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Despite their gradual consolidation over increasingly large parts of Britain, the Romans suffered a major setback in AD55 when Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni tribe led her people in a rebellion against their rule. With a number of other tribes joining her effort, she promptly headed for Colchester, where her forces plundered the city and set about massacring its inhabitants. The same fate also befell London in AD60, the task made easier this time by the tactical withdrawal of Roman military forces from the area (the Roman General in command, Suetonius, wisely released that his 15,000 strong army could not hope to defeat Boudicca’s forces, which now numbered over 200,000).
Although still reeling from the massacre of the Ninth Legion by Boudicca’s increasingly confident Britons, Suetonius gathered together his forces to confront Boudicca on open ground in the Midlands. The choice of battlefield, which allowed the Roman legions to make maximum use of their superior military tactics and training, eventually led to a remarkable victory (despite Boudicca’s huge numerical advantage). Indeed, the battle effectively marked the end of organised resistance to Roman rule, although sporadic small-scale uprisings did occur. With Boudicca out of the way the Romans, under the Governorship of Julius Classicianus, rebuilt and developed London as a centre for trade and commerce. The city became increasingly prosperous as a result, with Roman villas, temples and bathing complexes standing shoulder to shoulder with more grandiose buildings such as a forum, basilica and amphitheatre. By 200AD, a giant wall (which stood approximately 7 metres high) had also been constructed around the city, serving as a robust and impenetrable defensive shield. London had also become the administrative centre for the southern half of Britain (with York taking on a similar role for the north) and its prosperity and status continued to grow. All this changed, however, in the next two hundred years, as over expansion and internal strife in Europe led to the gradual disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire.
With evidence to suggest that squabbles and in-fighting were not confined solely to the continent (as doubtless both Roman factions and Romanised Britons recognised the importance of London, not only trade-wise, but for being the financial centre of the Island too) Rome’s grip on Britain had, by the late 4th-century loosened dramatically. With frequent incursions by foreign tribes at this time, archaeological evidence suggests that England’s Roman rulers were relying on significant numbers of hired (foreign) mercenaries to keep them in power. Of course, this increasingly unstable situation eventually led to the Romans finally abandoning Britain in 410AD, giving rise to a period of history known as the Dark Ages.
Compared to other periods of history, comparatively little is known about the era described as the Dark Ages (hence the name) and what information there is comes from pitifully few sources. It appears that commercial activity did continue in London, albeit at a markedly reduced level initially. The Dark Ages also saw an influx of Angles and Saxons from Germany who became the dominant tribes in Britain. By settling in other towns and cities, many of the new settlements eventually gained a higher status at London’s expense. The city did, however, expand slowly westward away from the old Roman city, which was left to decay over time.