Provisional Abstract. This study examines the perception of Barbarian music by the Romans during the Conquest. The rare musical instruments which are described (trumpets and drums) in Roman sources are conceived as “strange” or “savage” and the sound production of the Barbarian peoples is not seen as music. In Greek and Latin literature the world of Barbarians was seen as a space of noise, especially in the western part of the Empire. To the Roman mind, ignorance of music is a sign of inhumanity because musical knowledge is a way to establish a harmonious society. They consider that only the Barbarians of the Eastern part of the Empire practice music, due to the proximity of the Greek civilisation. Nevertheless this music is effeminate and lascivious, as are oriental peoples. This aspect contributes to underline the singularity of the Barbarians by setting up an opposition between a space of noise and a space of music, which correspond to the world of the Barbarians and to the world of the Greeks and Romans. This notion feeds discourses on the process of acculturation, and the lack of music is used as an argument to affirm the superiority of the Romans over other cultures. The Romans’ perception of the music of the Barbarians also gives an idea of the manner in which they considered their own music.