD, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome because the Jewish followers of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) were being persecuted in the form of riots by other Jews who rejected the Man of Truth as the Messiah of Israel.  Jewish Children of Truth were scattered to all parts of the Roman Empire, including Roman Britain.

So, Saint Ilid had to leave Rome and settled on the western edge of the no-Jew zone, where the Children of Truth in Rome could come to him for guidance in various matters.

 

In 53 AD, King Caratacus, and Saint Eigin, were brought to trial before the Roman Senate and Emperor Claudius.  Emperor Claudius pardoned them of all offenses.

 

These false accusations were probably because they had come into the House of Truth through the efforts of Saint Ilid, who was Jewish.  

 

Afterwards, his son Saint Cyllin met Saint Ilid and also came into the House of Truth. 

 

So, Saint Ilid, Saint Eigin, and Saint Cyllin returned to Roman Britain in 54 AD, since Saint Ilid could not return to Rome until Emperor Claudius died.

Saint Ilid soon started a small school for teaching others about the Good News with Saint Eigin and Saint Cyllin.  

 

This was the first Celtic Christian community.  It was modeled off the community in Jerusalem where the Apostles of Truth had taught, when Saint Ilid had lived there with his parents.

So, missionaries of the Children of Truth came to the Roman Britain as early as 54 AD.  This was the beginning of Celtic Christianity.

 

(Early tradition in England said that Paul the Jew brought people into the House of Truth in Roman Britain.  This was the original basis for the naming of the original Saint Paul's Cathedral that was built in London in 604 AD.  However, this is not possible according to the record of the travels of Paul the Jew in the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament). Ancient sources close to his time, say that it was actually a disciple of Paul the Jew.)

 

Soon, Saint Gwrthwl, probably a disciple from their school, built a Celtic Christian community in Llanwrthwl ("Community of Gwrthwl"), where a statue of Paulinius was erected in a nearby field.  

 

Other Children of Truth moved into Roman Britain as well as this time, like Aristobulus, another Jew, who was martyred by followers of the Druids when he went to preach in Wales in 56 AD. 

 

Then war broke out across Roman Britain.

In 60 AD, the Roman governor, Paulinius, turned on the family of King Prasutagus, a client king of Rome, not long after he died.  

 

He then began an extermination of the Druids, massacring them and burning their sacred groves.  He continued until he reached their stronghold on the island of Anglesey, off the coast of near northwest Wales.  He proceeded to kill all ten thousand of the Druids on the island as he conquered it.

 

So, when the Roman governor was engaged in a battle of conquest on Mona (Anglesey), the widow of King Prasutagus, Queen Boudica, led a revolt against the Romans that almost drove them out of Roman Britain in 61 AD.

 

Most of the people of Britain were determined to continue in the religion of their ancestors led by the Druids.  They realized that Paulinius was intent on replacing it with the Roman religion.

 

So, they burned the Roman colonies of Camulodunum, and Verulamium, as well as the Roman settlement of Londonium to the ground.

 

So, Paulinius was recalled to Rome.  He was replaced with a more conciliatory Roman governor, who brought peace to Roman Britain. 

 

Then more of the Children of Truth fled to Roman Britain.

In 64 AD, Emperor Nero wanted to build an enormous palace for himself in the center Rome, but the existing monuments made it impossible to do so.  So, he had others start the Great Fire of Rome. 

 

When people began to suspect that Nero was behind the fire, he blamed it on the Children of Truth.  He then began a great persecution of the Children of Truth in the vicinity of Rome.

As a result, the Children of Truth from Rome were scattered across the Roman Empire.  It is certain some of these Children of Truth fled to Roman Britain.

According to Gildas the Wise, the Children of Truth came to Roman Britain before Paul the Jew died in 67 AD.   

 

Londonium had people from all over the Roman Empire and beyond living in it by this time.  Undoubtedly, the Children of Truth were among them. 

 

When Nero died in 68 AD, the persecution of the Children of Truth in Rome abruptly ended as well.

 

Then the Romans used England as a base to conquer the rest of the British Isles, starting with Wales.

