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46-670: The Edetani were an ancient Iberian (Pre- Roman ) people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania ). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language . 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

92-520: 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

138-540: 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 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

184-403: 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

230-592: 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,

276-407: 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

322-399: 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

368-527: 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 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

414-536: 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 the colonies of Emporion , Rhode , and Hemeroskopeion . The Iberians may have adopted some of the Greeks ' artistic techniques. Statues such as

460-520: The Carthaginian leader Hamilcar Barcas . As a Mediterranean and Iberian commercial center, it had trading contacts with Greece , Phoenicia , and the southern Iberian city of Tartessos , absorbing some of their influences. This unique mixture gave rise to a culture called Contestani by Pliny the Elder and Strabo . Its ruins include various distinctly Carthaginian features. The Punic town

506-655: 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 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

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552-563: The Greek alphabet had an influence too. Lucentum Lucentum ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Λούκεντον , Loúkenton ), called Lucentia by Pomponius Mela , is the Roman predecessor of the city of Alicante , Spain . Particularly, it refers to the archaeological site in which the remains of this ancient settlement lie, at a place known as El Tossal de Manises , in the neighborhood of Albufereta . Diodorus ascribes Lucentum's foundation to

598-725: 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

644-618: 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 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

690-694: 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

736-467: 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

782-487: 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 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

828-470: The 6th century BCE had absorbed cultural influences from the Phoenicians and 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

874-641: 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 the retreat. The tide turned with the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus in 210 BCE. Scipio attacked and conquered Carthago Nova and defeated

920-548: 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 , 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

966-544: 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

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1012-704: The Roman influences (especially from the 1st century AD and afterwards) predominate. The Roman city was constructed over the Iberian one, of which practically nothing remains except for the walls. The lower level is contemporary with a necropolis excavated in the 1930s to make way for a road, and whose materials are now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante . Among these, a number of cauldrons stand out as well as Iberian ceramics decorated with geometric shapes, birds, and fish, sculptures, jewelry, amulets of Egyptian origin, terracotta ware, and weapons. Of

1058-406: The ancient authors, had two distinct meanings. One, more general, referred to all 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

1104-505: The ancient lagoon and bay) was in danger of disappearing, a victim of real estate speculation. However, efforts by those in favor of its preservation, most notably the Swedish archaeologist Solveig Nordström , succeeded in defending the site. This effort culminated in the 1961 designation as an "Artistic and Historic Monument", which afforded some legal protection. Unfortunately, the preservation movement could not stop much development around

1150-616: 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 the entire south of the peninsula. After this victory, the Ilergetes and other Iberian tribes revolted and it

1196-553: 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 the Iberian Ilergetes tribe north of the Ebro who were allied with Carthage, conquered

1242-538: 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

1288-407: The centuries preceding Carthaginian and Roman conquest, Iberian settlements grew in social complexity , exhibiting evidence of social stratification and urbanization . This process 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

1334-468: The common wisdom at the time, which held that the Roman city was well outside the town of Alicante. Later, the ruins were excavated by Lafuente and Figueras, who found the more ancient Carthaginian city. In the 1930s they were again excavated by a Professor Belda, around which time a necropolis was discovered during road construction. The site contains evidence of both the Iberian and the Roman epochs, although in terms of material recovered and ruins remaining

1380-410: The definitive and irreversible conservation of what remains of the ruins. Such a recuperation represents a cultural milestone for Alicante. Currently, one can visit the archaeological site, which covers an area of some 30,000 m (7.4 acres). The most noticeable features are the remains of the fortifying wall (including the foundations of the pre-Roman defensive towers), the baths, the forum, part of

1426-490: 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, 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

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1472-566: 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

1518-491: 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

1564-413: The jewelry recovered, a type of pendant, possibly for masculine use, is quite notable as it suggests that there was a local workshop whose production made its way into other local burial sites. Finally, the "Kore de Alicante", currently housed in the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia could have come from this site. In the post-war period, the site (located in a privileged place, with an excellent view of

1610-505: 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 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

1656-509: 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

1702-544: 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

1748-645: 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

1794-467: The settlement was completely depopulated, the site used only for a Muslim cemetery during the 10th and 11th centuries. The first modern evidence concerning the location of the ancient city came in 1780, when the Count of Lumiares, Antonio Valcárcel Pío de Saboya , suggested that the ruins of Tossal de Manises , which he personally had excavated for a number of years, were in fact Lucentum. This contradicted

1840-448: The site, with the result that the ruins are surrounded by tall buildings and is in no way "visually pure". Despite the legal protections which had been won for the ruins, they suffered from neglect and exposure for a number of years, until efforts were finally made in the 1990s to conserve them. This resulted in recent construction, directed by the architect Rafael Pérez Jiménez and the archaeologist Manuel Olcina Doménech , which aims at

1886-568: 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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1932-602: 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 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

1978-412: The words lug ("water") and cant ("cliff"). The city enjoyed its peak between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, and the majority of the city's remains bear a Roman stamp. The town was refounded as Lucentum (from Latin lucere , referring to the same geographical feature, the "white promontory") after P. Cornelius Scipio conquered the area in the course of the Second Punic War . Over

2024-493: The years it gained a thoroughly Roman character, complete with baths , forums, temples, sewers, etc. It was one of the major cities of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis . It entered into a decline in the 2nd century and was effectively abandoned by the end of the 3rd century. The chief cause of this decline was competition from the neighboring city of Ilici (today's Elche ), which had better water and land communications and began to usurp Lucentum's trade. Eventually,

2070-457: Was known to the Greeks as the "White Promontory" or "White Citadel", variously given as Ákra Leuká ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἄκρα Λευκά ), Ákra Leukḗ ( Ἄκρα Λευκή ), and Leukḕ Ákra ( Λευκὴ Ἄκρα ). Livy translated the second sense of the Greek name into Latin, calling the settlement Castrum Album . The Greek probably translated the site's Punic name, although some prefer to imagine it transcribes an Iberian placename involving

2116-438: 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 the H. Citerior province. After securing these regions, Rome invaded and conquered Lusitania and Celtiberia . The Romans fought

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