Late Roman Spain

This chapter offers a summarized overview of late Roman Spain, especially during the fourth century ad. The break between Roman Spain and the world of the barbarian kingdoms was not as sudden and brutal as scholars have traditionally imagined. Roman Hispania dissolved gradually, in a process that seems to have been spread over several decades. The new barbarian kingdom adopted numerous features of the Roman provincial organization and civilization. In order to give this summarized and updated picture, this chapter will discuss various elements, paying particular attention to the historiographical background and current scholarship debates and issues of each. The chapter will finally attempt to give a general point of view on the current interpretation of the economics and society of late Roman Spain.