More Roman than the Romans: The business of “Romanness”
Contrary to their Celtic brothers in the north, the tribes of southern Gaul were early Roman enthusiasts! Gaul is the name given by Julius Caesar to describe a large territory, now part of modern France. Between 124 and 118 BC, the Roman legions invaded southern Gaul, i.e. the region bordering the Mediterranean, subsequently founding the Narbonese Province ( Gallia Narbonensis ). The north of Gaul was conquered by Caesar’s legions in 58-50 BC allegedly the help of these “Romanized” southern Gauls. Interestingly, some hundred years later, General Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a southern Gaul and a product of this enthusiastic Roman assimilation, finalized the conquest of Britain. William the Conqueror was not the first “Frenchman” to invade Britain! The family of Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138 CE- 161 CE) was also from southern Gaul (Nemausus, present day Nimes.) The devoted Narbonese provincials were rewarded with the founding of beautiful cities and the b...