tribal confederation · British Isles

Silures

50 BCE – 78 CE (approx.) · capital Llanmelin; later Venta Silurum (Caerwent)

Warlike people of south-east Wales who resisted Rome for nearly thirty years, until legions at Caerleon held their land and Caerwent became their town.

Origins

The Silures lived in the valleys and coastal plain of Glamorgan and Gwent, defended by hillforts such as Llanmelin. Tacitus, noting their dark complexions and curly hair, speculated that they had come from Spain, a guess no longer accepted. They first appear in 47, when Rome began its advance into Wales.

Rule and society

Little is known of their leadership; they seem to have been a confederation of communities rather than a single kingdom, without a coinage of their own. Their warfare relied on raids and ambush in difficult country. Caratacus fought alongside them after 47, and in 52 they defeated a legion under Manlius Valens; the governor Ostorius Scapula died worn out by the campaign.

Decline and legacy

Julius Frontinus finally subdued them around 74 to 78 and founded the legionary fortress of Isca at Caerleon. Their territory became a civitas within Roman Britain with its centre at Venta Silurum, Caerwent, where an inscription records the council of the Silures. The later Kingdom of Gwent grew in the same region.

Lineage

SiluresKingdom of Gwent 470 CE – 1081 CE

Connections (2)

Silures was conquered by Roman Empire74 CE – 78 CE
Silures was part of Roman Britain78 CE – 410 CE

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Cite this page

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