 

By 71 AD, the Romans had reconquered all of Roman Britain

 

So, that year they began their invasion of Scotland (Caledonia).   They soon occupied Scotland up to the southern border of the highlands known as the Gask Ridge.

 

Then the Romans returned to finish their conquest of Wales in 73 AD.  They were resisted by King Gwyn ap Nudd, the heir of King Lludd Llaw Ereint.

 

By 78 AD, they had conquered all of Wales.

 

Roman rule in Wales was mostly one of military occupation.  The Welsh for the most part came to terms with the Romans.

 

For this reason, the Romans only built one town in Wales, a few forts, and a minimal network of military roads.  They also organized a city for one of the tribes that surrendered peacefully in exchange of Roman citizenship and a few small urban areas for the purposes of trade.

 

Most of Wales continued to speak Celtic British without much influence from Roman Latin, except in southeast Wales adjacent to England, where the Romans maintained their strongest presence.

 

Next the Romans were able to give Scotland their full attention.

So, in 80 AD, the Roman governor, Agricola, launched a new invasion of Scotland with intention of bringing the entirety of the island of Britain (Albion) under control of the Roman Empire.  The Druids assured the Caledonians and Picts that they would be victorious over the Romans.

That same year, High King Cogidubnus died, and Saint Cyllin, the son of King Caratacus, became the new client king over Roman Britain.   He was also recognized as High King of the British.  High King Cyllin used this position to promote Celtic Christianity.

 

Afterwards, Saint Ilid went to Wales and brought people into the House of Truth.  He started a Celtic Christian community at Llanilid ("Community of Ilid").  Saint Eigin accompanied him.

Later, Saint Eigin started a Celtic Christian community at Llanigin ("Community of Eigin") in Wales.

 

Celtic Christianity was spreading throughout Roman Britain.

In 82 AD, Agricola looked upon Ulster (northeast Ireland) in Ireland (Hibernia) from Galloway (southwestern Scotland) while attempting to conquer Scotland (Caledonia).

 

In 83 AD, the troops of Agricola killed ten thousand of the Caledonians and Picts with the loss of only 360 British auxiliary troops.  The entire Roman legion was held in reserves and never entered the battle.

 

The remaining 20,000 Caledonians and Picts fled to interior highlands as soon as night fell.  This gave them a tactical advantage and the Romans were unable to pursue after them.  However, there was nothing they could do to drive the Romans out of the rest of Scotland.

 

(The Caledonians and Picts were called both Caledonians at this time, but the battle was actually in the land of the Picts.  This is because the Romans referred to all of Scotland as Caledonia and thought the Picts were a special class of Caledonians.  Later, they distinguished between the two.)

The Caledonians and Picts were in a desperate situation.  

 

The Romans had control of the granaries of Scotland as well as most of the grain producing land.  

 

So, many of them fled to Ireland in order to avoid starvation.

In the process, the Caledonians and Picts took some of the Romans and British allies of the Romans as prisoners with them to sale as slaves in Ireland.  Some of the British auxiliaries may have helped them voluntarily.  Among these prisoners and deserters from Roman Britain were some of the Children of Truth.

These Children of Truth had copies the Vetus Latina that contained the Gospels written in Old Latin.  They soon taught people in Ireland, probably starting with their captors from Scotland, about reading and writing using the Vetus Latina.

There was no written language for Gaelic at the time.  The form of Gaelic spoken at this time is called Primitive Irish.

 

Soon, Ogham was created as an alphabet used for Gaelic that was based off the Old Latin script of the Vetus Latina.  The oldest sculptured stones found in the lands of the Picts have Ogham writing on them as well.

 

By 84 AD, Agricola had conquered all of Scotland, except for the interior highlands.  

 

The kingdom of Orkney once again surrendered to Roman rule, where Roman relics have been found.  Roman forts have been found as far north as the Moray Firth near the northern end of Scotland.

 

By this point, the Romans had finished conquering most of the island of Britain.  

 

This allowed Celtic Christianity to be introduced into Scotland.  Many among the British auxiliaries and the Roman legions were part of the Children of Truth.

 

However, the Romans were prevented from invading Ireland.

