Wikipedia
Londinium was a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around 43. Its bridge over the River Thames turned the city into a road nexus and major port, serving as a major commercial centre in Roman Britain until its abandonment during the 5th century.
Following its foundation in the mid-1st century, early Londinium occupied the relatively small area of , roughly equivalent to the size of present-day Hyde Park, with a fortified garrison on one of its hills. In the year 60 or 61, the rebellion of the Iceni under Boudica forced the garrison to abandon the settlement, which was then razed. Following the Iceni's defeat at the Battle of Watling Street, the city was rebuilt as a planned Roman town and recovered within about a decade. During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly, becoming Great Britain's largest city. By the turn of the century, Londinium had grown to about 60,000 people, almost certainly replacing Camulodunum ( Colchester) as the provincial capital and by the 2nd century, Londinium was at its height. Its forum and basilica were one of the largest structures north of the Alps, when the Emperor Hadrian visited Londinium in 122. Excavations have discovered evidence of a major fire that destroyed most of the city shortly thereafter, but the city was again rebuilt, but by the second half of the 2nd century, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population.
Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, no further expansion resulted. Londinium supported a smaller but stable settlement population as archaeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth - the by-product of urban household waste, manure, ceramic tile, and non-farm debris of settlement occupation, which accumulated relatively undisturbed for centuries. Some time between 190 and 225, the Romans built a defensive wall around the landward side of the city. Along with Hadrian's Wall and the road network, this wall was one of the largest construction projects carried out in Roman Britain. The London Wall survived for another 1,600 years and broadly defined the perimeter of the old City of London.
Londinium was the name London, England during the Roman period.
Londinium may also refer to:
- Londinium (film)
- Londinium (album), by the band Archive
- Londinium (Batman TV series)
- Londinium, a song by Catatonia
- Londinium, a fictional planet in the TV show Firefly
The three-part Londinium episode during Batman's third and final season ("The Londinium Larcenies", "The Foggiest Notion", and "The Bloody Tower") was the series' tribute to the Swinging London period of the 1960s. At the time of the show, everything British was "hot" in North America. Many aspects of London were parodied during the three episodes. The city's name is changed to Londinium, which was the name of an important trading and administrative centre of Roman Britannia, which was slightly smaller than the City of London where the modern British capital is now situated. Scotland Yard becomes "Ireland Yard" in the series. Carnaby Street becomes "Barnaby Street". Fleet Street, the city's press district, is changed to "Bleet Street". The prime minister is called the first minister. There is a jokey reference to The Beatles when Bruce Wayne refers to a drum-playing Dick Grayson as "Ringo."
Londinium is the debut album by London-based trip hop band Archive. The title is taken from the Roman name for London. Roya Arab is the principal vocalist throughout the album, and Rosko John provides rapping. "Skyscraper" uses a sample from " Mmm Skyscraper... I Love You" by Underworld. In addition, Karl Hyde, from Underworld, plays bass on the track "Headspace" "Londinium" was remixed by Kevin Shields and released as a 12".
"Londinium" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their third studio album, Equally Cursed and Blessed. It was written by Mark Roberts and the band, and produced by TommyD.