‘Romanization’ and Augustan Iberia

Beginning in the 19th century, western scholarship has examined the history and archaeology of the Roman empire, and sought to define the nature of its control and the identity of its people. Over time, this search has become a discussion of imperialism, as a military and administrative entity, and of 'Romanization', as a process of cultural interaction between Rome and provincial populations. This report builds upon such scholarship, and takes a regional approach in studying the history and archaeology of coastal Tarraconensis, northwest Tarraconensis, and Baetica, encompassing two provinces of the Iberian peninsula. More specifically, the Augustan period will be analyzed as a key turning point in the consciousness of a 'Roman' empire and of provincial 'Roman-ness'. A central element in this analysis will be the development of important urban sites, and the regional clues such development provides to native cultural continuity and/or adoption of particular 'Roman' features. In the end, it will become clear that the very diversity of such adoption, from Roman legionary recruitment, to urban planning, and to imperial symbols, marks the truest essence of 'Roman-ness', as a complex, evolving identity determined multi-directionally between Rome and various provincial peoples.