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Ammianus Marcellinus described how difficult it would be for a band of foreigners to deal with a Celt if he called in the help of his wife. For she was stronger than he was and could rain blows and kicks upon the assailants equal in force to the shots of a catapult. Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, was said to be 'very tall and terrifying in appearance; her voice was very harsh and a great mass of red hair fell over her shoulders. She wore a tunic of many colors over which a thick cloak was fastened by a brooch. Boudicca had actually at first been a Roman ally, along with her husband, Prasutagus, king of the Iceni. Prasutagus had been a close Roman ally after a brief uprising, respected as being forethinking even by his former enemies, now allied Romans, and free to rule his kingdom as their native tradition dictated, except in one case. Prasutagus, realizing he was going to die, agreed upon a will with his wife and subordinates; his daughters would inherit the physical running of the territory, under Boudicca's stewardship until they were adults, and the Emperor of Rome would have overlordship, collecting taxes and being allowed to request military aid. Much the same situation as he already held. The problem lay in that the Romans did not recognize female heirs, and thus asserted, upon Prasutagus's death, that only the Emperor's claim to the kingdom of Icenia was valid. They further noted it was regular Roman practice to only allow a client kingdom to be independent for the lifetime of the initial king, such as had occurred in Galatia. The Empire formally annexed the kingdom, and began extracting harsh taxes immediately, citing that Prasutagus was indebted to the Romans, having taken several loans during his lifetime that he had failed to repay. Boudicca's complaint about this treatment and the defiance of her deceased husband's will was met with brutality; Roman soldiers flogged her, and her daughters, only children, were raped. Boudicca and her subjects were infuriated at the disgrace done to their queen and the children. With the Roman governor of Britain engaged with the druids in Cambria, now Wales, Boudicca was able to attract more followers from outside the Iceni, as they were hardly the only British tribe growing rapidly disillusioned with the Romans. Boudicca and her army laid waste to three cities, routed a Roman legion, and called on the memory of Arminius, a German who had routed the Romans from his lands, and their own ancestors who had driven off Caesar near a century earlier. Boudicca was defeated by a major tactical blunder in the Battle of Watling Street, leading to much of her force being slaughtered as they could not withdraw to safety. Boudicca herself escaped, and then slew her daughters, and then herself, to avoid further shame at Roman hands.