AHC: Surviving WRoman Rump in Britain

Not to continue doubling down on AHC scenarios, but what about a Western Roman rump state surviving past the fall of Rome? IOTL these states existed in several...unfortunate...locations, including in France and in Dalmatia. What about one in Britain? Bonus points if it can persist and not merely exist, creating essentially a Western Byzantium (and if Romanized natives eventually take the Imperial title, that would be good too)

(The reason I ask, of course, is that the idea of a Britannio-Roman Emperor ruling a Roman successor state of Britain is...well...pretty cool.)
 
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In my view the best POD for this is having Emperor Septimius Severus' campaign against Caledonia concluded successfully. It won't be pretty as Emperor Severus was intent on eradicating totally the Caledonians and committing genocide. However a lasting conquest of Britain is likely to make it a more sustainable province in the long run, and this will have huge implications when the WRE falls.

There are two ways to achieve this:

- Either Emperor Septimius lives another few years as he died on campaign from illness. He was already 65 by that point, so it's possible he could live another twelve years like Tiberius - but he's going to be increasingly frail and I would suggest his continuing leadership is in doubt if he does not withdraw from campaign. He could delegate this task to one of his sons and personally withdraw to Rome.

Or

- One of his sons dies prior to the death of Septimius. In OTL Caracalla continued the campaign against the Caledonians for a short time after his father's death, but he wisely decided to cease the campaign in order to shore up his leadership against his brother Geta. This route is less certain as either son is unlikely to share their father's burning ambition to conquer Caledonia, but without the threat of a rival sibling there might be more of a desire to 'secure' their father's legacy.
 
All the roman rump states in the West survived not for long. Why should one in Britain? I don't see a compelling major impact on history.
Look how fast the roman culture disappeared in Britain in the 5th century, when the empire stopped its support. Even if the Brits manage to stay united anyways, this kingdom would change very fast to something pretty unroman. Londinium was not Constantinopolis.
 
Not to continue doubling down on AHC scenarios, but what about a Western Roman rump state surviving past the fall of Rome? IOTL these states existed in several...unfortunate...locations, including in France and in Dalmatia. What about one in Britain? Bonus points if it can persist and not merely exist, creating essentially a Western Byzantium (and if Romanized natives eventually take the Imperial title, that would be good too)

(The reason I ask, of course, is that the idea of a Britannio-Roman Emperor ruling a Roman successor state of Britain is...well...pretty cool.)

I'm not sure if this would count as properly Roman, but if the Britons do a better job of defending themselves in the 5th century, we'd probably see the Romano-British culture continuing and surviving.

Alternately, the Roman army in Britain revolted a few times, so making one of those successful could lead to the scenario you're proposing. IOTL the leaders of the rebellions tended to cross the Channel and try and take the whole Empire, though, so you'd have to have a commander whose ambitions are more limited. He and his descendants could rule in Britain, and then when the Western Emperor lapses declare themselves Emperors. Culturally speaking Britain was never as Romanised as the rest of the western provinces were, so again this country would be more Romano-British than strictly Roman; then again, similar things could be said about the East.
 
All the roman rump states in the West survived not for long. Why should one in Britain?

Well, Britain is an island, so its defensive prospects are better than those of most continental states. IOTL political fragmentation and plague meant that the Britons couldn't defend themselves, but a more stable and united Britain might well be able to.
 
I made a TL about this once (which I will restart sometime in the future ... hopefully...:rolleyes:).

To keep it short:

I think the core to success is the Saxons targeting a weaker Gaul instead of Britain, so the Romano-Brittons have less pressure and can hold the land around the River Thames.
 
How about something to do with Carasius? If he manages to consolidate his power base in Brittania instead of being assassinated be Alectus maybe could see a solidified Romano-British state with a British identity
 
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This TL ends before the Empire falls, but Britain is in good shape, better than Gaul. It's entirely possible in the future history of that TL, that 'Rome' will survive in Britain while it dies in Gaul.
 
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