Mary Beard is right – 'Romans' could be from anywhere, from ...

Mary Beard abused on Twitter over Roman Britain's ethnic diversity ... with certainty whether such-and-such a person was “black” or “white” ... SkiptomaincontentSkiptonavigationAdvertisementNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleShowMoreShowMoreNewsWorldnewsUKnewsCoronavirusClimatecrisisEnvironmentScienceGlobaldevelopmentFootballTechBusinessObituariesOpinionTheGuardianviewColumnistsCartoonsOpinionvideosLettersSportFootballCricketRugbyunionTennisCyclingF1GolfUSsportsCultureBooksMusicTV&radioArt&designFilmGamesClassicalStageLifestyleFashionFoodRecipesLove&sexHealth&fitnessHome&gardenWomenMenFamilyTravelMoneyMakeacontributionSubscribeSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteTheGuardianappVideoPodcastsPicturesNewslettersToday'spaperInsidetheGuardianTheObserverGuardianWeeklyCrosswordsFacebookTwitterSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteWorldEuropeUSAmericasAsiaAustraliaMiddleEastAfricaInequalityGlobaldevelopmentShortcutsRaceMaryBeardisright–‘Romans’couldbefromanywhere,fromCarlisletoCairoTheclassicsprofessor’snaysayersrefusetobelieveancientcivilisationscouldhavebeenanythingbutCaucasian,butthereisevidencethatprovesthemwrongThecontentiousimageportraysamultiracialfamily.Photograph:BBCThecontentiousimageportraysamultiracialfamily.Photograph:BBCCharlotteHigginsMon7Aug201715.24BSTLastmodifiedonTue13Mar201818.22GMTThewonderfulMaryBeardhasbeensuckedintoanotherTwitterrow–whereshefaced,inherwords,“unnecessaryinsult,misogynyandlanguageofwar”.Thislatesttusslehasbeenaboutherdefence(which,asusual,wasmeasured,gracefuland–aboveall–well-informed)ofaclipfromtheBBCcartoonTheStoryofLifeshowingaRomanBritishfamilywithablackfather.Forsomepeoplethiswasinfuriating,disgusting:apoliticallycorrectpieceofanachronisticnonsense,throwingmodernmulticulturalvaluesbackontothepast.Andyet,asProfBeardhaspointedout,ofcourseitisperfectlypossible,evenprettylikely,thatsuchfamiliesexistedinRomanBritain,andanentirelyreasonablethingfortheBBCcartoontohaveposited.MaryBeardabusedonTwitteroverRomanBritain'sethnicdiversityReadmoreTheRomanempireencompassedlargetractsofnorthAfrica,andeventhoughitdidnotextendtosub-SaharanAfrica,itsborderswereporousanditssphereofinfluencevast.“BeingRoman”,itshouldberemembered,wasnotabouttracingyouroriginstoonecityinItaly:astheempiregrew,citizenshipwasextendedacrossconqueredterritories.“Romans”couldbefromanywherefromCarlisletoCairo,andbeyond.InBritain,thereisplentyofevidenceofthepresenceofsoldiers,tradersandadministratorsfromallpartsofthisenormousempire,includingfromAfrica.Someofthemwouldhavebeenpassingthrough;somemadealifehere.Whatismoredifficulttodoistosaywithcertaintywhethersuch-and-suchapersonwas“black”or“white”inourterms:thesewerenotcategoriesofinteresttotheRomans,andinthecaseofelitefamiliesfromnorthAfrica,say,it’salsounclearwhethertheywereoriginallyItaliansettlers.MaryBeardhasfaced‘unnecessaryinsult,misogynyandlanguageofwar’fordefendingtheBBCcartoon.Photograph:CaterinaTurroni/BBC/LionTelevisionLtd/CaterinaTurroniSo,forexample,theemperorSeptimiusSeverus,whocamefromLibya,andwasmarriedtotheSyrianJuliaDomna,rantheempirefromYork,England,foraperiod(where,incidentally,atempletotheEgyptiandeitySerapiswasfounded).Washeblack?Pass.Maybe.TherewasanAfricangovernorofBritain,too,inthefigureofClodiusAlbinus,whocamefromTunisia.Again,itcan’tbeknownforsurewhetherhewasblackornot,butitisnotimpossible.IntermsofBritain’swiderdiversity,thereisparticularevidenceofamanfromSyria,Barates,settlingdowninBritaininthesecondcenturyAD.WeknowabouthimbecauseheraisedatombstonetohiswifeinwhatisnowSouthShields.ShewasagirlfromEssexorHertfordshire,aformerslavecalledRegina.ThetouchinginscriptionisinLatinandinhisownlanguage,Palmyrene.ThankstotheRomanhabitofwritingsomuchstuffdown,frequentlyonstone,forustoreadmillennialater,thisisallprettyclear.Whatisbewilderingiswhysomepeoplearesodeterminedtowhite-outearlyBritishhistory.TopicsRaceShortcutsMaryBeardClassicsandancienthistoryHistoryRomanBritainfeaturesReusethiscontentMostpopularMostpopularWorldEuropeUSAmericasAsiaAustraliaMiddleEastAfricaInequalityGlobaldevelopment