Originally Posted by
Ranika
Actually the king of the period is speculation. I didn't say we 'knew', but rather, there is reference to a king much later, who lived around the time, and attempted to expand his lands and engage in trade; it's an assumption, but it's as much as we have for 'specifics', and does fit with material evidence from the period (grave finds with plenty of apparently war dead, a lot of trade evidence, including foreign records, etc.). The name of the tribe locally would be rather unknown, though they are generally refered to as the Casse or Cassi today (the proto-Belgic tribe that inhabitted their region and began their conquest). They more or less morphed into the later Casse, and then the Catuvellauni. We do know their land was rich in trade, with copious finds of objects from foreign lands, and many foreign references to tin trading with the king of the region. It was likely this trade that funded their earliest ambitions, helping to form them into the body we'd later recognize as the Casse. This, being the first recognizable name of the tribe that become overlords of the region, was the best we could do for the name. The only alternative would be a far too generic name, such as Pretanne or something similar. Since it was the Casse who eventually exercised the most power of the pre-Roman tribes and kingdoms, they seem to be the most reasonable selection. Clearly though, yes, there is conjecture. There is conjecture with all factions, even those that wrote extensively. Without a time machine, conjecture is inevitable. However, we try to make the most reasonable assumptions as best we can.
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