This work is dedicated to uncovering the significance of provincial cultural space in the preservation of Roman identity in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. The author concludes that the provincial elite, having replaced the old Roman aristocracy, sought to preservethe eternal ideal, which for them could not be separated from Rome. The cultural space of some imperial provinces was a factor in the preservation of traditional classical values such as the “imperial idea” (including the concept of “Aeternitas Romae”), rhetorical techniques, and others because of the system of rhetorical education, the high level of urbanization, and the Roman policy of consolidating the local aristocracy.asdf