ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the issue of cultural change and no attempt will be made to provide a comprehensive survey of developments in each province. The cultural changes of this period are normally described by the terms ‘Romanisation’ or ‘Hellenisation’, by which is meant the process by which local cultures became more Roman or more Greek. This process of fusion of local traditions has been seen as crucial to the pacification of the Roman empire due to a resulting possible modification of local identities and the emergence of a new Roman imperial identity.
