Roman emperor Honorius has sent an imperial decree to tell British towns that they have to arm and defend themselves from now on.
British people asked the emperor for help as foreign attacks were getting more savage. There will never be any more help from Rome, as the emperor's decree means that Rome has given up Britannia, its most northerly province, for good.
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Emperor Honorius' decree this year (410 AD) instructing Britannia's citizens to defend themselves will come as no surprise to anyone able to follow events in the city of Rome.
Rome is too busy trying to stop the terrible Visigoth attacks at its heart to help Britannia. On August 23 this year Rome was sacked and burned by the Visigoths. Many people died and a lot of buildings were destroyed.
Although most Roman soldiers had left Britannia by 409 AD to try to defend the empire from attacks in Europe, British people still hoped that Rome would come to their aid. That hope has now been dashed.
For the last century Saxon pirates have raided Britannia near the east and south coast. Forts were built to protect the Saxon shore, but they were not able to stop the increasing number of attacks.
Picts from Scotland and the Scots, a tribe from Ireland, have attacked the north. It is likely to become very easy to attack Britannia without Roman troops to defend the country. What difference this will make to the culture of the country is impossible to say at this time.
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