This paper investigates the way in which technical and normative knowledge
relating to infrastructures, mobility and water management, which the Romans
began developing in the republican period, was functionalized for the purpose
of expanding the empire in the Iberian Peninsula, starting with the
establishment of Roman provincial rule and continuing into the Islamic epoch.
It also examines how that knowledge was entrenched in the individual Iberian
provinces, and adapted to reflect specific local features. In addition to
shedding light on how imperial concepts manifested themselves in the
appropriation of space in specific contexts, the example of the Iberian
Peninsula elucidates both how the knowledge in question was adapted to meet
‘regional-political’ objectives once the imperial frame of reference fell away
and how it was ultimately restructured, modified and legitimized to reflect
overriding religious considerations. The paper also provides examples
indicating the degree to which antique concepts lent themselves to
transformation while simultaneously representing both a potential and a
challenge for any subsequent rulers