The Rise of Latin in Hispania Ulterior, Third Century BCE-Second Century CE

Estarán Tolosa, María José ; Herrera Rando, Javier

En : Latinization, Local Languages, and Literacies in the Roman West
2024
Oxford University Press Oxford
ISBN: 9780198887515
Pp: 84-114

Resumen: The chapter focuses on the southern and south-western regions of the Iberian Peninsula—namely, Republican Hispania Ulterior, which was later divided into the provinces of Baetica and Lusitania. These areas exhibit notable diversity: while some are highly urbanized and ‘Romanized’, others retain a more rural character and maintain a stronger indigenous influence. The limited number of epigraphic records from the Republican era is examined, with a special focus on those related to the local population, including coinage. From the time of Augustus onwards, written documentation increases significantly. However, while in Baetica this record reflects Roman customs, in Lusitania linguistic retention and bilingualism are evident, particularly in religious epigraphy. The factors that drove the process of Latinization, resulting in the spread of Latin as the dominant language, are identified, though the nature of the available evidence does not allow us to describe its regional variations.

Nota: This chapter has been written within the framework of a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC2018-024089-I, AEI-FSE) and the projects The Birth of the Epigraphic Culture in Roman Lusitania (2022.03547.CEECIND/ DOI: 10.54499/2022.03547.CEECIND/CP1762/CT0002, FCT) and Escritura cotidiana: Alfabetización, contacto cultural y transformación social en Hispania Citerior entre la conquista romana y el final de la Antigüedad (PID2019-104025GB-100, AEI). We would like to thank the editors for their invaluable suggestions in the course of writing this chapter. For Latin epigraphy we shall make reference to ELRH and the most accessible corpora, for numismatics that of DCPH, and for Palaeohispanic inscriptions, Hesperia. In all these the reader will find a critical apparatus and additional bibliography.

DOI: 10.1093/9780191994760.003.0003