Becoming Roman
The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul

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

Greg Woolf (Author)

9780521789820, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 July 2000

316 pages, 3 maps
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.45 kg

'… many scholars will find it a useful source of reference … original and scholarly … it belongs on the reading list of the many undergraduate course-units to which it will be pertinent … invaluable introduction written for an intelligent audience with little prior knowledge … university library copies stand to become well thumbed by an audience spanning all levels. … a thought-provoking book that has much to teach authors on Roman Britain.' Journal of Roman Studies

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.

1. On Romanization
2. Roman power and the Gauls
3. The civilising ethos
4. Mapping cultural change
5. Urbanising the Gauls
6. The culture of the countryside
7. Consuming Rome
8. Keeping faith? 9. Being Roman in Gaul.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], European history [HBJD]