The Iberians ( Latin : Hibērī , from Greek : Ἴβηρες , Iberes ) were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula , at least from the 6th century BCE. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Miletus , Avienius , Herodotus and Strabo ). Roman sources also use the term Hispani to refer to the Iberians.
45-780: The Bastetani or Bastuli were an ancient Iberian (pre- Roman ) people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania ). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language . The relationship between the Iberian Bastetani and the Tartessian Mastieni (who lived in Mastia , on the southeastern coast of the peninsula) is not entirely clear. Their territory Bastetania [1] extended through
90-420: A legate . The final siege of Numantia began in 134 BC. Scipio Aemilianus in command of an army of 30,000 soldiers laid siege to the city, erecting a 9 km barrier supported by towers, moats, impaling rods, and other devices. The Numantians refused to surrender and famine quickly spread through the city. After eight months most of the inhabitants decided to commit suicide rather than become slaves. A few hundred of
135-403: A "horse taming god" or "lord of the horses" ( despotes hippon ). The female goddess Ataegina is also widely attested in the inscriptions. Iberians performed their rites in the open and also maintained sanctuaries in holy places like groves, springs and caves. Archaeological evidence suggests the existence of a priestly class and Silius Italicus mentions priests in the region of Tartessos at
180-592: A "senate" by the ancient sources, met in a council of nobles. Kings or chieftains would maintain their forces through a system of obligation or vassalage that the Romans termed "fides". The Iberians adopted wine and olives from the Greeks. Horse breeding was particularly important to the Iberians and their nobility. Mining was also very important for their economy, especially the silver mines near Gader and Cartago Nova,
225-578: A Roman army. The Romans then besieged Numantia, and deployed a small number of war elephants , but were unsuccessful. In 137 BC, 20,000 Romans surrendered to the Celtiberians of Numantia (population between 4,000 and 8,000). The young Roman officer Tiberius Gracchus , as quaestor , saved the Roman army from destruction by signing a peace treaty with the Numantines, an action generally reserved for
270-472: A famous Bastetani sculpture, was recovered from the necropolis of Basti in 1971. This article about an ethnic group in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Spanish history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Iberians The term Iberian , as used by the ancient authors, had two distinct meanings. One, more general, referred to all
315-689: A short story about the event, "The Two Numantias", in his collection The Orange Tree . Several Spanish Navy ships have been named Numancia and a Sorian battalion was named batallón de numantinos . During the Spanish Civil War , the Nationalist Numancia regiment took the town of Azaña in Toledo. To erase the memory of the Republican president Manuel Azaña , they renamed it Numancia de la Sagra . The Sorian football team
360-407: A temple of Melqart . Evidence from pottery reveals some information about Iberian myth and ritual. Common themes are a celebratory ritual dance described by Strabo [c.f. 3.3.7.] and seen in a relief from Fuerte del Rey known as the "Bastetania dance" and the confrontation between the deceased and a wolf figure. Ritual sacrifice of animals was also common. In Iberian eschatology , "death was seen as
405-399: Is evident in their sculptures. The man-bull Bicha of Balazote (possibly a fertility deity) and various depictions of sphinxes and lions bear a resemblance to eastern Mediterranean mythological creatures. The Lady of Elche and Lady of Guardamar show clear Hellenistic influence. Phoenician and Greek deities like Tanit , Baal , Melkart , Artemis , Demeter and Asclepius were known in
450-555: The Greek alphabet had an influence too. Numantia Numantia ( Spanish : Numancia ) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria ), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars . In 153 BC, Numantia experienced its first serious conflict with Rome. After twenty years of hostilities, in 133 BC
495-679: The Greeks . This pre-Indo-European cultural group spoke the Iberian language from the 7th to at least the 1st century BCE. The rest of the peninsula, in the northern, central, and northwestern areas, was inhabited by Vascones , Celts or Celtiberians groups and the possibly Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic Indo-European Lusitanians , Vettones , and Turdetani . Starting in the 5th century BCE, Iberian soldiers were frequently deployed in battles in Italy, Greece and especially Sicily due to their military qualities. The Iberian culture developed from
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#1732765867388540-777: The Iberian Peninsula , that corresponds to the northwestern shores of the Mediterranean Sea (see the map), roughly in today's Catalonia , Eastern, Northeastern and Northern Aragon , Valencian Community , Murcia Region , Eastern Andalucia , and the Balearic Islands (in Spain ), and also in today's Roussillon and parts of Languedoc (in France ). The peninsula has this name because ancient Greeks , Romans and other mediterranean peoples first contacted with peoples (tribes or tribal confederacies) that were Iberians in
