Britannia Superior

Britannia Superior was one of the provinces of Roman Britain created around 197 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus immediately after winning a civil war against Clodius Albinus, a war fought to determine who would be the next emperor. Albinus was the governor of Britannia during that civil war. Severus divided the pre-existing province of Britannia into two parts, the other being Britannia Inferior to the north with its capital at Eboracum, or modern York. Britannia Superior was the southern province of the two, with its capital at Londinium, or what is today London. Epigraphic evidence has shed some light on the extent of Upper Britain and it encompassed all of what is now southern England as well as Wales and East Anglia. However, an official boundary between Britannia Superior and Inferior is still unclear. Most information that is gathered for this region during this time period from about the 2nd century AD to the 3rd century AD is from inscriptions left upon pots, walls, and letters written by the citizens and soldiers.

See External Links for a map of the region.

Approximately a century later, around 293 AD, the province was divided into Britannia Prima (with a capital at Cirencester) in the west and Maxima Caesariensis (with a capital at London) in the east. This was done by Emperor Diocletian to make administrative responsibilities over the region more efficient.