Military presence and civic integration in Hispania Ulterior from Sertorius to Caesar

Abstract

Military Presence and Civic Integration in Hispania Ulterior from Sertorius to Caesar represents a significant contribution to the study of Roman presence in Hispania during the Republican period, from both a military and civic perspective. As reflected in the table of contents, it is the result of a determined research collaboration within two well-established disciplinary fields with a long academic tradition: Roman History and Roman Military Archaeology. The aim is to achieve an appropriate integration or interweaving of material evidence (archaeological, epigraphic, and numismatic) with the historical processes – social, economic, military, and legal – known through literary sources, with the goal of offering more comprehensive and nuanced interpretations of Roman presence in the Iberian Peninsula. This work addresses a particularly tumultuous period in the history of Hispania Ulterior: the 1st century BC, marked by civil wars involving Sertorius and Caesar, and, more broadly, the conflicts between populares and optimates. Through its three thematic sections, the book proposes an interdisciplinary rereading of the interaction between Hispanian (and Italic) communities and the Roman army, highlighting the coexistence of violence, social transformation, and an early process of legal integration. From a contemporary perspective, this work engages with current research lines in Roman Military Archaeology and studies on civic integration. On the one hand, it expands the debate on the role of western provinces as sources of human and material resources for Roman Republican armies, a topic that has gained relevance in recent studies on the Roman war economy. On the other hand, it provides new perspectives on Romanisation processes, challenging traditional narratives focused exclusively on violence and imposition, as well as proposing an alternative path to civic integration through the founding of colonial typology cities with Latin rights.