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'romanisation' new and improved - Coggle Diagram
'romanisation' new and improved
Leptis Magna
when Pompey was defeated in 46BC, the city became a part of the Roman provincial system
it officially had the rank of
civitas libera et immunis
(free city), which meant it was supposedly free and immune from paying taxes
however, they still had to send three million pounds of olive oil, a punishment from caesar after they supported his enemies in the civil war
Macellum
The Macellum was erected in 8BC
an inscription on the Macellum said it was funded by Annobal Tapapius Rufus
the inscription was in Latin and Punic - bilingualism that shows a retention of indigenous culture whilst welcoming Roman presence
He also latinised his name Tabaphi, adoption of Roman nomenclature despite not being roman citizens
Theatre
Annobal also financed the theatre in 1/2AD
the arc of seats at this theatre was 95m - grand
again, bilingual inscription
standard semicircular form used by the roman
Chalcidium
dedicated by Iddibal Caphada Aemilius
in 12BC
this guy had togate portraits made of himself, clearly wanted to harness roman styles for his self-representation
Fontana states that - the city never experienced an influx of latin colonists, and there was a marginal presence of immigrants
Therefore, any romanisation that occurred was sustained by the desire for integration into the wider sphere of the roman empire
conclude:
the weslthy residents of leptis magna were clearly pleased to be incorporated into the empire, and thus monumentalised their city in a roman fashion
the lack of italian settlers in the area attests to the agency of the natives, and that romanisation was not always imposed as an up-down system
Britain
Tacitus Agricola 21
written in 98AD, describes Tacitus' father-in-law Agricola, who was general in Britain
'scattered and uneducated Britons'
'housing, market-places, temples'
'promenading, bathing, and fine dining'
much greater quantities of tweezers and probes, razors and nail cleaners have been recovered from early roman sites in Britain
'rivalry for compliments replaced coercion'
this was a desired change, a case of self-romanisation
'the toga became fashionable'
Tacitus 14.31
suggests that new settlers in Colchester caused disharmony
'drove people out of their houses, ejected them from their farms'
'It was against the veterans that their hatred was most intense'
suggests that some colonisation was disruptive and unwelcomed
RGDA
'i founded colonies of soldiers in Africa...Asia...Syria' section 28
'Italy too has twenty-eight colonies founded by my authority' section 28
'more than 300,000 of these I have settled in colonies' section 3
Gellius, Attic Nights, 16.13
'But the relationship of the “colonies” is a different one…they are as it were transplanted from the State and have all the laws and institutions of the Roman people'
'majesty of the Roman people, of which those colonies seem to be miniatures, as it were, and in a way copies'
Athens
how athens embraced roman presence
there is evidence of roman tourists, students and residents going back to 2nd Century BC
During the Roman period, the city saw construction projects
roman agora
is connected to the ancient agora
c. 10 BC
the gateway has an inscription that mentions that the funds for the marketplace and the gate came from Julius Caesar and Augustus
temple of Augustus and Roma
echoing the age-old Greek tholos architectural form, and axially
aligned with the eastern entrance of the Parthenon
on the acropolis
19BC
strong connections between Athens and the imperial capital
potentially imitating the temple of Vesta in rome
after Augustus
Nero’s restored the east façade of the Parthenon
Claudius’ completion of the monumental staircase leading to the Propylaia
Hadrian's gate and library, he saw himself as the heir to Pericles
in the agora
a Classical temple of Athena was transplanted from Pallene in the Attic countryside, and installed on the northern side of the Agora
rededicated to Ares, presumably making a connection to the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus in Rome.
