Prasutagus (died AD 60 or 61) was king of theIceni, aBritish Celtic tribe who inhabited roughly what is nowNorfolk, in the 1st century AD. He is best known as the husband ofBoudica.
Prasutagus may have been one of the eleven kings who surrendered toClaudius following theRoman conquest in 43,[1] or he may have been installed as king following the defeat of a rebellion of the Iceni in 47.[2] As an ally ofRome his tribe were allowed to remain nominally independent, albeit disarmed, and to ensure this Prasutagus named theRoman emperor as co-heir to his kingdom, along with his two daughters.Tacitus says he lived a long and prosperous life, but when he died, the Romans ignored his will and took over, depriving the nobles of their lands and plundering the kingdom. Boudica was flogged and their daughters raped.[3] Roman financiers called in their loans.[4] All this led to the revolt of the Iceni, under the leadership of Boudica, in 60 or 61.
Coins have been found in Suffolk inscribedSVB ESVPRASTO ESICO FECIT, "under Esuprastus Esico made (this)" inLatin. Some archaeologists believe that Esuprastus was the true name of the king Tacitus calls Prasutagus, while others think he was a different person. Others interpret Esuprastus is a compound name, with "Esu-" deriving from thegodEsus and meaning "lord", "master" or "honour", and "Prasto-" being an abbreviated personal name, the coin inscription thus meaning "under Lord Prasto-". It is also notable that coins of theCorieltauvi have been found inscribed with the similar namesIISVPRASV andESVPASV. The name of an earlier king of the Iceni appears on coins asSCAVO, a name which may be related to the Latinscaeva, "left", andscaevola, "left-handed". Both rulers' coins are similarly Roman in style and language and were probably issued within twenty years of each other. Chris Rudd suggests that Esuprastus, whom he identifies with Prasutagus, succeeded Scavo after the Icenian rebellion of 47.[5]
Icenian coins dating from the 1st century AD use the spellingECEN rather thanECE:[6] It has been argued that this change coincides with the start of Prasutagus's reign, with the coins ofAntedios showing only the name of the ruler rather than the tribe. "If so, the coins suggest that the Prasutagus era commenced only after the events of 47".[7]