Agricola, Gnaeus Julius AD40-93
Roman general

He was born in Forum Julii (now Fr�jus, Provence). Rome's longest-serving and most successful governor in Britain (AD78-84), he skilfully implemented a two-pronged policy, of conquest in the north and Romanization in the south. He subdued northern England and Lowland Scotland, and actively encouraged the development of Roman-style towns in the south. He failed to conquer the extreme north of Scotland and Ireland, but the circumnavigation of Britain by his fleet greatly impressed contemporaries. Recalled about 84 by Emperor Domitian, probably out of jealousy, he lived quietly in retirement in Rome until his death. His son-in-law Tacitus wrote his biography.

Bibliography: D E Soulsby, Selections From Tacitus: Agricola Handbook (1982)