The Grandeur That Was Rome: a survey of Roman culture and civilisationStobart, J. C. (John Clarke)
History
The Grandeur That Was Rome: a survey of Roman culture and civilisation
Stobart, J. C. (John Clarke)
Rome -- Civilization; Rome -- History
But this was not the time, and Augustus was not the man, for dazzling
conquests. “Hasten slowly” was his favourite motto, and his empire
policy was founded on the same principle. For the present the Ocean,
then called British, was boundary enough. Augustus was reducing the
army and Britain would have taken at least a legion to keep it quiet.
So Britain had to delay its prospects of civilisation until Gaul and
Spain were organised and the German frontier settled. We have the
record of British chiefs coming to Rome with unknown petitions during
the period, but beyond that there is silence on our island. As for
Gaul, Julius had done the work of conquest thoroughly enough, and the
Gauls as an adaptable people were taking to Roman civilisation with
avidity. There were indeed corners of it not yet enlightened and the
whole government required organisation. Augustus went straight to the
capital of the old province, Narbonne, and there he arranged a census
and a land register, not, as Ferrero observes, out of mere statistical
curiosity. Probably no tribute had come in from Gaul during the civil
wars, and Augustus was much concerned with finance. For the moment an
outbreak in Spain called the emperor away, but five years later he
returned to complete his work. The old province, which has passed into
history as Provence, was now handed back to the senate as completely
pacified, and the rest of Gaul was eventually divided into three
parts: Aquitania, the half-Spanish south-west; Lugdunensis (the east
and centre stretching right across France with its capital Lyons or
Lugdunum on its eastern border); and Belgica (the northern part with
Trier--Augusta Treverorum, not yet founded--and Rheims as its chief
towns). This division was mainly, though not entirely, based on racial
considerations. Together the three formed one of Cæsar’s provinces as
Gallia Comata.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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