 

Agricola planned to invade Ireland after he finished conquering Scotland, since he believed that he could conquer their many rival bands with a single legion.  A deposed Irish king offered to help with information in exchange for the Romans giving him back his kingdom.

 

However, the Roman army mutinied before Agricola could invade Ireland.  After that, the Picts started launching attacks out of the highlands to drive him out of Scotland.  Finally, he was recalled to Rome by Emperor Domitian.

 

Agricola was succeeded by Sallustius Lucullus, the son of King Adminius, as the governor over Roman Britain.  Governor Sallustius was busy securing Roman Britain against the Picts with the remaining legion there.  He also had no interest in expansion into Ireland.

 

So, the Romans never conquered Ireland.  

 

However, they did establish numerous trading outposts there.  According to Tacitus, the Romans were already familiar with most of the harbors in Ireland through trade.

 

They also had to deal with occasional smash and grab raids from Ireland.  This defined most of Roman-Irish relationships until they left Roman Britain.

 

Then the Romans had to focus on keeping order in Roman Britain.

By 87 AD, two of the Roman Legions in Roman Britain were relocated to other parts of the Roman Empire.  The Romans withdrew from all of Scotland except for the Southern Uplands to maintain control of Roman Britain. 

 

When Emperor Domitian began his persecution of the Children of Truth in 95 AD, those in Roman Britain were not exempt.  Even a Roman Senator was executed for being one of them.

 

By this time, there were native born Children of Truth bringing others into the House of Truth throughout Roman Britain, including Cornwall and Wales.  They continued to carry on the work started by Saint Ilid, Saint Eigin, and High King Cyllin.  These included Saint Lide and Saint Elfin of Warrington.

 

These native Children of Truth faced terrible persecution from both the Romans and those natives of Britain which still followed the Druids.  

 

Saint Bryvyth appears to have live a brief life and was martyred at a young age.  Saint Issui was murdered for bringing others into the House of Truth.

 

In 100 AD, the Romans rebuilt Londonium following a heavily thought-out plan.  It was very well fortified and replaced Camulodunon as the capital of Roman Britain.

 

It soon became populated with people all over the Roman Empire and beyond, within its thick and high walls.

 

It is certain from several ancient sources, that more of the Children of Truth came into Roman Britain at this time.

 

These new Roman missionaries began writing documents in a dialect of Latin influenced by Celtic British called British Latin.

 

Next, there was a time of great unrest across the British Isles.

Also, around 100 AD, many kingdoms in Ireland had been overrun by hordes of displaced Caledonians and Picts.  The Druids had assured the Irish that they would be victorious over the invading Caledonians and Picts.

As these Caledonians and Picts moved into Ireland, they stopped their practices that distinguished them one from another.  The Caledonians in Ireland no longer dyed their hair an unnatural red and the Picts in Ireland stopped painting their bodies blue.  

Instead, most of the fleeing Picts became part of the Cruthin. 

The Cruthin were a branch of the Picts that were the first people to settle in northern Ireland, long before the Romans arrived in the British Isles.  They came from all seven tribes of the Picts, so they were named after Cruithne, the father of those leaders that the seven tribes were named after.  

The Cruthin had adopted the Gaelic dialect of Celtic language and other Irish customs.  They formed the kingdoms of Dal Araidi (Dal nAraidi - Araidi's portion) and Dal Fiatach (Fiatach's portion) along the coast of the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland.

Some Caledonians remained in North Ireland just across from Caledonia.  This area was called Dal Riata.  Dal Riata was a Gaelic pronunciation of Dal Riada - the portion of Riada.  He was the first ruler of the Caledonians that had moved to North Ireland.

The rest of the Caledonians to become a new ethnic group in Ireland with new practices that the Irish later called, "The Deisi".  The Deisi have left their name on many things in Ireland, included counties that are mostly populated with their descendants today.

These invaders knew nothing of the "Dli na Fiene" (Law of Freemen), the codified laws used across Ireland to maintain law and order.  As a result, chaos erupted across Ireland.  

So, Ireland entered the Irish Dark Age, where kingdoms with clear borders gave way to borderless nomadic tribes warring with each other and the people of Ireland.