585-694: The Punic wars was made up of Iberians and Celtiberians . Iberian warfare was endemic and based on intertribal raiding and pillaging. In set piece battle, Iberians were known to regularly charge and retreat, throwing javelins and shouting at their opponents without actually committing to full contact combat. This sort of fighting was termed concursare by the Romans. The Iberians were particularly fond of ambushes and guerrilla tactics . Ancient sources mention two major types of Iberian infantry, scutati and caetrati . Scutati were heavily armored and carried large Italic style scutum shields . The caetrati carried
630-637: The Roman Senate gave Scipio Aemilianus Africanus the task of destroying Numantia. Numantia was an Iron Age hill fort (in Roman terminology an oppidum ), which controlled a crossing of the river Duero . Pliny the Elder counts it as a city of the Pellendones , but other authors, like Strabo and Ptolemy place it among the Arevaci people. The Arevaci were a Celtiberian tribe, formed by
675-522: The occlusives and signs with monophonemic value for the rest of the consonants and vowels . As writing systems , they are neither alphabets nor syllabaries , but mixed scripts that normally are identified as semi-syllabaries . There is no agreement between researchers concerning the origin of the Iberian writing systems: for some they are only linked to the Phoenician alphabet while for others
720-488: The oppidum or fortified Iberian town became the centre of reference in the landscape and the political space." The settlement of Castellet de Banyoles in Tivissa was one of the most important ancient Iberian settlements in the north eastern part of the Iberian peninsula that was discovered in 1912. Also, the 'Treasure of Tivissa', a unique collection of silver Iberian votive offerings was found here in 1927. Lucentum
765-499: The 6th century BCE, and perhaps as early as the fifth to the third millennium BCE in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula. The Iberians lived in villages and oppida (fortified settlements) and their communities were based on a tribal organization. The Iberians in the Spanish Levant were more urbanized than their neighbors in the central and northwestern regions of the Iberian peninsula . The peoples in
810-596: The H. Citerior province. After securing these regions, Rome invaded and conquered Lusitania and Celtiberia . The Romans fought a long and drawn out campaign for the conquest of Lusitania. Wars and campaigns in the northern regions of the Iberian peninsula would continue until 16 BCE, when the final rebellions of the Cantabrian Wars were defeated. Iberian society was divided into different classes, including kings or chieftains (Latin: "regulus"), nobles, priests, artisans and slaves. Iberian aristocracy, often called
855-641: The Iberian Ilergetes tribe north of the Ebro who were allied with Carthage, conquered the Iberian oppidum of Tarraco and defeated the Carthaginian fleet. After the arrival of Publius Scipio, Tarraco was fortified and, by 211 BCE, the Scipio brothers had overrun the Carthaginian and allied forces south of the Ebro. However, during this campaign, Publius Scipio was killed in battle and Gnaeus died in
900-624: The Iberians in the 6th century BCE. They defined Iberians as non-Celtic peoples south of the Ebro river (Iber). The Greeks also dubbed as "Iberians" another people in the Caucasus region, currently known as Caucasian Iberians . It is thought that there is no connection between the two peoples. The Iberians traded extensively with other Mediterranean cultures. Iberian pottery and metalwork has been found in France , Italy , and North Africa . The Iberians had extensive contact with Greek colonists in
945-621: The Iberians sent emissaries to Alexander the Great in 324 BCE, along with other embassies of Carthaginians , Italics and Gauls , to request his friendship. After the First Punic war , the massive war debt suffered by Carthage led them to attempt to expand their control over the Iberian peninsula. Hamilcar Barca began this conquest from his base at Cádiz by conquering the Tartessian Guadalquivir river region, which
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#1732765867388990-806: The Iberians south of the Ebro. In his first campaign, Hannibal defeated the Olcades , the Vaccaei and the Carpetani expanding his control over the river Tagus region. Hannibal then laid siege to Roman ally of Saguntum and this led to the beginning of the Second Punic War . The Iberian theater was a key battleground during this war and many Iberian and Celtiberian warriors fought for both Rome and Carthage, though most tribes sided with Carthage. Rome sent Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio to conquer Iberia from Carthage. Gnaeus subsequently defeated
