Before the Roman conquest their land and capital appear to have been part of the territory of the Atrebates, possibly as part of a confederation of tribes. It has been suggested that, after the first phase of the conquest, the Romans maintained the Atrebates as a nominally independent client kingdom, acting as a buffer between the Roman province in the east and the unconquered tribes to the west. The ruler of the kingdom was Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus: Tacitus says "quaedam civitates Cogidumno regi donatae (certain civitates were given to King Cogidubnus)" and remarks on his loyalty.