In 105 AD, Caledonians and Picts joined forces to drive the Romans out of Scotland.  The Druids assured the Caledonians and Picts that they would soon be rid of the Romans for good.  They attacked and burnt to the ground several Roman forts that were in the Southern Uplands of Scotland.

In 112 AD, Emperor Trajan began his persecution of the Children of Truth.  He gave permission for Pliny the Younger to imprison the Children of Truth of Pontus, even though they had not broken any Roman laws.

 

Roman citizens were to be sent to Rome for trial and the rest were to be executed.  However, they were not to be arrested unless an accuser came forth, so they could face their accuser as required by Roman law.  

 

However, Emperor Trajan did approve of a test if their accuser came forth.  If they would make a small sacrifice of a pinch of material to the Roman Emperor or Roman gods, then they would be acquitted.  

 

This policy was extended across the entire Roman Empire, including Roman Britain, until Emperor Trajan died.

 

The Children of Truth chose death instead.

 

Then this policy was reversed by Emperor Hadrian in 117 AD. 

 

The new policy was that the Children of Truth could only be prosecuted for breaking Roman law.  Also, their accusers faced severe punishment if the accusations proved to be false.

So, persecution of the Children of Truth returned to mostly occurring at a local level by local Roman officials.  It was seen a local problem to be dealt with.

 

This extremely limited the amount of Roman persecution against the Children of Truth who were Roman citizens due to their legal protections, but not against the rest of the Children of Truth.  The Roman Senators generally controlled the amount of persecution in the Senatorial provinces through the governors they appointed.  

 

However, Roman Britain was an Imperial province, whose governor was appointed by the Roman Emperor.  So, the persecutions of the Children of Truth did not come from the Romans as much as it did from the native people who followed the Druids.

 

However, this was not a problem for the Pictones in Brittany.  They had largely adopted Roman city planning, aqueducts, and road system, but not the Roman religion.  Most of the Pictones were part of the Children of Truth by this time, particularly in their capital city of Lemonum.  

 

The Pictones had started Celtic Christian communities like those in Roman Britain over their land. 

Then the Romans were able to return their focus on securing Roman Britain.

Also, in 117 AD there was another assault on the Romans in the Southern Uplands of Scotland.  Soon, there was war in northern England as well.  This war was a confederacy of Caledonians and Picts against the Romans.  The Druids prophesied that this confederacy would drive out the Romans.

 

So, the new governor of Roman Britain, Quintus Pompeius Falco, led the effort to bring peaceful control under the Romans back to the area.  He also sent a request to Emperor Hadrian for reinforcements to aid in the effort.

Emperor Hadrian came in 120 AD with a large force.  He ordered the building of a large wall that ran across the narrowest point on the island of Britain that was south of Scotland.

Then in 122 AD, Emperor Hadrian replaced Falco as governor by Aulus Platorius Nepos.  Under Governro Nepos the Romans finished Hadrian's Wall that ran east to west across modern northern England to keep out the Caledonians and Picts to the north.  The Romans withdrew to south of it from Scotland.

 

When Hadrian died in 138 AD, his son Antonius Pius, became emperor.  He strengthened the policies of his father against the persecution of the Children of Truth to maintain peace across the Roman Empire.

So, in 138 AD, the Romans invaded and conquered the lowlands of Scotland again.

 

However, the Romans met continuous resistance and attacks from the highlands of Scotland.  The Druids had prophesied that the Caledonians and Picts would be victorious over the Romans.

 

Governor Nepos returned to Rome.  King Lucius ruled Roman Britain in his place as the client king of the Romans.  

 

King Lucius was recognized as the High King of the British by the Romans.  He was also recognized as such by the British since the  British kings around him were all under his rule.

 

This gave an opportunity for Celtic Christianity to grow more in Roman Britain.

In 140 AD, Saint Fagan and Saint Deruvian continued the work started by Saint Ilid in 54 AD.  They soon brought High King Lucius into the House of Truth.

Saint Fagan eventually started a Celtic Christian community at Llanffagan Fawr and another at Llanffagan Fach.  (Llanffagan means "Community of Ffagan (his Celtic name).)

