Hello /r/askhistorians,
I'm currently reading Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations". In the preface of the book, the publisher notes how Marcus had to deal with a Roman army revolt in Britain. The timeline for this I suppose would be from Aurelius's reign from ~160-180 CE.
I consider myself above average in knowledge of Roman history, but can't seem to recall any mention of a Roman army rebeling in this period/area. Any ideas of what the publisher is referring to?
Thanks, and I appreciate any replies!!
I was a bit surprised by this as well, so I did a bit of detective work and I must conclude that the introduction is confused. According to chapter 8 of the Historia Augusta biography, Marcus Aurelius faced a frontier war in Britain when he first assumed the position of emperor. He dispatched one Calpurnius Agricola to quell the rebellion, presumably successfully. Calpurnius Agricola himself appears in a handful of inscriptions from northern England which mention he was governor and commander of the sixth legion, so he seems to have made an impression.
The confusion, I believe, comes from a later rebellion of the sixth legion against the emperor Commodus. This was several years after Marcus' death, however.