13. The Romans destroyed the Druids in ancient Britannia
By the middle of the first century CE the Roman Empire extended as far north as what is now known as the Midlands in the United Kingdom, though the Welsh tribes were far from being subdued, and Roman patrols and trade were constantly disrupted by attacks of small bands. The guerrilla warfare induced Suetonius Paulinus, the Roman leader in Britannia, to lead his forces to the hinterlands of the empire to end forever the insolence of the natives refusing to be subjugated. He directed his forces to the island of what was then Mona – today Angelsey – to properly punish the rebels. The island of Mona was the sacred home of the Druids, with the majority of them living there. The Roman attack on the island was what relegated the Druids to history.
Men and women of all ages and children were struck down by the Roman infantry and cavalry, their bodies relegated to bonfires lit by the Romans. The defending Welsh tribesmen were cut down first, unable to stand on open ground against the discipline of a Roman legion, after which the Druids, whom the superstitious Romans regarded with fear, were killed despite not offering resistance. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that the Romans, “bore down upon them, smote all who opposed them to the earth and wrapped them in the flames…” All evidence of the Druid culture on the island was then destroyed by the Romans, who established a garrison to ensure that the survivors among the local tribes remained subdued.