Roman Spain

Spain in Roman times bristled with danger. The parched landscape of the Spanish interior was often as deadly as the Celts and the Iberians, people famed for their ferocity and accustomed to grisly human sacrifice. Little wonder that it took Roman armies more than two centuries to subdue the Iberian peninsula.

In Roman Spain, Leonard Curchin traces the history of the Iberian peninsula from the fabled kingdom of Tartesos to the triumph of Christianity. As well as the arduous period of conquest, he chronicles Spain’s slow assimilation into the Roman Empire, showing how its recalcitrant indigenous peoples and cultures were gradually transformed into a Latin-speaking provincial society. He examines the evolution of Hispano-Roman cults, the integration of Spain into the Roman economy, and cultural “resistance” to romanization, and marshals recent archaeological evidence to survey the chief cities of the Roman administration as well as conditions in the countryside. Special emphasis is placed on social relationships: soldier and civilian, the emperor and the provincials, patrons and clients, the upper and lower classes, women and the family.

This book should be of interest to students and teachers in classical studies, archaeology and history.