Latinization (historical)

Romanization or Latinization (or Romanisation or Latinisation: see spelling differences)—in the historical and cultural meanings of both terms—indicate different historical processes, such as acculturation, integration and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations by the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire. Ancient Roman historiography and Italian historiography until the fascist period used to call these various processes the "civilizing of barbarians".

The acculturation proceeded from the top down, the upper classes adopting Roman culture first and the old ways lingering longest in outlying districts among peasants. Hostages played an important part in this process, as elite children, from Mauretania to Gaul, were taken to be raised and educated in Rome.

Ancient Roman historiography and traditional Italian historiography confidently identified the different processes involved with a "civilization of barbarians". Modern historians take a more nuanced view: by making their peace with Rome, local elites could make their position more secure and reinforce their prestige. New themes include the study of personal and group values and the construction of identity, the personal aspect of ethnogenesis. These transitions operated differently in different provinces; as Blagg and Millett point out even a Roman province may be too broad a canvas for generalizations.

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