In its long history, the territory we now know as Ayrshire has changed hands quite a few times. In fact, it appears to have been part of at least 10 distinct political entities, including the Roman Empire. Here is a chronology of all the changes of government over nearely 2000 years.
Before 81 DAMNONII
The Damnonii, a British tribe was in control of Ayrshire
81 - 87 ROMAN EMPIRE
Ayrshire invaded by Romans under Agricola and under military occupation. In 87 AD the Romans pulled back to the Southern Uplands. This was apparently done to free up troops for a campaign against the Dacians in Romania. By 100 AD the frontier had receded to the Solway-Tyne line, where Hadrian later ordered the building of the famous wall.
87 - 142 DAMNONII
The Damnonii are back in charge.
142 - 162 ROMAN EMPIRE
New Emperor - Antoninus Pius -- new policy. Under Quintus Lollius Urbicus they invade, conquer, and annex Southern Scotland, build the Antonine Wall, and occupy the area for 20 years. Following the death of Antoninus Pius, the Romans pull back to Hadrian's wall.
162 - 208 DAMNONII
The Damnonii are back in charge.
208 - 213 ROMAN EMPIRE
After the province of Britain lost much of its garrison in wars of imperial succession, raids across Hadrian's Wall increased. Finally this led to a response by the Roman Emperor Severus. In 208 he came North. It looks like the Damnonii surrendered or cooperated, as most of the campaigning was far to the North. The lands of the Damnonii were therefore at least under Roman suzerainty.
213 - 369 DAMNONII
The Damnonii are back in charge. This period lasts until "The Great Conspiracy," a combined Barbarian attack on Roman Britain that prompts a Roman response.
369 - 455 VALENTIA
The Damnonii along with other tribes between the two walls are apparently united in an independent buffer state by the Roman Count Theodosius (father of the later Emperor Theodosius). This is sometimes referred to as "Valentia." This was friendly to the Romans, with the leaders being partly Romanised.
455 - 750 ALT CLUT
Assuming that there was a buffer state between the walls that benefitted the Roman province of Britain, then it seems likely that the collapse of the province, starting around the time of the wars between the Romano-Britons and their German mercenaries (Horsa and Hengist, etc), was the time when Valentia also broke up into its subsequent parts of Alt Clut (later Strathclyde), Gododdin, and Galloway.
750 - 758 NORTHUMBRIA
In 750 an alliance of the Northumbrians and the Picts attacked Alt Clut. The Northumbrians, who already controlled the lands along the South coast of Scotland, broke into Ayrshire and conquered it, holding it until 758, when, weakened by a defeat at the hands of the Mercians, they lost their grip on Ayrshire.
758 - 870 ALT CLUT
Both the power of the Northumbrians and the Picts ebbed, and was further reduced by the Viking onslaught on Britain. This allowed the re-emergence of Alt-Clut. But in 870, the capital, Dumbarton, was sacked by the Vikings.
870 - 1058 STRATHCLYDE
The British state of Alt Clut went through a period of reorganisation, with its centre now further up the Clyde at Govan or Partick, in present-day Glasgow. The kingdom was increasingly overshadowed by the rise of Alba (later Scotland). After the confused events of the middle 11th century (Macbeth, the invasion of Earl Siward, etc.) Malcom III was crowned king of both Strathclyde and Alba, which appear to have merged at this point. The details remain somewhat unclear.
1058 - 1297 SCOTLAND
Ayrshire was part of Scotland. In 1205 the town of Ayr was established as a royal burgh and market town by King William the Lion. In 1249 Irvine followed.
1297 - 1307 ENGLAND
In 1296 Edward I of England deposed the Scottish king John Balliol. This led to various outbreaks of rebellion, but Southern Scotland appears to have been secured by the Capitulation of Irvine in July 1297. Although the victory of the Scots at Stirling Bridge in September gave the Scots control of central Scotland, Ayrshire probably remained under English control until Bruce liberated it in 1307.
1307 - 1652 SCOTLAND
Ayrshire was part of Scotland throughout this period, even after the Treaty of Newcastle, which temporarily ceded eight counties of Southern Scotland to England. This period only ended when the English under Cromwell annexed Scotland to the Commonwealth in 1652.
1652 - 1660 THE COMMONWEALTH
For eight years Ayrshire was a relatively orderly part of the Cromwellian Commonwealth. On the Restoration of Charles II, the separate kingdoms of Scotland and England came back into existence.
1660 - 1707 SCOTLAND
Ayrshire was actually more content as part of the English Commonwealth than it was as part of Stuart Restoration Scotland. This was because of sectarian reasons. The Puritanism of the Commonwealth was more amenable to the Ayrshire population than the High Church pseudo-Catholicism of the late Stuarts. With the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the situation greatly improved.
1707 - The Present THE UNITED KINGDOM
In 1707 the Scottish and English Parliaments united, making Ayrshire part of the United Kingdom with its capital in London. Even the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 failed to break this connection. The closest the Jacobite army came to Ayrshire appears to have been Glasgow where they encountered a lot of passive resistance and saved face by extorting a little money.
In its recorded history starting in 81 AD up to 2022, Ayrshire was part of the following states for the indicated number of years:
Scotland 621 years
Alt Clut (British kingdom) 407 years
United Kingdom 314 years
Damnoni tribal territory 257 years
Strathclyde (British kingdom) 188 years
Valentia (Roman buffer state) 86 years
Roman Empire 31 years
England 10 years
Northumbria 8 years
The Commonwealth 8 years
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