All Roman provinces were an amalgam between the influence of Rome and indigenous culture. In most cases, the former more or less subsumed the latter. Thus, in Roman Britain or Gaul, for example, traces of the pre-existing Iron Age persist, but the most marked aspect is the change to a Mediterranean style of life. Only in Egypt, and perhaps to some extent in the Greek lands of the north-eastern Mediterranean, is the Roman period an essay in continuity with what went before. At least one of the reasons for this must lie in pharaonic architecture. The creation of a landscape dominated by buildings made of massive blocks of stone, which were not easily swept away, must have been a major factor. They served exactly their intended purpose; to remind people of the greatness of pharaonic civilization and to be a constant witness to the beliefs and values of that period of Egyptian greatness. This may not be the only reason, but it must have been a contributory factor.
It would be wrong to suggest that the Roman era was one of stagnation or that there was no change at all during the seven centuries that lay between the death of Cleopatra on 12th August 30 bc and the Arab conquest of ad 642. However, the major cultural change took root in the third century ad, when Christianity gained widespread acceptance, as it did throughout the empire generally. Monasticism had its roots in the Egyptian desert led by people such as St Paul and St Anthony. Even here pharaonic culture was not without its influence, for Anthony started his religious life living in an old tomb near his village on the Nile and it is here that he wrestled with demons and wild animals, before making his journey into the wilderness.
World History
