Ethnicity in the Roman Northwest 511Figure 33.6 Grave stele, Tác-Gorsium, mid-second centuryAD. Archaeological Park Gorsium.
Photograph U. Rothe.
Empires produce complex ethnic configurations, and the Roman Empire was no excep-
tion. However, this was not only a result of the circulation of people and goods, and the
direct cultural influence that these emitted. Integration into an imperial system also often
meant the imposition of certain structures and institutions, and these could also have a
profound, if indirect, effect on the way ethnic identities were formulated. This chapter
has attempted to show how Rome’s northwestern provinces were one such region. Here,
the advent of a professional, imperial army, Mediterranean-style cities, and an integrated,
trade-based economy played a key role in the ethnic developments of the Batavi, the
Treveri, and the Ubii. That this, however, was not a matter of course is evident in the
case of northern Pannonia, where despite the implantation of these same structures,
pre-Roman tribal affinities and cultural traits appear to have played a decisive role in
ethnic identity right up until the late third century. Altogether, it is becoming increas-
ingly evident that, in order to properly understand cultural processes in the provinces, we
must study each region in its own right and allow for a wide variety of cultural reactions to
Roman rule.
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Bellen, Heinz. 1981.Die germanische Leibwache der römischen Kaiser des julisch-claudischen
Hauses. Mainz: Steiner.
Carroll, Maureen. 2001.Romans, Celts and Germans. The German Provinces of Rome. Stroud:
Tempus.