At a place called Mount Graupius, Agricola won a decisive victory over a large Caledonian host, and it appeared at the time that the Roman military conquest of Britain had finally been completed. Agricola had already begun thinking about a new challenge, but was recalled from Britain by the emperor, resulting in Rome's failure to assume control over northern Britain. James Fraser is the first historian to identify the true site of this legendary battle, and presents a totally new interpretation of why the Romans invaded Scotland.

    Examining the kings' legacy in the creation of the Roman province of Britannia, the book examines the interface of two worlds and how much each owed to the other.

    Several new governors, legionary legates, tribunes, procurators, and fleet prefects are included, and the entries for those previously known revised; and in this edition translations of all sources have been added. Introductory sections deal with career structures in the principate and the changed system of the late empire. Evidence for imperial visits is also quoted and discussed. The work provides a full conspectus of all the literary, epigraphic, and numismatic sources for the history of Roman rule in Britain.