How Accurate Is the TV Series Britannia?

The TV series Britannia is a series about the Roman invasion, and eventual conquest, of Britain in 43 BC, which began the long Roman rule of what they called Britannia that lasted until the 5th century AD.

Synopsis

In 43 BC, Emperor Claudius commissioned Aulus Plautius to invade Britain, called Britannia. It was considered a great honor as Julius Caesar himself had failed to successfully invade Britannia after landing their and then leaving back to the European continent. Britannia was seen as a wild land, full of forests and wild people. On the eve of the invasion, Aulus has to contend with mutiny, where he has to execute soldiers to keep the others in line. The Roman fleet sets sail from France (Roman Gaul) to Britannia, landing somewhere in modern-day Kent. Celtic (Druid) tribes rule much of the land, who are at times at war with themselves but have little tolerance for Rome. The Invaders quickly create havoc by slaughtering a village after they land and word spreads of their arrival. A Druid by the name of Divis foresees the invasion and sees them as having been sent by the demon gods, but he is seen as an outsider even among the Druids and is ignored. He runs into Cait, who had escaped the Roman slaughter after the landing. King Pellenor, a Celtic leader of the Cantii tribe, wants to fight the Romans directly, but Kerra, the king's daughter, sees trouble and decides to try to negotiate with the Romans. Aulus sees that the Celts are divided and seeks out the Druids to facilitate the conquest and make important alliances. This is also driven by his soldiers fear of the wildlands and beliefs in the magical powers of the Druids and Celts. Princess Ania, a princess from another Celtic tribe captured by King Pellenor before the Roman arrival, foresees war. Kerra's negotiation with the Romans is discovered, which leads to the Celtic tribe taking her to the Druids to decide her fate. They foresee her as the Queen of the Cantii and she then becomes Queen, with a rival Queen Amena pledging allegiance. Kerra then pursues peace with the Romans, but she sees Cait, who had been pursued by the Romans, and helps her to escape along with her father who was captured. Meanwhile, Queen Antedia, of the Regnii tribe, fight the Cantii tribe. However, the Romans have other ideas. They eventually invade the citadel of the Cantii and defeat both the Cantii and Ragni, taking power in the area and putting Queen Amena as the new ruler, who becomes a puppet of the Romans. Cait, who is captured by a bounty hunter Hella, is not taken to the Romans, as the bounty hunter was instructed, but decides to take her away and escape from the Romans.

Main Characters

Aulus Plautius: He is a historical figure who is known to have successfully invaded Britain in 43 BC.