The history of the Romans and the “barbarians” they encountered as their mighty legions advanced the frontiers of Classical civilization has in large part been written as a story of warfare and conquest. But to tell the story on only that level leaves many questions unanswered. These 36 lectures examine the complex relationships between each of these native peoples and their Roman conquerors as they intermarried, exchanged ideas and mores, and, in the ensuing provincial Roman cultures, formed the basis of Western European civilization. Who were the Celts, Goths, Huns, Persians, and so many others met by the Romans as they marched to the north and east? What made them barbarians in the eyes of Rome? What were the political, military, and social institutions that allowed Rome to wield its power against these different cultures for almost three centuries? How were barbarian peoples assimilated into Roman society? Throughout these lectures, and the introduction of each new barbarian culture, Professor Harl emphasizes three crucial aspects of Rome's relationships to them: the ability of the Romans to adapt and build pragmatically on existing structures of the barbarian world; the ways the Romans looked on these barbarians not only as outsiders, but also as potential allies and provincials; and what barbarian societies were like at the time of Roman contact and conquest, and how, through assimilation, they contributed to the successful establishment of Roman provinces.
