kingdom · British Isles

Catuvellauni

54 BCE – 43 CE (approx.) · capital Verlamion (St Albans); later Camulodunum (Colchester)

The leading power of late Iron Age Britain, whose king Cunobelinus ruled much of the south-east and whose sons led resistance to the Roman invasion of 43.

Origins

The Catuvellauni held the lands north of the Thames around Hertfordshire. Cassivellaunus, who commanded British resistance to Julius Caesar in 54 BCE, is usually thought to have been their leader, with his stronghold perhaps at Wheathampstead. By the late 1st century BCE their king Tasciovanus was minting coins at Verlamion, near modern St Albans.

Rule and society

Their rulers issued abundant gold coinage, some styled with the Latin REX, and imported wine, silver and fine pottery from the Roman world, as rich burials at Welwyn and Folly Lane show. Cunobelinus, ruling from about 9 to 40 CE from Camulodunum, which he took from the Trinovantes, extended influence over Kent and much of the south-east; Suetonius called him king of the Britons.

Decline and legacy

After Cunobelinus died, his sons Togodumnus and Caratacus provoked Rome by attacking the Atrebates (Britain). Claudius invaded in 43; Togodumnus was killed and Caratacus fled west to fight on among the Silures and Ordovices until 51. The tribe became the civitas Catuvellaunorum, centred on Verulamium, in Roman Britain.

Lineage

CatuvellauniRoman Britain 43 CE – 410 CE

Connections (4)

Catuvellauni was conquered by Trinovantes10 CE
Trinovantes was conquered by Catuvellauni10 CE
Atrebates (Britain) was conquered by Catuvellauni40 CE – 43 CE
Catuvellauni was conquered by Roman Empire43 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Catuvellauni. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/catuvellauni
MLA: “Catuvellauni.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/catuvellauni. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Catuvellauni.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/catuvellauni.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Catuvellauni’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/catuvellauni (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