Following the
Roman conquest of Britain, Britain was administered as a
single province from
Camulodunum (
Colchester) and then
Londinium (
London) until the
Severan Reforms following the revolt of its
governor Clodius Albinus. These divided the territory into
Upper and
Lower Britain (
Britannia Superior and
Inferior), whose respective capitals were at Londinium and
Eboracum (
York). During the first phases of the
Diocletian Reforms, Britain was under the control of the
Allectus's
Britannic Empire as part of the
Carausian Revolt. At some point after the territory was retaken by
Constantius Chlorus in AD 296, the
Diocese of the Britains (with its
vicar at Londinium) was formed and made a part of
Prefecture of
Gaul. The Britains were divided among three, four, or five provinces, which seem to have borne the names
Prima,
Secunda, Maxima Caesariensis, and (possibly)
Flavia Caesariensis and
Valentia. The placement and capitals of these late British provinces are uncertain, although the
Notitia Dignitatum lists the governor of Maxima (originally an
equestrian praeses) as having been elevated to
consular rank. Scholars usually associate this with the administration at
Londinium, which was also the capital of the diocesan vicar. Describing the
metropolitan sees of the
early British church established by
SS Fagan and "
Duvian",
Gerald of Wales placed "Maximia" in
Eboracum (
York) and
Londinium in
Flavia, saying the former was named for the emperor
Maximus. this work was debunked over the course of the mid-19th century. Modern scholars are uncertain whether the province was named for the western
senior emperor Valerius Maximian or the eastern
junior emperor Galerius Maximian.
Birley has argued that Maxima and
Flavia originally consisted of a single province, which received the name
Britannia Caesariensis as a mark of favour for support against the rebel
Allectus in 296. Although Flavia is usually thought to have been formed from the old province of
Lower Britain, Birley proposes that
Upper Britain was divided in two (between
Prima and Caesariensis) and then three (Prima, Maxima, and Flavia). This repeats
Camden's earlier theory (relying on
Sextus Rufus) that Maxima was formed first and Flavia followed sometime after. ==References==