Cogidubnus is also mentioned in an inscription on a damaged slab of marble found in Chichester in 1723, dated to the late 1st century. [.]dens, son of Pudentinus, donated the land."
The reference to the "Divine House" (or "House of the Deified Emperor") suggests the inscription was made after the death of Vespasian in 79. The first two letters of the king's native name, given in the genitive case, are missing. It has usually been reconstructed as "Cogidubnus", following the majority of manuscripts of Tacitus, but some believe "Togidubnus" is the more linguistically correct form.[3] He is nearly contemporary with Togodumnus, a prince of the Catuvellauni mentioned by Cassius Dio,[4] and the similarity of their names has led some to conclude they were the same man,[5] although the sources do not support this: Dio's Togodumnus died in 43 resisting the Roman invasion, while the Cogidubnus of Tacitus and the Chichester inscription lived into the latter half of the 1st century as a Roman ally.
The Roman names Tiberius Claudius indicate that he was given Roman citizenship by the emperor Claudius, or possibly by Nero. It has been suggested that he was related to Claudia Rufina, a woman of British descent mentioned by the poet Martial,[6] although there is no evidence, beyond their shared nationality and nomen gentile, to connect them. The title Rex Magnus usually implies kingship over a number of territories, supporting Tacitus.
Chichester (Noviomagus) was part of the territory of the Atrebates before the conquest, so Cogidubnus may have been an heir of Verica, the Atrebatic king whose overthrow prompted the Roman conquest.[7] It later became part of the territory of the Regni,[8] which was probably Cogidubnus' kingdom before being incorporated into the Roman province. The archaeologist Barry Cunliffe suggests that the extensive Roman villa at Fishbourne, near Chichester, was Cogidubnus's seat.[5] The public baths, amphitheatre and forum in Silchester were probably built in Cogidubnus' time.[9]