|
( Romanization (cultural))
Romanization was a gradual process of cultural assimilation, in which the conquered "barbarians" (non-Greco-Romans) gradually adopted and largely replaced their own native culture (which in many cases were quite developed, like the culture of Carthage and of the Gauls) with the culture of their conquerors - the Romans. The acculturation proceeded from the top down, the upper classes adopting Roman culture first and the old ways lingering longest in outlying districts among peasants; the identification of countryfolk as pagani is discussed at paganism. In recent years historians like Greg Woolf have questioned the extent to which Romanization is a useful analytical concept. Woolf sees Romanization as reliant upon the arbitrary allocation of labels such as Roman and Native to various cultural and material elements with little or no firm reasoning to do so. Such thinkers are critical of the dominance Haverfield's The Romanization of Roman Britain have had over the subject and believe it is time for archeological and historical discourse to move on. It was a slow and gradual process, taking several decades. First, it began with the military conquest itself. Many times the Romans were invited by local rulers, who either Other times the Romans did not have such excuses and began a conquest because of internal reasons or because they simply wanted to expand their empire.
|
Romanization (cultural) Subcategories
Romanization (cultural) Articles
|
| 
