When the problems with the Brigantes had been settled, the Romans turned their attention to the Silures, whom Tacitus calls "a naturally fierce people", and of whose origins he opines:

"The dark complexion of the Silures, their usually curly hair, and the fact that Spain is the opposite shore to them, are an evidence that Iberians of a former date crossed over and occupied these parts."

Genetic evidence does not support Tacitus' theory. However, the Silures proved to be tough opponents for the Romans:

". . . neither terror nor mercy had the least effect; they persisted in war and could be quelled only by legions encmped in heir country."

In order to release troops for service in Wales, Ostorius Scapula established a colony of veterans at Camulodunum (Colchester):

". . . as a defence against the rebels, and as a means of imbuing the allies with respect for our laws."

By the time he resumed his campaign, the forces of the Silures and their neighbours, the Ordovices, were under the direction of Caratacus, who, says Tacitus:

". . . by many an indecisive and many a successful battle had raised himself far above all the other generals of the Britons".

Although Caratacus was defeated and taken captive to Rome, in AD51, the struggle continued:

"Conspicuous above all in stubborn resistance were the Silures . . ."

When Ostorius Scapula died, in AD52, Aulus Didius Gallus was appointed governor. He arrived in Britain to find that:

". . . the legion under the command of Manlius Valens had meanwhile been defeated . . . by the Silures, and they were scouring the country far and wide, till Didius hurried up and dispersed them."

In AD57, Didius Gallus was replaced by Quintus Veranius. He died within a year of his appointment, having:

". . . ravaged the Silures in some trifling raids . . ."

The next governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was forced to abandon his campaign against the island of Mona, in AD60, to deal with Boudicca's rebellion.

The "powerful and warlike tribe of the Silures" were subdued, under the governorship of Sextus Julius Frontinus, c.AD74-c.78.

The Silures did not become a civitas until early in the second century. The capital, Venta Silurum (Caerwent), was built on a previously unoccupied site.

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