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attempts to capture Carausius proved difficult, and Maximian suffered heavy losses. In 293 he delegated the problem to his new caesar, Constantius. After a
long siege, Constantius regained Boulogne and was able to blockade Britain. Though still popular, Carausius became weakened and was murdered by his second-in-command Allectus, who proclaimed
himself Emperor. Allectus had been Carausius’s treasurer, ensuring that the troops were paid, and thus was able to retain their support. He remained independent for a further threeyears until Constantius mounted a major invasion on two fronts. Allectus was killed in battle, either near Farnham in Surrey, or near Silchester, by Constantius’s second in
command Asclepiodotus. Allectus’s troops fled to London where they met Constantius’s army and were defeated. Legend has it that many were executed and their bodies thrown into the
Walbrook.
    Both Carausius and Asclepiodotus left their mark in British myth, though in reverse. By the time Geoffrey of Monmouth produced his History , Carausius had become the enemy of the British,
an invader and usurper, who killed Bassianus (Caracalla’s original name) and ruled in his place. Geoffrey correctly has him killed by Allectus and then Allectus murdered by Asclepiodotus, but
identifies the latter as a Briton and Duke of Cornwall. Geoffrey states that Asclepiodotus reigned for ten years before being in turn killed by King Coel, the Old King Cole of the nursery rhyme.
Coel will feature again in our history, though in his rightful place, but this story serves to show how soon oral history and legend transmute facts into pseudo-history. With Carausius we are, in
fact, a little over a hundred years away from the start of the Arthurian period, yet that is sufficient time for history to mutate into myth. Such mutation is something we have to bear in mind
throughout this book.
    The truth is that Carausius’s rebellion had a more significant impact upon Britain. The caesar, Constantius, having rid Britain of Allectus, undertook a lightning tour to check defences,
especially on the northern frontier. Contemporary accounts refer for the first time to the tribes as the Picts, though there’s little reason to believe they are any other than the Caledonii
and other northern tribes. Constantius ordered some refurbishments and then returned to Rome to celebrate his triumph.
    He returned to Britain ten years later, in 305, this time as Emperor. He was later joined by his son Constantine. The intervening decade had seen Diocletian introduce a series of sweeping
reforms to the administration of the Empire, though precisely when they were enforced in Britain is not clear. Diocletian divided the Empire into twelve dioceses, each with a vicarius in
charge. Every diocese was divided into provinces, each with its own governor. Britain was one diocese and now had four provinces. The former northern province of BritanniaInferior was divided in two from the Mersey to the Humber. The northernmost province became Britannia Secunda, with its capital at York, whilst the southern half became Flavia
Caesariensis, with a capital at Lincoln. The former southern province of Britannia Superior was also split in half by a line heading almost straight north from Southampton. The west, including
Wales and the south-west, became Britannia Prima, with the capital at Cirencester. To the east was Maxima Caesariensis, with the capital at London. London also seems to have been the overall
diocesan capital. This further division was to have consequences a century later with the re-emergence of British kingdoms. These reforms also separated the civic administration from the military.
Whilst Britain was administered by a vicarius based in London, the northern forces were controlled by the dux Britanniarum , based in York. Diocletian was going to have no more
rebellious usurpers able to call upon vast armies though, as we shall soon see, this did not work in