 "Hispania" was the name used for the Iberian Peninsula under Roman rule from the 2nd century BC.The populations of the peninsula were gradually culturally Romanized, and local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class.The Romans improved existing cities, such as Tarragona ("Tarraco"), and established others like Zaragoza ("Caesaraugusta"), Mérida ("Augusta Emerita"), Valencia ("Valentia"), León ("Legio Septima"), Badajoz ("Pax Augusta"), and Palencia.