One subject that has received relatively little attention in our lectures is that of cities in the Roman Empire. However, a significant part of our research has focused on this subject, extending our lectures on the gods of the Romans with a reflection on Roman theologies in Gaul and Germania, by examining epigraphic documents from Belgian Gaul and Germania, to show that, very quickly, the citizens of the colonies or municipalities founded at the beginning of the Empire were able to dominate all aspects of Roman theology, both public and private. The aim of these investigations, which we conducted with historians and archaeologists, was to shed light on and understand the nature of Roman imperialism, the reaction of the subjugated peoples and the way in which the empire functioned. How was it possible for such a vast entity to hold together for practically four-five centuries with such limited logistical and military resources? This fact also points to the acceptance of this situation by former enemies, and finally to the skill with which the Romans were able to govern their empire. Of course, Roman peace was not the result of a painless birth. And Roman power was not particularly altruistic. Nevertheless, the facts are there. The subjugated peoples integrated into the Roman whole, adopted the Latin language, Roman law, and even quite quickly the Roman religion.
For our part, we tried to deal with these issues using sources relating to religious life. We warned from the outset that it would be inappropriate to reason from this point of view on the basis of medieval and modern Western empires. For Western religions were not comparable to those of the Roman world. Most of the religions of the ancient world were similar, and the notion of conversion did not exist. Only militant monotheisms could arouse this kind of demand. As a result, the Romans were never intent on destroying existing religious systems and replacing them with their own. In the event of war or uprising, this could happen, but only because the enemy's gods were considered to be at war with the Romans, or because certain religious practices, such as human sacrifice, were deemed barbaric. But this was by no means systematic conduct. In fact, most people in the ancient world behaved, or would have behaved, in the same way. All in all, we've tried to write another chapter in our reflection on the otherness of Roman religion.
