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Caratacus

Caratacus, commonly called Caractacus (and, in Welsh Caradoc) was a son of Cunobelin or Cymbeline, king of the Catuvellauni[?], a powerful tribe of south-east England during the period immediately before the Roman invasion of Britain. Along with his brother, Togodumnus[?], Caratacus led the defence of the country in AD 43, but they were defeated and Togodumnus was killed. Caratacus retreated westwards, and joined with the Silures, a tribe of what is now south Wales. The Romans inflicted a final, conclusive defeat on the British in around 50, and Caratacus was captured, thanks to the treachery of Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes[?]. He was taken to Rome, where the emperor Claudius, impressed by his dignified appearance and conduct, pardoned him. Caratacus died in around 54.

His fame survived for several centuries. A genealogy of an otherwise unknown British king in the Historia Britonum traced his ancestory to Caratacus.



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