Saint Deruvian eventually started a Celtic Christian community at Llandaff ("Community of Daff" (his Celtic name)) in Wales.

High King Lucius promoted Celtic Christianity and most of the kings under him soon came into the House of Truth.  They then did the same thing in their kingdoms.

So, Saint Dyfan built a Celtic Christian community at Llandyfan ("Community of Dyfan") in south Wales and continued there for many years.

 

Then the Romans build another wall to expand Roman Britain.

 

In 142 AD, the Romans began building the Antonine Wall about 60 miles (100 km) north of Hadrian's Wall as part of a strategy to conquer Caledonia (modern Scotland) a little at a time.  It ran across the narrowest part of the island of Britain, with part of Scotland south of it.

 

The Romans tried to create a northern partition of Roman Britain in the area between Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall.  They later called this area "Valentia".

 

In 150 AD, Ptolemy made the first map to use longitude and latitude.  It went from Ireland to China.  It was very accurate about the part of mainland Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

 

The island of Britain was badly misshaped on the map of Ptolemy, but it showed that there were twenty-two kingdoms and tribal areas with distinct boundaries.  The presence of the Romans had not only caused Roman Britain to become better organized, but it had also forced the Caledonians and Picts to do the same.

 

On the other hand, Ireland was lacking in any kingdoms on the map, but it was generally the correct shape. This showed that by this time, that the borders of the kingdoms of Ireland had completed disintegrated.  This was due to more hordes of Caledonians joining the Deisi and more Picts joining the Cruthin, after being pushed out of Scotland by the Romans.  

 

The Druids encouraged the Irish to continue to fight.  They had prophesied that the Irish would quickly push out the invading Caledonians and Picts.

 

So, there was great unrest in Ireland when Ptolemy was making his map.

 

Mug Nuadat was leading the Deisi in taking over the kingdom of Munster.  This led to war and chaos across Ireland that engulfed the entire island.

 

King Mug was a member of the Deirgtine (Clanna Dergthened) - the clan that descended from Dui Dallta Dedad.  Several of the names of members the Deirgtine written in Ogham have been found in County Waterford in Ireland.

 

By this time the Deisi were speaking the Gaelic dialect of Celtic spoken in Ireland. 

King Mug made peace with High King Conn of the Hundred Battles (Conn Cétchathach), who had been High King of Ireland for thirty-four years before this division occurred.  

 

The southern half of Ireland ruled by the Deisi was called Leth Moga (Mug's Half). The northern half was ruled by the Irish was called Leth Cuinn (Conn's half).

 

King Mug became High King of the Deisi.  His kingdom was the same part of Ireland that the Caledonians had lived in before the Irish had pushed them out of Ireland centuries earlier. 

Some of the Cruthin migrated to the area of Munster with the Deisi and formed a kingdom there.  They were known as the Dairine.

 

The Antonine Wall was finally finished in 154 AD.

Then came more unrest in Roman Britain.

 

In 156 AD, High King Lucius died.  Roman Britain was ruled by Roman governors after that.

 

By this time, the Children of Truth were a great percentage of the people in Roman Britain.  Even many of the Druid priests in Roman Britain came into the House of Truth and built churches on the sites of their former temples.

(The story about Saint Fagan and Saint Deruvian being sent to Pope Eleutherius by King Lucius did not appear until about 500 years later.  There is no mention of any such thing in any of the original writings or oral histories about them.  This was invented by the False Church of Rome.  In fact, Eleutherius did not even become Pope until 15 years after High King Lucius died.)

When Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161 AD, persecution of the Children of Truth began to rise across the Roman Empire.  

 

Emperor Aurelius did not order this persecution, and even requested the Roman Senators to desist from their earlier policies of persecution in their provinces.  Despite these efforts, local persecution continued to rise across the Roman Empire, including Roman Britain.

 

Then there was more trouble with the Caledonians and Picts.

In 162 AD, a better organized attack by Caledonians and Picts forced the Romans to abandon the Antonine Wall and retreat to the Roman Britain side of Hadrian's Wall. This ended the last time that the Roman Britain extended beyond Hadrian's Wall for more than a couple of years.  

