The Romans troops, led by Aulus Plautius, were pushing their way through Britain, but were forced to stop at the Thames and build a bridge, the first London Bridge. After building the bridge over the river, this gave the Romans a start for networking a system of roads and making travel much easier and quicker throughout Britain. The Thames valley gave the Romans fertile soils, water, and timber to help the start of what was then called Londinium, a flourishing town and port. However, in AD 60, the first Londinium was destroyed by fire from the revolt of Boudicca and her tribe, the Iceni.

Soon after, the city was rebuilt and great expansion and development began again in Londinium. The port thrived after AD 60 and had great activity by the late first century. By AD 100, there was a street system laid out and many parts of the

Porter, Roy. London: A Social History. London: Hamish Hamiton, 1994.

city were densely built up. Timber framed buildings were built around the large basilica and forum. Shops and commercial buildings were on the main road, while residential area and public baths developed branching off of it. Hygiene became very important with the building of the baths. Most baths had four main rooms: steam room, warm room, cold room, and cold plunge. People took in with them a strigil that was used to scrape off the dirt as they sweated it out in the hotter rooms. Even though the main purpose for them was hygiene, they were also used for exercise, relaxation and even sex. Around 120 an amphitheater and fort were built on the west end of town. The amphitheater provided entertainment and recreation for the people. There was animal baiting and gladiatorial combat, as well as stage plays, state ceremonies, and a training ground for the army.

In 296, Diocletian reformed the government, defenses improved and became stronger, and the administrative role was restored. However, it was still not back to what it once was in earlier years. Even though Londinium became the location of Britain's imperial treasury in the late forth century, it was still shrinking in population and amount of trade and industry. Problems continued to increase and rebellions were becoming more frequent against the Roman authority. By the late fifth century, the Romans had pulled all authority out of Londinium. Even though they never re-established their power there, they left strong foundations for a city to come.

Clout, Hugh ed. The Times London History Atlas. Times Books, 1997.

The mid-second century was a very unstable period for Roman Britain, and Londinium underwent many major changes. Houses, workshops, and baths were demolished, and the city was not as prosperous nor were there as many people. A fire in 125 severely damaged the city, and it no longer thrived with population and commerce. The lack of archaeological evidence from the late second century gives the impression that population was declining and buildings were bring demolished, while the rural economy prospered around the area. However, according to the Roman authorities, it was still an important city for government purposes. In 200, Britain was divided into two separate provinces of which Londinium

Some common words found in the essay are:
Iceni Soon, Saxon London, Upper Britain, Britain Londinium, London Major, Britain Thames, King Alfred, Westminster Continual, Westminster Edward, London Bridge, ninth century, economic center city, economic center, center city, basilica forum, london city, history london, seventh century, built timber, ad 60, london london,
Approximate Word count = 1594
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)