The Romans ruled much of the British Isles for almost 400 years, from AD 43 until the early 400s. Before the Romans,
other peoples known as Celts, had come to Britain from mainland Europe. They lived in large groups called tribes, each of
which had its own territory or kingdom.
The Romans had a huge empire, which spread from Rome across Italy, through Europe and to parts of Asia. In all the countries
they took over they introduced their own customs and their languages, Latin.
The Romans first invaded Britain in 55 BC but soon left. They returned in AD43. This time they took over all of England
and Wales, but they did not have enough soldiers to make Scotland or Ireland part of their empire.
The Romans brought peace to Britain. They built towns and roads. Many British people in the South, copied the roman
way of lifeand even followed the Roman Religions.
They became 'Romanized'. But as the Roman empire grew bigger, it became harder to govern. People in the countries ruled
from Rome became more troublesome. Rome had to take away soldiers from the edge of the empire to defend lands closer to Italy.
This left countries such as Britain badly defended and open to invasion from other peoples.
In the AD400s, Rome lost control of Gaul (NowFrance) and Britain. Other peoples from Europe- Anglo-saxons and Jutes-
invaded and Roman Britain came to an end.