 

However, the Romans tried four more times to invade Scotland (Caledonia), but were repelled each time.  Each time, the Druids prophesied that the Caledonians and Picts would soon drive out the invading Romans.

 

In 165 AD, High King Mug led the Deisi in attacking Leth Cuinn to take it over as well.  He was killed in the battle by High King Conn, who took over his kingdom and again became High King of Ireland.

Then High King Conn made peace with the Deisi after that.  Aillill Aulom, the son of High King Mug, was to be their high king, but was subject to King Conn.

 

Around this time, High King Aillill married Sadb ingen Chuinn, the daughter of High King Conn, after her first husband died.  Her son from her first marriage as Lugaid Mac Con.

 

This brought peace between the Deisi and the Irish as he was made king of southern Ireland.  This also helped the incoming Caledonians that joined the Deisi and the incoming Picts that joined the Cruthin to start becoming more civilized.

 

In 166 AD, High King Conn died and his son, Art mac Cuinn became the High King of Ireland in the north. 

 

Each time, it forced more Caledonians to join the Deisi and more Picts to join the Cruthin in Ireland, taking Roman prisoners and deserters from the British auxiliaries with them.  This brought more of the Children of Truth into Ireland.  It also made the chaos and lawlessness of the Irish Dark Age worse. 

In 175 AD, a large force of Sarmatian mercenaries from Iran were brought into Britain to aid with the invasion of Scotland.

In 180 AD, Saint Dyfan was martyred at Marthyr Dyfan ("Martyrdom of Dyfan") in south Wales by followers of the Druids.

That same year, the Picts breached Hadrian's Wall and killed the governor of Roman Britain leading to the most serious war in the Roman Empire in years.  So, Emperor Commodus sent Marcellius to be the new governor.

By 184 AD, Governor Marcellius had subdued the Caledonians and Picts into agreeing to stay north of Hadrian's Wall.  However, his own troops mutinied against him for his strict ways.  He barely escaped Roman Britain alive.

Then more persecution rose up against Celtic Christianity.

In 186 AD, Saint Tyfanog began preaching the Good News throughout Roman Britain. 

 

Afterwards, Saint Tyfanog set up a Celtic Christian community on Ramsey Island off the coast of south Wales.  This was based on the model of Saint Ilid and Saint Eigin had introduced in 54 AD. 

Eventually persecution arose against the community and Saint Tyfanog was murdered by a mob of natives to the island, who followed the Druids.  They threw his body in sea and it washed up on the shore of Wales.  A chapel was built there to commemorate his martyrdom.

When Septimius Severus became Emperor in 193 AD, persecution of the Children of Truth began to greatly increase across the Roman Empire.  However, according to his contemporary Tertullian, he was not responsible for this increase.  

 

The personal physician of Severus was a Child of Truth.  He also had personally saved several Romans belonging to high-ranking families from mobs that sought to kill them for being part of the Children of Truth.

However, Severus was concerned about how disruptive to the general peace that these conflicts between the Children of Truth and others were becoming. 

 

Severus thought to solve the problem by promoting syncretism, where the customs and practices of Roman Pagan religion, Rabbinic Judaism, and Christianity would be merged into a religion that would universal across the Roman Empire.  However, the Children of Truth were willing to die rather than go along with this plan.

 

So, Severus seems to have issued an edict forbidding anyone from converting to Rabbinic Judaism or Christianity, until a workable solution to form a universal (Catholic) Roman religion was found.  This led to greater persecution as the Children of Truth as they continued to carry out the Great Commission.

By 195 AD, controlling all Roman Britain was becoming a real problem for the Romans.  

 

It required three legions to be stationed there - just to maintain order and secure the borders.  

 

These legions had become more loyal to the governors of Roman Britain than the Roman emperors. This was largely due to the governors refusing to carry out acts of persecution against the Children of Truth in Britain, which was becoming an ever-larger part of the population. 

 

These legions and auxiliaries in Britain gave the governor of Roman Britain sometimes as many as 400,000 troops to use to try to take over the throne of Rome.  The Roman emperors really wanted to reduce the number of troops in Britain.

The biggest problem was the Caledonians and Picts north of Roman Britain.  Their frequent attempts to drive the Romans out, forced the Romans to maintain this very large army in Roman Britain.

