Hiberno-Roman relations

Between Hibernia and the Roman Empire there was a relationship (mainly commercial and cultural) that lasted five centuries. However, Hibernia (actual Ireland) is the only area of western Europe that was not incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Characteristics

Rome never annexed Hibernia to the Roman Empire, but did a huge influence on the island even if there are only a few evidences about.

This influence was done in three characteristic areas: commercial, cultural and religious, militar.

• Commercial. The main characteristic of the relationship between Rome and Hibernia was commercial. Indeed scholar Richard Warner in 1995 wrote that after emperor Claudius invasion of southern Britannia, the trade routes between the Mediterranean sea and the Roman Britannia regarded even Hibernia. Geographer Ptolemy in his map of the first century AD pinpointed perfectly the coasts and tribes of Ireland, showing a knowledge that only merchants could have achieved in that century. Additionally, there are many archeological evidences (mainly jewelry and roman coins) found in areas of central (Tara) and southern Hibernia (Cashel), that reveal this relationship.

• Cultural and religious. Another relationship is related to the religious influence: the fast conversion to Christianity of all Irish people done by Saint Palladius in the century when the Western Roman Empire disappeared , shows that this religious faith was already present in Hibernia before the fifth century.). Indeed, there are clear evidences that since the second century after Christ there were Christians in the island, mainly in Leinster e Meath. Furthermore the cultural influence from Rome can be seen in the dressing of high ranking people inside Celtic tribes of the third and fourth century

• militar. The third characteristic is related to the military influence. Indeed it seems possible an explorative expedition during Agricola times , even if there it is a huge scholar controversy about. In places like Drumanagh and Lambay island have been found some Roman military evidences related to this fact.

Roman presence in Hibernia?

The theory that Romans landed in Ireland has emerged in the last years.

Indeed, the Roman historian Tacitus mentions that Agricola, while governor of Roman Britain (AD 78 - 84), entertained an exiled Irish prince, thinking to use him as a pretext for a possible conquest of Ireland. Indeed this Roman author tells us that around those years Agricola had with him an Irish chieftain (may be Tuathal Techtmar) who later returned to conquer Ireland with an army. Excavations at sites linked to the tale of Tuathal have produced Roman material of the late 1st or early 2nd centuries. It would be consistent for Tuathal to have been that Irish chieftain.

Neither Agricola nor his successors ever conquered Ireland, but in recent years archaeology has challenged the belief that the Romans never set foot on the island. Roman and Romano-British artefacts have been found primarily in Leinster, notably a fortified site on the promontory of Drumanagh, fifteen miles north of Dublin, and burials on the nearby island of Lambay, both close to where Tuathal Techtmar is supposed to have landed, and other sites associated with Túathal such as Tara and Clogher. However, whether this is evidence of trade, diplomacy or military activity is a matter of controversy. It is possible that the Romans may have given support to Túathal, or someone like him, to regain his throne in the interests of having a friendly neighbour who could restrain Irish raiding. Furthermore, the 2nd century Roman poet Juvenal, who may have served in Britain under Agricola, wrote that "arms had been taken beyond the shores of Ireland", and the coincidence of dates is striking.

It is also speculated that such an invasion may have been the origin of the presence of the Brigantes in Ireland as noted in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography. The Brigantes were a rebellious British tribe only recently conquered in Agricola's time. The dispossessed nobility may have been ready recruits for Tuathal's invasion force, or the Romans may have found it a convenient way of getting rid of troublesome subjects, just as Elizabeth I and James VI & I planted rebellious Scots in Ireland in the 16th and 17th century. Other tribal names associated with the south-east, including the Domnainn, related to the British Dumnonii, and the Menapii, also known from Gaul (Roman France), may also date from such an invasion.

See Also

• Drumanagh
• Hibernia
• Tuathal Techtmar