1035-544: The Levantine group displays the most Greek influence. Iberian pottery and painting was also distinct and widespread throughout the region. A distinct feature of the culture, the pottery was primarily decorated with geometric forms in red but in some areas (from Murcia to the south of Catalonia ) it also included figurative images. The Iberian polytheistic religion was influenced by the Greek and Phoenician practices, as it
1080-435: The ancient Iberians and acknowledged their fighting skills against the Roman legions. Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quijote ) wrote a play about the siege, El cerco de Numancia , which stands today as his best-known dramatic work. Antonio Machado references the city in his poetry book Campos de Castilla . The poem is an ode to the countryside and peoples of rural Castile . More recently, Carlos Fuentes wrote
1125-538: The caetra, a small Iberian buckler . Iberian armaments included the famed Gladius Hispaniensis , a curved sword called the falcata , straight swords, spears, javelins and an all iron spear called the Soliferrum . Iberian horsemen were a key element of Iberian forces as well as Carthaginian armies. Spain was rich with excellent wild horses and Iberian cavalry was some of the best in the ancient Mediterranean. Iberians dwelt along eastern and southern coastal regions of
1170-477: The central and northwest regions were mostly speakers of Celtic dialects, semi-pastoral and lived in scattered villages, though they also had a few fortified towns like Numantia . They had a knowledge of writing , metalworking , including bronze , and agricultural techniques. In the centuries preceding Carthaginian and Roman conquest, Iberian settlements grew in social complexity , exhibiting evidence of social stratification and urbanization . This process
1215-508: The colonies of Emporion , Rhode , and Hemeroskopeion . The Iberians may have adopted some of the Greeks ' artistic techniques. Statues such as the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elx are thought to have been made by Iberians relatively well acquainted with Greek art . Thucydides stated that one of the three original tribes of Sicily , the Sicani , were of Iberian origin, though "Iberian" at
1260-625: The correct location in Garray , Soria. In 1882, the ruins of Numantia were declared a national monument . In 1905, the German archaeologist Adolf Schulten began a series of excavations which located the Roman camps around the city. In 1999, the Roman camps were included in a zona arqueológica , a category of the Spanish heritage register which did not exist when the hillfort was first protected. Regular excavations are still going on. Many objects from
1305-474: The entire south of the peninsula. After this victory, the Ilergetes and other Iberian tribes revolted and it was only after this revolt that the Romans conquered the rest of the Carthaginian territories in southern Spain. After the Carthaginian defeat, the Iberian territories were divided into two major provinces, Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior . In 197 BCE, the Iberian tribes revolted once again in
1350-566: The ethnic and linguistic sense, although the majority of the Iberian Peninsula 's peoples, that dwelt in the Northern, Central and Western regions (the majority of the peninsula's area), were not Iberians themselves in the ethnic and linguistic sense (they could only be considered Iberians in the geographical sense, i.e. they dwelt in the Iberian Peninsula). The Iberian tribes or tribal confederacies were: The Iberian language, like
1395-562: The inhabitants decided to burn the city before surrendering after 13 months of siege. After the destruction in 133 BC, occupation continued in the 1st century BC with a regular street plan but without great public buildings. Its decay started in the 3rd century, but was still settled in the 4th century. Later remains from the 6th century hint of a Visigoth occupation. Numantia's exact location vanished from memory, and some theories placed it in Zamora , but in 1860 Eduardo Saavedra identified
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1440-491: The iron mines in the Ebro valley, as well as the exploitation of tin and copper deposits. They produced fine metalwork and high quality iron weapons such as the falcata . The Iberians produced sculpture in stone and bronze, most of which was much influenced by the Greeks and Phoenicians, and other cultures such as Assyrian, Hittite and Egyptian influences. The styles of Iberian sculpture are divided geographically into Levantine, Central, Southern, and Western groups, of which
1485-451: The mingling of Iberians and migrating Celts in the 6th century BC, who inhabited an area near Numantia and Uxama . The first serious conflict with Rome occurred in 153 BC when Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was consul . Numantia took in some fugitives from the city of Segeda , who belonged to another Celtiberian tribe called the Belli. The leader of the Belli, Carus of Segeda, managed to defeat
1530-509: The origin of the Iberian language. According to the Catalan theory, the Iberian language originated in northern Catalonia , from where it expanded north and south. The Iberians use three different scripts to represent the Iberian language . Northeastern Iberian script and southeastern Iberian script share a common distinctive typological characteristic, also present in other paleohispanic scripts : they use signs with syllabic value for
