Matter as process

G. Woolf argues that the transformation of the aristocracies of Interior Gaul was not so much caused by the conquest itself as by the fact that from that point in time these aristocracies became involved in the transformations of Roman society following the introduction of the Principate and other subsequent changes in Roman politics (novel ways of elite competition and gaining popularitas). Tacitus discusses these developments at length. In addition, this process took place in a provincial area where outside interference was rare.