The initial treatment depended on the manner of annexation. Some areas were conquered as a result of wars fought against the Romans. In these cases tens of thousands of war captives were sold as slaves after victory in battle. In two cases (Carthage and Corinth) cites were destroyed. In two cases, kings (in western Turkey) who had been allies of Rome, bequeathed their kingdoms to Rome. In some cases the Romans set up client states by putting in charge rulers who supported them. In other cases the conquered areas went through periods of pacification; that is, the Romans had to fight counter-insurgency campaigns.
In the longer run, Roman rule was benign. The conquered peoples were free to follow their religions and customs and to continue to use their customary laws for local matters. Without this kind of policy, Rome would not have been able to rule such a vast empire with such a large range of different ethnicities, cultures and religions. The empire became a multicultural entity. Before all the peoples in the empire were granted Roman citizenship (and the rights which went with this), the conquered peoples already enjoyed the protections given by Roman law. Civil disputes between Roman citizens and non-citizens were adjudicated by an official whose rulings were based on the tenets of Roman law.
To promote cohesion the Romans promoted the diffusion of an imperial ideology. For some peoples Roman rule was advantageous because the Romans guaranteed Law and Order, built roads, aqueducts and carried out other infrastructure projects and their areas became integrated in the trading network of the empire. One example of this was Nabatea, which did not resit Roman occupation because it was going to be economically beneficial.
However, the Romans dealt with rebellion in a ruthless manner, as the case of Judea shows.
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The Romans maintained the stability and strength of their empire by respecting the peoples they conquered. They tolerated their religions and customs and allowed them to continue to worship them. They also allowed them to continue to use their customary laws at the local level, which they called mos regionis (regional traditions/laws of the land). They relied on the local ruling elites to run local affairs in the Roman provinces. This policy three advantages: ir reduced the risk of rebellion and fostered political and social stability; it facilitated the integration of the locals in the provinces (the conquered peoples) into the ideology and the economy of the empire and it reduced the administrative load (and the associated costs) of the provincial governors . It limited the job of the governors to defence and the maintenance of the legions stationed in the provinces, tax collection, the commissioning of public works and arbitration of disputes the locals were unable to settle themselves. A less tolerant policy would have led to rebellions and would have threatened the stability of the empire.
They became slaves and men often ended up as gladiators.
The Romans were ruthless when they won battles. However, once their rule was established, Roman rule over the conquered peoples was generally benign, provided that they did not rebel. The Romans respected their cultures, customs and religions. They also were the fourth class of citizens (provinciales) which meant could be protected by Roman civil law though the adjudications of the praetor pelegrino (chef of justice for foreigners).
Most of the peoples that the Romans conquered were treated fairly, incorporated into the empire and many times granted citizenship. For example, if a greedy governor tried to exploit the provincials by tax gouging or looting, the provincials could take legal action against him.
The Roman Empire were known for treating those they conquered badly. Rebellions would be savagely repressed like in England in '61.
They treated the lands with respect. They gave them many rights as a normal citizen.
The Incas treated the people they conquered by having more emphasis on having those people become loyal Inca subjects.
Carthaginians
Rome was very tolerant of other religions. Rome was a mixture of people from all over the known ancient world.
Ancient Rome conquered 31 countries.
Etruscans