To browse Academia. This paper analyzes the role of Augustus in the administration and development of the Roman provinces in Iberia, examining historical evidence from archaeology, literature, and numismatics. It discusses the socio-political structures in place, the integration of local elites into the Roman system, and the cultural transformations resulting from Roman rule. Highlighting case studies from various locations, it aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact Augustus had on the region.
On Romanization There is a tendency in recent studies on the western Roman Empire to concentrate on cultural features and to stress regional diversity, paying especial attention to the part played by non-Romans in the formation and dynamics of provincial societies. This trend rests on the assumption-one that I share-that integration in the Roman Empire was a dialectical process that transformed not only the western countries but Italy and Rome as well, and that resulted not in homogeneity but in a series of quite diverse provincial societies with evident regional or even local variations.
But it is also fostered by a vigorous cultural factor. Since classical culture is one of the most powerful roots of European identity, it has been quite natural to adopt the Roman point of view, especially when the classic image of the civilizing empire has been so influential in modern European imperial th0ught.
This chapter offers a summarized overview of late Roman Spain, especially during the fourth century ad. The break between Roman Spain and the world of the barbarian kingdoms was not as sudden and brutal as scholars have traditionally imagined.
Roman Hispania dissolved gradually, in a process that seems to have been spread over several decades. The new barbarian kingdom adopted numerous features of the Roman provincial organization and civilization. In order to give this summarized and updated picture, this chapter will discuss various elements, paying particular attention to the historiographical background and current scholarship debates and issues of each.