The Romans only had two real options:  Conquer the rest of the island of Britain completely or make a treaty with the Caledonians and Picts establishing a permanent border with them.

The Romans decided to try the first option, after the Caledonians broke their treaty with them in 195 AD.  The Druids had prophesied that the Caledonians would be victorious over the Romans.

 

In 196 AD, High King Art was killed in battle by King Lugaid (Mac Con), stepson of High King Aillill, who then became the High King of the Irish that ruled northern Ireland.

 

Around this time, High King Aillill died and divided the kingdom of the Deisi into three kingdoms rule by each of his three sons: Eogan Mor, Cormac Cas, and Cian, with Eogan Mor being the next High King of the Deisi.

King Eogan ruled the Deisi Munan (Deisi of Munster) in Munster.  King Cormac Cas ruled the Deisi Tuisceart (Northern Deisi) in Dal Cas (Cas's Portion) north of Munster.  King Cian ruled the Deisi Becc (Deisi of Mide) and Deisi Temro (Deisi of Tara) east of Munster near the Irish Sea.

 

This gave the Caledonians even more options if they fled to Ireland to become part of the Deisi.

The Romans did manage to set the boundary of Roman Britain back at the Antonine Wall briefly in 197 AD but were soon driven back to Hadrian's Wall by the Caledonians.

 

However, Celtic Christianity was becoming entrenched in Roman Britain, despite persecution.

By 200 AD, the Druids had been completely exterminated from Roman Britain, except perhaps a few hiding in remote wilderness areas away from the view of the Romans.  However, they still controlled most of Scotland and all of Ireland.

 

According to Tertullian and Origen, the Children of Truth were firmly established in Roman Britain by this time. 

 

By this time, there were Children of Truth scattered across Ireland as well.  These included the Roman merchants who set up trading outpost in Ireland like Saint Camulacus and Saint Caetiacus.  

 

So, Celtic Christianity had reached Ireland by then, but no communities to teach Celtic Christianity were formed.  There may have been some small congregations that met in homes scattered across Ireland, but they were not in close contact with one another.

Then Emperor Severus arrived in Roman Britain in 209 AD.  

 

When he arrived, there was a preacher called Saint Amphibalus (Latin for "cloak") who was actively bringing people into the House of Truth.  Severus sent soldiers to arrest and execute Saint Amphibalus for violating his edict.

(There were no priests or nuns or people with titles like "Archbishop" in Celtic Christianity.  These terms were applied to leaders of Celtic Christianity by the False Church of Rome when they "revised" the history of Roman Britain after 597 AD to make the False Church of Rome seem to have been part of it.  Most of the people they called "priest" or "nun" had spouses and many children.)

 

While Saint Amphibalus was fleeing, a man named Alban pulled him into his house and hid him.  Saint Alban was then brought into the House of Truth by Saint Amphibalus.

When the soldiers arrived at the house of Saint Alban, he put on the cloak of Saint Amphibalus and surrendered to the soldiers.

When he was brought before Emperor Severus, he was enraged that Saint Alban had caused Saint Amphibalus to be able to escape by surrendering in his place.  

 

When Saint Alban refused to perform sacrifices to the Roman gods, he was flogged.  When he still refused to renounce the Man of Truth, he was beheaded.

Then the Romans turned their attention to Scotland again.

Finally, Emperor Severus attacked Scotland again in 209 AD and was having great success in reconquering it.  

 

The Caledonians sued for peace in 210 AD, but then broke their treaty within months by attacking the Romans.  The Druids had prophesied that the Caledonians would be victorious over the Romans.

 

So, Emperor Severus ordered his men to kill every last male of the Caledonians.  He was on the verge of wiping out the men of the Caledonians in Scotland completely, when he fell ill and died during his campaign in 211 AD.  

 

His edict concerning conversions ended with his death as well.  

 

Saint Amphibalus was able to come out of hiding and went to Armorica with others from Roman Britain.  He then resumed his efforts to get the people there to come into the House of Truth.

