Becoming Roman

Studies the 'Romanization' of Rome's Gallic provinces in the late Republic and early empire.

This is a study of the process conventionally termed Romanization through an analysis of the experience of Roman rule over the Gallic provinces in the period 200 BC–AD 300. It examines how and why Gallo-Roman civilisation emerged from the confrontation between the cultures of Gaul and the classical civilisation.This book is a study of the process conventionally termed 'Romanization' through an investigation of the experience of Rome's Gallic provinces in the late Republic and early empire. Beginning with a rejection of the concept of 'Romanization' it describes the nature of Roman power in Gaul and the Romans' own understanding of these changes. Successive chapters then map the chronology and geography of change and offer new interpretations of urbanism, rural civilization, consumption and cult, before concluding with a synoptic view of Gallo-Roman civilization and of the origins of provincial cultures in general. The work draws on literary and archaeological material to make a contribution to the cultural history of the empire which will be of interest to ancient historians, classical archaeologists and all interested in cultural change.