Cantiaci

Origins

Kent was the part of Britain closest to Gaul, and Caesar described its people as the most civilised of the Britons, much like the Gauls in custom. When he crossed in 55 and 54 BCE, Cantium was divided among four kings, Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segovax, who attacked his beached fleet at the command of Cassivellaunus and were driven off.

Rule and society

Kent was densely farmed and closely tied to the Continent, receiving Gallo-Belgic coins and producing its own issues, including early cast potin coins. Oppida grew at Canterbury, Rochester and Bigbury. In the decades before the Claudian invasion, coins of Dubnovellaunus and later the influence of Cunobelinus of the Catuvellauni suggest Kent fell under the sway of more powerful northern neighbours.

Decline and legacy

The Roman army landed at Richborough in 43, and Kent was quickly absorbed into Roman Britain. Its people formed the civitas of the Cantiaci, governed from Durovernum Cantiacorum, the later Canterbury. The old name lived on in the Kingdom of Kent and the modern county.