By 79 AD the British tribes as far north as the Tyne had been pacified and the Romans turned their attention more fully to the lands that would one day become Scotland. Sent to Britain by Emperor Vespasian to govern the province, General Gnaeus Julius Agricola continued the ‘Romanising of Britain’
In 80 AD the offensive against Scotland began. The Ninth Legion march northwards through the lands of the Votadini in the east, while on western side the twentieth legion also moved north. The two legions then joined forces and marched to the Firth of Tay. After building a fortress base at Inchtuthil, Agricola then took 35,000 men up the west coast and conquered the Novante. Over the next few years he consolidated his gains and built a series of forts across the country between the Clyde and the Forth.
By 83 AD Agricola was on the move again and began a march north with powerful fleet travelling up the east coast in support. After defeating numerous tribes and building several forts on the way, he set out in 84 AD with a force of 10,000 men to subdue the tribes of the Caledonii.
With a Roman army on its way north, Calgacus (the swordsman) leader of the Caledonii was busy gathering together an army of some 30,000 fierce highland tribesmen. The two armies came together in the summer of 84 AD at the battle of Mons Graupius, 30,000 Pictish tribesmen facing 10,000 Roman soldiers. Calgacus’s warriors took the high ground, lining the hillsides, while his charioteers raced back and forth on the level ground between the two armies, taunting and attempting to draw the Romans into a premature attack. The thin Roman line facing them stretched almost two miles and consisted of 8,000 auxiliary on foot, 1500 light cavalry on the flanks and a reserve of 500 horse behind the lines.
The Romans commenced the battle by throwing their javelins and while some were deflected by shield and sword, many found their marks. Despite suffering heavy initial casualties the warriors of the Caledonii held their ground. Frustrated by the lack of forward movement against the tribesmen, Agricola ordered two of his auxiliary cohorts to close with the front ranks of the Caledonii. The auxiliaries crashed into the front line causing the tribesmen to fall back and were so successful that they were in danger of being surrounded as the warriors of Caledonii retaliated. Seeing the Romans slipping and falling on the blood soak grass, they surged downhill attempting to outflank the auxiliary cohorts. But as they did so Agricola sent in his mounted reserves and they began to attack the Caledonii flanks. Practically surrounded, the warriors fought fiercely to break through the Roman line. The Roman centre held however and as their flanks were decimated, the warriors began to slip away. Some such as the Gaesti continued to fight, but as their numbers were whittled down, they too were forced to flee.
With the Roman Infantry in pursuit the Caledonii fled to the woods, then turned on their pursuers and if Agricola hadn’t recalled his soldiers, who knows how many men he would have lost amongst the trees. With pursuit halted the majority of the Caledonii were free to make their escape. Behind them on Mons Graupius they left 10,000 dead, while the Romans – according to Tacitus – only suffered the loss of 360 men.
As the season was against him Agricola withdrew to the Moray Firth and was recalled to Rome by the Emperor Domitian a few months later at the end of 84 AD. Agricola may have won the battle, but 20,000 of the Caledonii survived and it is known that the tribes’ constant raids caused problems for the Romans time and time again, over the following years.
