Urbanization Tendencies in Early Roman Spain (Late 2nd and Early 1st c. BCE). The Prelude to an Urban Boom?

Rome expressed its desire for a permanent occupation of
the Iberian Peninsula relatively early on. The administrative
integration of individual regions took place at the
beginning of the 2nd c. BCE, whereby Hispania Citerior
and Ulterior became two of the first western provinces
under Rome. In these regions we can already observe a
shift toward urbanity at the close of the 2nd c. BCE. This
article examines both the grounds for the first impetus
toward monumentalization and its importance for
further urban development. It reveals that urban change
cannot be separated from the social and economic
connection with the Iberian Peninsula and the western
Mediterranean. The result was the establishment of a
settlement network from the late 2nd c. BCE on, which
was involved with the intensified exploitation of the
ore-rich peninsula. This initial urban expansion of individual
settlements provided not only a mirror for the
novel and stable conditions of the time, but also laid the
foundation for the succeeding genesis of cities and the
Imperial Urban Boom.