The first written reference to Scotland was in 320 BC by Greek sailor Pytheas, who

called the northern tip of Britain "Orcas", the source of the name of the Orkney
islands.[25]: 10
Most of modern Scotland was not incorporated into the Roman Empire, and Roman
control over parts of the area fluctuated over a rather short period. The first
Roman incursion into Scotland was in 79 AD, when Agricola invaded Scotland; he
defeated a Caledonian army at the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 AD.[25]: 12 After
the Roman victory, Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the
Highland line, but by three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn
to the Southern Uplands.[28] Remains of Roman forts established in the 1st century
have been found as far north as the Moray Firth.[29] By the reign of the Roman
emperor Trajan (r. 98–117), Roman control had lapsed to Britain south of a line
between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth.[30] Along this line, Trajan's
successor Hadrian (r. 117–138) erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England[25]: 12
and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire.[31][32]
The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, and they
introduced Christianity to Scotland.[25]: 13–14 [27]: 38
The Antonine Wall was built from 142 at the order of Hadrian's successor Antoninus
Pius (r. 138–161), defending the Roman part of Scotland from the unadministered
part of the island, north of a line between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of
Forth.[33] The Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210 was undertaken by emperors of
the imperial Severan dynasty in response to the breaking of a treaty by the
Caledonians in 197,[29] but permanent conquest of the whole of Great Britain was
forestalled by Roman forces becoming bogged down in punishing guerrilla warfare and
the death of the senior emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) at Eboracum (York)
after he was taken ill while on campaign. Although forts erected by the Roman army
in the Severan campaign were placed near those established by Agricola and were
clustered at the mouths of the glens in the Highlands, the Caledonians were again
in revolt in 210–211 and these were overrun.[2