The History of Edinburgh

Castle Rock represents more than just a great social-media snap. It’s the stronghold around which the city grew, with excavations revealing human habitation on the clifftop as far back as 900 BC. In the early years of the first millennium AD, advancing Roman legions found Castle Rock fortified by a tribe of ancient Britons, the Votadini. Some time later, another tribe—the Gododdin—erected a fort here known as Din Eidyn. When the Angles—essentially early English—invaded in the 7th century, they renamed it Eidyn Burh, with ‘burh’ meaning fort. The Scots eventually recaptured it, leading to centuries of expansion and shifting power.

By the 15th century, Edinburgh had already become a medieval centre of trade, craft and ecclesiastical authority. Grain, wool and imported luxuries passed through the High Street, while craftsmen produced goods under guild regulations. The city's elevation to Scotland’s official capital in 1452 under James II further consolidated its status.