conclusion
these largely disrupted the preexisting spaces and topography
BUT, show the collaboration of greek and roman cultures
not 'romanisation' per se, but an embrace of roman presence yes
A cuirass statue of the emperor Hadrian, found in the Athenian Agora, shows the goddess Athena being crowned by two Nikai (Victories), while she stands on the She-wolf, suckling Romulus and Remus
how they rebuked roman presence
athens refused to adapt its bronze coinage to roman standards or to stamp it with imperial motifs
Horace, in the Augustan period, proclaimed: “Conquered Greece took captive her savage conqueror and brought her arts into rustic Latium"
i.e. Athenian art and splendour influenced the italian peninsula, not exactly "ROMANisation"
the augustan forum has caryatids akin to the Athenian erectheion
Virgil's epic based on Homer's Greek versions
Dio Cassius also tells us 'this statue on the Acropolis, which was placed to face the east, had turned around to the west and spat blood'
there were poor relations between athens and augustus, because the city had sided with Mark Antony
you would think this might cause harsh imposition of roman culture, 'romanisation', but we more so see a collaboration. so even in a place where the emperor was not readily respected, romanisation did not occur
Waldgirmes, Germania
East of the Rhine, and occupied between 4BC and 9AD
the town covered an area of 7.7 hectares, and follows the typical arrangement of a fort
however, excavations have shown that this was not a fort: the buildings and artefacts from within show it was a new Roman city established from scratch
evidence of some Roman-style residences with open porticos in front, unlike the longhouse-style buildings preferred by the locals
there are also other roman buildings, such as a forum, and a basilica
the lack of a military presence suggests a loyalty and trust between the Germans and the Romans
typical German jewellery found at the site suggests Germans lived here
most impressive find was a bronze horse head found at the bottom of a well, that was covered in gold leaf, and belonged to a larger statue of the emperor Augustus which would have weighed 900 pounds
but walgirmes was abandoned after Clades Variana, because romans living here would have felt threatened
waldgirmes may be alluded to by Dio Cassius - 'The barbarians were adapting themselves to Roman ways'
Generic roman fort layout
Polybius tells us about how Roman forts were laid out, in his Histories
'the whole camp is a square, with streets and other constructions regularly planned like a town'
has a T shape layout
At Waldgirmes nearly 20% of the pottery was Germanic, suggesting that there must have been a substantial German native presence in the town
Corinth
an archaic colonnade that had once belonged to a 6th century temple of Apollo, was reused in the Upper Forum
they were likely moved to their current location before the reign of Claudius
romans could have recycled architectural elements like these to show an appreciation for the Corinthian past
however, by also re-erecting such heavy archaic columns, Romans could show that they were technological heirs of the corinthians
moreover, these columns came from the temple of Apollo, which was destroyed in the Roman sack of Corinth, so their reuse served as a visual reminder of Roman superiority
concurrently, romans respected and superseded their corinthian heirs
Volaterrae
In Etruria, Italy
volaterrae was seiged and taken by sulla in about 80BC
romanisation is illustrated by:
the construction of cisterns
a theatre and porticus complex dated 35-25BC, according to Stillwell
construction of a forum
first century AD poet from volaterrae, called A. Persius, who adopts latin styles in his literature
however, we cannot take monumental building programmes as evidence of true social, cultural change
there is still evidence of native power
members of Volaterrae aristocracy were senators, but still controlled much of the city's land and territory
suggests that they negotiated the terms of their incorporation with Rome, and successfully protected their own interests, promoting stability in land tenure patterns
so they were able to negotiate Roman rule and accommodate it, whilst still retaining their own culture
received colonial status by Julio-Claudian period
Gaul
art styles
on some of the monumental arches set up in Gaul by generals or colonial founders who were Roman themselves, contrasts are drawn between the appearances of barbarian Gauls and Romans
they emphasised the removal of moustaches and close, cropped hair, and more restrained body language
honorific images later commissioned by Gallo-Roman aristocrats show that they too chose to be portrayed according to these conventions
the busts and statues of them use limbs held close to the body, the toga, and metropolitan hairstyles
suggests they wanted to appear Roman, in their self-representation
Glanum
Glanum is located 12km east of the Rhine, and is part of the province of Gallia Narbonensis
it was given the stature of
oppidum latinum
, which gave residents the civil and political status of citizens of Rome
Julii mausoleum 40-20BC
provides evidence of local families linked with powerful Romans
located northwest of the site of Glanum, near the ancient road which passed through the area on the way from Italy to Spain
The mausoleum is a three-story tower about 17 m high, with panels of low relief
also decorated with corinthian columns
topped with a tholos, inside of which are two male statues wearing a Roman-style toga, thus revealing the aspiration to look Roman
Perhaps the most telling evidence, though, is the name of the family—the Julii—indicating their ties to a prominent Roman family
the inspiration for the monument is ultimately Italy, as italian funerary monuments have a similar combination of styles and elements
this therefore shows that the elite of the city wished to associate themselves with the culture of the conquerers
The conical roof is decorated with carved fish scales, traditional for Roman mausoleums
The frieze beneath the conical roof is decorated with acanthus leaves, used in Roman mortuary architecture to represent eternal rebirth, and also seen on the Ara Pacis
In 49 BC, Julius Caesar captured Marseille, and romanisation of Gallia Narbonensis continued hence
Why these examples?
diff time periods:
Gallia Narbonensis was colonised under Caesar
Reuse of architecture in Corinth happened before the reign of Claudius
Leptis Magna was also colonised under Caesar
Athens and Waldgirmes under Augustus
Britannia at end of 1st Century AD
diff statuses
Leptis and Athens were free cities
Waldgirmes was a colony
Glanum was oppidum latinum
Britannia was a province
spread geographically
conclude that romanisation is problematic term because it denies agency of those that WANTED to be 'romanised', such as the Gauls, Leptis Magna, Waldgirmes etc.
