Part of the Penguin History of Britain series, An Imperial Possession is the first major narrative history of Roman Britain for a generation. David Mattingly draws on a wealth of new findings and knowledge to cut through the myths and misunderstandings that so commonly surround our beliefs about this period. From the rebellious chiefs and druids who led native British resistance, to the experiences of the Roman military leaders in this remote, dangerous outpost of Europe, this book explores the reality of life in occupied Britain within the context of the shifting fortunes of the Roman Empire.
'One could not ask for a more meticulous or scholarly assessment of what Britain meant to the Romans, or Rome to Britons, than Peter Salway's Monumental Study' Frederick Raphael, Sunday Times From the invasions of Julius Caesar to the unexpected end of Roman rule in the early fifth century AD and the subsequent collapse of society in Britain, this book is the most authoritative and comprehensive account of Roman Britain ever published for the general reader. Peter Salway's narrative takes into account the latest research including exciting discoveries of recent years, and will be welcomed by anyone interested in Roman Britain.
How the Roman system influenced the politics, art, religion, and general way of life of the native peoples of Britain after the Claudian invasion of AD 43. Despite the richness of archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence, what actually occurred remains a subject of keen debate.
When we think of Roman Britain we tend to think of a land of togas and richly decorated palaces with Britons happily going about their much improved daily business under the benign gaze of Rome. This image is to a great extent a fiction. In fact, Britons were some of the least enthusiastic members of the Roman Empire. A few adopted roman ways to curry favour with the invaders. A lot never adopted a Roman lifestyle at all and remained unimpressed and riven by deep-seated tribal division. It wasn't until the late third/early fourth century that a small minority of landowners grew fat on the benefits of trade and enjoyed the kind of lifestyle we have been taught to associate with period. Britannia was a far-away province which, whilst useful for some major economic reserves, fast became a costly and troublesome concern for Rome, much like Iraq for the British government today. Huge efforts by the state to control the hearts and minds of the Britons were met with at worst hostile resistance and rebellion, and at best by steadfast indifference. The end of the Roman Empire largely came as 'business as usual' for the vast majority of Britons as they simply hadn't adopted the Roman way of life in the first place.
Combining classical scholarship with recent archeological discoveries, Scullard recreates what life was like in Roman Britain, detailing merchants' activities, the mixing of pagan and Christian religions, and the emergence of the city.
"An examination of the transformations in lowland Britain's material culture over the course of the long fifth century CE during the late Roman regime and its end"--
Historical archaeology studies once relied upon a binary view of colonialism: colonizers and colonized, the colonial period and the postcolonial period. The contributors to this volume scrutinize imperialism and expansionism through an alternative lens that rejects simple dualities and explores the variously gendered, racialized, and occupied peoples of a multitude of faiths, desires, associations, and constraints. Colonialism is not a phase in the chronology of a people but a continuous phenomenon that spans the Old and New Worlds. Most important, the contributors argue that its impacts—and, in some instances, even the same processes set in place by the likes of Columbus—are ongoing. Inciting a critical examination of the lasting consequences of ancient and modern colonialism on descendant communities, this wide-ranging volume includes essays on Roman Britain, slavery in Brazil, and contemporary Native Americans. In its efforts to define the scope of colonialism and the comparability of its features, this collection challenges the field to go beyond familiar geographical and historical boundaries and draws attention to unfolding colonial futures.
Digital reprint of this important collection of papers which form the companion to ' Early Roman Empire in the East' (Oxbow 1997) . Fourteen contributions examine the interaction of Roman and native peoples in the formative years of the Roman provinces in Italy, Gaul, Spain and Portugal, Germany and Britain. Contents: Introduction ( Thomas Blagg and Martin Millett ); The creation of provincial landscape: the Roman impact on Cisalpine Gaul ( Nicholas Purcell ); Romanization: a point of view ( Richard Reece ); Romanization: historical issues and archaeological interpretation ( Martin Millett ); The romanization of Belgic Gaul ( Colin Haselgrove ); Lower Germany: proto-urban settlement developments and the integration of native society ( J. H. F. Bloemers ); Relations between Roman occupation and the Limesvorland in the province of Germania Inferior ( Jurgen Kunow ); Early Roman military installations and Ubian settlements in the Lower Rhine ( Michael Gechter ); Some observations on acculturation process at the edge of the Roman world ( S. D. Trow ); Processes in the development of the coastal communities of Hispania Citerior in the Republican period ( Simon Keay ); Romanization and urban development in Lusitania ( Jonathan Edmondson ); Urban munificence and the growth of urban consciousness in Roman Spain ( Nicola Mackie ); First-century Roman houses in Gaul and Britain ( T. F. C. Blagg ); Towards an assessment of the economic and social consequences of the Roman conquest of Gaul ( J. F. Drinkwater ); The emergence of Romano-Celtic religion ( Anthony King ).