BattlefieldsSiege of Segontium
Roman Period

Siege of Segontium

383
Caernarfonshire, Wales
Also known as: Roman Fort Caernarfon — British Raids Late Roman Period
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Caernarfonshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Welsh/regional forces c. 500–2,000.
VS
Victor
Magnus Maximus / Macsen Wledig (Roman usurper)
Forces
Magnus Maximus/garrison c. 500–1,500
Outcome
Fort garrison withdrawn for Maximus's continental campaign
The Battle

History & Significance

Segontium (Caernarfon) was the principal Roman fort of north-west Wales. By the late fourth century it was increasingly isolated and subject to Irish and Pictish raids. In 383 AD the usurper Magnus Maximus (celebrated in Welsh legend as Macsen Wledig) stripped Segontium and other Welsh forts of their garrisons for his campaign to seize the imperial throne. Welsh legend says he settled his veterans in Brittany — their place-name legacy survives there. The withdrawal of the garrison effectively ended Roman military presence in north-west Wales.

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