1575-461: The populations of the Iberian peninsula without regard to ethnic differences ( Pre-Indo-European , Celts and non-Celtic Indo-Europeans ). The other, more restricted ethnic sense and the one dealt with in this article, refers to the people living in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula , which by the 6th century BCE had absorbed cultural influences from the Phoenicians and
1620-544: The region and worshiped. Currently few native Iberian gods are known, though the oracular healing deity "Betatun" is known from a Latin inscription at Fuertes del Rey. There was clearly an important female deity associated with the earth and regeneration as depicted by the Lady of Baza and linked with birds, flowers and wheat. The horse was also an important religious figure and an important sanctuary dedicated to Horses has been found in Mula ( Murcia ). There are many depictions of
1665-645: The rest of the paleohispanic languages , became extinct by the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, after being gradually replaced by Latin . The Iberian language remains an unclassified non-Indo European language. A 1978 study claimed many similarities between Iberian and the Messapic language . Iberian languages also share some elements with the Basque language . Links have also been found with the Etruscan language and Minoan Linear A . There are different theories about
1710-606: The retreat. The tide turned with the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus in 210 BCE. Scipio attacked and conquered Carthago Nova and defeated the army of Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Baecula (209–208). The war dragged on with Carthage sending more reinforcements until the Battle of Ilipa (modern Alcalá del Río in Sevilla province ), which was a decisive victory for Publius Scipio Africanus. The Carthaginians retreated to Gades , and Publius Scipio gained control over
1755-572: The site are on display in the Numantine Museum of Soria (Spanish: Museo Numantino ). This museum is also responsible for in situ displays at Numantia. Other collections which have items from the site include the Romano-Germanic Central Museum , Mainz. (Some objects were taken by Adolf Schulten to Germany). The Siege of Numantia was recorded by several Roman historians who admired the sense of freedom of
1800-458: The southeastern Iberian Peninsula , which currently encompasses southern Albacete , Almería , Granada , eastern Málaga , southeastern Jaén and western Murcia . Their main towns were located between Baria (present-day Villaricos ) and Bailo ( Cádiz ), also including Malaka , Abdera , Sexi and Carteia . Their capital was probably the city known as Basti by the Romans, which corresponds to present-day Baza . The Lady of Baza ,
1845-568: The starting point for a journey symbolised by a crossing of the sea, the land or even the sky. Supernatural and mythical beings, such as the Sphinx or the wolf, and sometimes Divinity itself, accompanied and guided the deceased on this journey". The Iberians incinerated their dead and placed their ashes in ceremonial urns, the remains were then placed in stone tombs. Iberian soldiers were widely employed by Carthage and Rome as mercenaries and auxiliary troops. A large portion of Carthaginian forces during
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1890-525: The time could have included what we think of as Gaul . The Iberians also had contacts with the Phoenicians , who had established various colonies in southern Andalucia . Their first colony on the Iberian Peninsula was founded in 1100 BCE and was originally called Gadir , later renamed by the Romans as Gades (modern Cádiz ). Other Phoenician colonies in southern Iberia included Malaka ( Málaga ), Sexi and Abdera . According to Arrian ,
1935-489: Was another ancient Iberian settlement, as well as Castelldefels Castle . Mausoleum of Pozo Moro near the town of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in Castile-La Mancha seems to mark the location of another big settlement. Sagunto is the location of an ancient Iberian and later Roman city of Saguntum, where a big fortress was built in the 5th century BCE. Greek colonists made the first historical reference to
1980-425: Was probably aided by trading contacts with the Phoenicians , Greeks , and Carthaginians . By the late 5th and early 4th centuries BCE a series of important social changes led to the consolidation of an aristocracy and the emergence of a clientele system. "This new political system led, among other things, to cities and towns that centered around these leaders, also known as territorial nucleation . In this context,
2025-450: Was rich in silver. After Hamilcar's death, his son-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair continued his incursions into Iberia, founding the colony of Qart Hadasht (modern Cartagena ) and extending his influence all the way to the southern bank of the river Ebro . After Hasdrubal's assassination in 221 BCE, Hannibal assumed command of the Carthaginian forces and spent two years completing the conquest of
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