Boudicca

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Boudicca

Q: What is Boudicca best known for?

Boudicca is known for being a warrior queen of the Iceni people, who lived in what is now East Anglia , England . In 60–61 CE she led the Iceni and other peoples in a revolt against Roman rule. Although her forces massacred some 70,000 Romans and their supporters, they were ultimately defeated.

Q: How did Boudicca die?

Boudicca died shortly after losing her final battle. She is believed to have died either from taking poison or from shock or illness.

Q: Where is Boudicca buried?

The location of Boudicca’s grave, subject to much speculation, is unknown. Suggested locations include Birdlip in Gloucestershire , Stonehenge , Norfolk , London ’s Hampstead area, and somewhere under a train platform at King’s Cross Station in London.

queen of Britain

Also known as: Boadicea, Boudica

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 • Article History

Boudicca

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Category: History & Society

Also spelled:: Boadicea or Boudica

Died:: 60 or 61 ce

Role In:: Battle of Watling Street

On the Web:: Encyclopaedia Romana - Boudica (Boudicca) (Feb. 16, 2024)

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What is Boudicca best known for?

How did Boudicca die?

Where is Boudicca buried?

Boudicca (died 60 or 61 ce) was an ancient British queen who in 60 ce led a revolt against Roman rule.

Boudicca’s husband, Prasutagus, was king of the Iceni (in what is now Norfolk) as a client under Roman suzerainty. When Prasutagus died in 60 with no male heir, he left his private wealth to his two daughters and to the emperor Nero, trusting thereby to win imperial protection for his family. Instead, the Romans annexed his kingdom, humiliated his family, and plundered the chief tribesmen. While the provincial governor Suetonius Paulinus was absent in 60 or 61, Boudicca raised a rebellion throughout East Anglia. The insurgents burned Camulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans), the mart of Londinium (London), and several military posts. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, Boudicca’s rebels massacred 70,000 Romans and pro-Roman Britons and cut to pieces the Roman 9th Legion. Paulinus met the Britons at a point thought to be near present-day Fenny Stratford on Watling Street and regained the province in a desperate battle. Upon her loss, Boudicca either took poison or died of shock or illness.

Cleopatra hieroglyphic carving the Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Wall of the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.

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Considered a national heroine of England, Boudicca inspired numerous books and movies.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.