Sections:

• Welcome
• American History
• European History
• Latin American History
• African History

Topics for this Section:

• Greek and Phoenician Colonization
  1. Introduction
  2. Colonies and Emporia
  3. Natural Resources in the Colonial Areas of Mediterranean World
  4. The Focus of Colonization
  5. Colony and Mother City
  6. Summary
• Origins and Movements of Greek Intellectuals
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction: Where Were the Greek Intellectuals Active?
  3. BC 800-323
  4. Introduction: Travel and the Exchange of Ideas
  5. Travel of Selected Intellectuals in More Detail
  6. Summary
• Sanctuaries and Diplomacy in the Greek World
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction: Olympia
  3. Olympia: 700 BC to 200 AD
  4. Introduction: Delphi
  5. Delphi: 800 BC to 200 AD
  6. Introduction: Nemea
  7. Nemea: 700 BC to 200 AD
  8. Introduction: Isthmia
  9. Isthmia: 700 BC to 200 AD
  10. Introduction: Olympic Victors
  11. Olympic Victors: 776 BC to 369 AD
• Roman Italy in the Republic
  1. Introduction
  2. Roman Expansion in Italy : 509-31 BC
  3. Census Figures: Roman Citizens.
  4. Summary
• Romanization
  1. Introduction
  2. The Romanization of the Western Mediterranean
  3. Elements of Cultural Change
  4. Case Study: the Gallic Provinces
  5. Summary
• Rome and Asia Minor
  1. General Introduction
  2. Introduction to Provincial Structure
  3. Provinces: BC 125-25
  4. Provinces: AD 1-276
  5. Second Introduction: Temples of the Imperial Cult
  6. Temples of the Imperial Cult
  7. Third Introduction: The Minting of Coins
  8. The Minting of Coins
  9. Summary
• Crisis of the 3rd Century
  1. Introduction
  2. AD 15-285
  3. AD 200-285
  4. Some Factors in the Crisis
  5. Other Archaeological Factors
  6. Summary
• Centers of Learning in the Middle Ages
  1. Introduction
  2. University Foundation Privileges
  3. High Medieval Period
  4. Jesuit Centers
  5. Pre-Modern Period
• The Reformation
• Peasant Rebellions in Early Modern Europe
  1. Introduction
  2. 1290-1424
  3. 1425-1549
  4. 1550-1699
  5. 1700-1800
  6. The Peasants' War of 1525
  7. France: 1600-1700
  8. Britain: 1756-1801
• Academies in Early Modern Europe
  1. Introduction
  2. 1650-1700
  3. 1701-1760
  4. 1761-1810
  5. Summary
• Communication and the Postal System in the Early Modern Period
  1. Introduction
  2. 1505-1541
  3. 1570-1610
  4. 1611-1648
  5. 1649-1799
• Spain
  1. Introduction
  2. Natural Resources of the Iberian Peninsula
  3. Ancient Iberia
  4. Germanic Invasions
  5. Visigothic Control
  6. Islamic Spain
  7. Reconquista
• France
• Italy
  1. Introduction
  2. Italy at the End of the Roman Empire
  3. Medieval Conquests of Italy
  4. High Middle Ages to the French Revolution
  5. Napoleonic Era
  6. Unification of Italy
• Russia in the 20th Century
  1. Introduction
  2. 1910-1991
  3. Summary
• The Cold War
  1. Introduction
  2. The Cold War in Europe : 1945-1990
  3. Reunification and Resolution
  4. Summary

Introduction

By the end of the 1st Cent., AD, the Romans had conquered and pacified the Mediterranean World.  That the conquered areas would adopt the Latin language and Roman civic institutions was not of course inevitable, yet that is indeed what happened especially in the West.  The peoples of North Africa and Europe (west of the Rhine and south of the Danube) did learn Latin and did develop cities on the Roman model.  The evidence for this transformation may be seen in the surviving Roman monuments and heard in the Latin-based languages used from Portugal to Romania.  The maps here measure these linguistic and cultural transformations and suggest reasons for them.

This module is divided into three parts. 

In Section I, we chart the process of Romanization by mapping the dramatic growth in citizen numbers, the origins of Roman senators, of Emperors and of major Latin writers. 

In Section II, we measure the degree of Romanization by considering two factors: the density of inscriptions written in Latin and the density of the quintessential feature of Roman urban life, the theater.

In Section III, we turn to a "case study", the Romanization in the provinces of Ancient Gaul. 

Why did individuals begin to speak Latin, and to dress and live in the Roman style?  Many provincials may have been attracted by the continuing peace that the Romans maintained throughout the Mediterranean, by the higher standard of living (aqueducts, theaters, etc.) or by the advantages of living under Roman law, and/or by the opportunity to advance to the highest offices of the imperial government. The material provided here measures the spread of some of these institutions.

Romanization was not homogeneous. The scholarly study of Romanization continues to focus on elites and on urban settings where the evidence is most apparent. There is also a considerable body of evidence that indigenous and local culture did not disappear.  Nonetheless, there is every reason to believe that Roman values were indeed internalized by the provincial elites of the ancient world and that the modern European identity owes much to the process we call Romanization.