Not only did the provinces enrich Rome with their natural resources: the peoples throughout the Empire also actually influenced Roman culture. In addition to providing military manpower, the provinces' also increased the noble class at Rome. Spain gave Rome emperors and philosophers. Many of these territories slowly went from being military outposts to frontiers where inhabitants had rights of Roman citizenship. Under the emperor Claudius (Tiberius Claudius) in 48 C.E. Transalpine Gaul, which became a full colony under Augustus, was given the right to send its noble citizens to Rome to serve in the Senate. Claudius's speech for the occasion, which the historian Tacitus reports in Annales, is a remarkable example of the appreciation for what the provinces could offer Roman culture. Claudius celebrates the expansion of the Empire and the peace that the knowledge of diverse peoples had historically brought to...