 

The effort of Emperor Severus to conquer Caledonia had almost bankrupted the Roman Empire.  His son continued the campaign, but soon settled with the Caledonians and Picts to make peace.  The treaty established Hadrian's Wall as the permanent border between them and Roman Britain that year.

 

After that, the relationship between Roman Britain and Scotland became like the one with Ireland (Hibernia).

 

The Romans establish numerous trading outposts in Scotland.  They also had to deal with occasional raids from Scotland.  This defined most of Roman-Scottish relationships until they left Roman Britain.

 

Also, there were congregations of the Children of Truth throughout Scotland as result of the Roman attempts of conquest, especially along the coastal areas.  This included the surrounding islands of like Orkney.  

 

These congregations were primarily associated with small Roman trading outposts.  They brought with them the Vetus Latina, written in old Latin.  This introduced writing to the people of Scotland.

 

British Latin was in use in these areas to write contracts, giving Scotland its first written language.

 

However, the borders of Roman Britain would never again extend beyond England and Wales. 

The conquest of the Romans was over.

 

The conquest of the Romans brought Celtic Christianity to life.  Celtic Christianity was born and woven into the fabric of Roman Britain society during this time.

 

Celtic Christianity was also began taking root in Scotland and had even began being introduced in Ireland, thanks to the efforts of the Romans to conquer Scotland.

 

The journey to reach this point began when Saint Ilid had left Antioch to go to Rome, after Paul the Jew left Antioch to go on his first mission trip (Acts 13:1-4).  Then the same expulsion of Jews from Rome that had sent Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth, ultimately sent Saint Ilid to Roman Britain (Acts 18:1-3).

 

The Man of Truth commissioned the Children of Truth take the Good News into all the world (Mark 16:15).  These congregations in the British Isles, which came from the efforts of Saint Ilid, the disciple of Paul the Jew, knew that they would have to go through much persecution for creating congregations that taught the same things as Paul the Jew (Acts 14:21-23).

So, the Children of Truth being scattered across the British Isles by persecution and even taken in captivity to Ireland were all for the furtherance of the Good News (Philippians 1:12-14). 

What the Romans had meant for their own evil purposes, the Father of Truth had turned to good to bring about the saving of many people (Genesis 50:20).  He caused all things to work together for the good of the Children of Truth (Romans 8:28).

In reality, the Father of Truth rules over all kingdoms, including the Roman Empire, to cause them to bring about His will (2 Chronicles 20:6).  The Romans had no authority in the British Isles, except what He had given them (John 19:10-11).

 

The Man of Truth said that the Gospel would be preached to every ethnic group throughout the entire world (Matthew 24:14).  No one can prevent the will of the Father of Truth from coming about, so He raised up the Romans to accomplish His will in the British Isles (Romans 9:17-19).

 

The Father of Truth determined when the Romans would come to conquer the British Isles and He established the boundaries of their conquest (Acts 17:24-26).  The Romans were successful and prevailed over the followers of the Druids in only part of the British Isles because He ordained them to conquer only Roman Britain (Romans 13:1-2).

The Father of Truth had raised up one idol worshiping nation to bring persecution against another idol worshiping nation, which had persecuted the people of Israel (Jeremiah 51:24-28).  So, in the same way, He raised up the followers of the Druids and the Romans against each other, to bring persecution upon the persecutors of the Children of Truth in the British Isles (2 Thessalonians 1:3-6).

 

It was the descendants of these Children of Truth in the British Isles, who have brought the Good News to most of the world.  

 

Like Paul the Jew, they have been obedient to go where the Man of Truth has sent them to deliver people of other ethnic groups from the power of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) and teach them how to live as the Father of Truth would have them live (Acts 26:16-20).

So, will you benefit from their suffering?  Will you come into the House of Truth?

The Father of Truth made all people to worship Himself and no other (Acts 17:26-29).  Now He commands that all people worship Him, assuring the entire human race that the Man of Truth will judge all who do not worship Him, by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

So, make the Man of Truth your king now, because you believe that his Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).  Everyone who makes him their king now, no matter what their ethnicity, will come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:11-13).  Everyone else will acknowledge that he is King over all people when they stand in judgment before him, but it will not help them (Philippians 2:6-11).

Come into the House of Truth!