The Romans were much better at that than modern nationalist regimes. They barely romanised by force; they used citizenship, cultural integration, settlers and foremost cities to romanise. Most people in the west took roman culture voluntarily, in a slow and long process. For my region, celtic names and clothing style are documented up into the 3rd century (ie about 200 years after formally becoming part of the empire, 250 after de facto being part of the part of the empire); the later, the more limited to rural areas. The greek eastern part of the Empe wasn't romanised at all.
The Basques weren't "independent", but they, like virtually all peoples, enjoyed a good deal of autonomy - as long as they stuck to their own local business.
The Basques weren't "independent", but they, like virtually all peoples, enjoyed a good deal of autonomy - as long as they stuck to their own local business.
Comment