Colchester is a city in the northern part of the Englishcounty of Essex. It has a population of 130,245 people. People believe that Colchester is the oldest Roman town in England.
History
Before Roman times, Colchester was Camulodunon. This is a Celtic name that came from Camulos. Camulos was the Celticgod of war. The Romans called Colchester Camulodunum (written "CAMVLODVNVM") and made it the capital of Roman Britain. Colchester was attacked and burnt by Boudicca in 61 AD. The Romans moved their capital of Britannia to Londinium (now London), but Camulodunum remained an important city until the fifth century, when the Saxons conquered the region.
The Roman wall of Camulodunum, still standing in modern Colchester
The Roman town of Camulodunum, officially known as Colonia Victricensis, reached its peak in the Second and Third centuries AD.[1] It may have reached a population of 30,000 in those centuries,[2] but when the Romans withdrew from Britannia in 410 AD it probably had fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.[3]
King Cunobelinus (or "Cunobelin") was from Colchester.
Until 2022, Colchester was officially a town, not a city. On 5 September, Queen Elizabeth II signed letters patent to grant it city status. This was planned as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. However, she died three days later.[4] On 29 September, these letters were publicly released.[5]
.svg){kind=small}
