Iberian Peninsula: Pre-Roman Peoples, Roman Hispania & Visigoths

Pre-Roman Peoples of the Iberian Peninsula

A set of peoples occupied the Iberian Peninsula in the first millennium BC. They resulted from the union of indigenous peoples and Indo-European invaders in the center and west, along with Greek and Phoenician settlers in the Levant, South, and Southeast. The Iberians were among the more economically and culturally developed peoples. In the center and west of the peninsula, Celtic influence dominated, although Iberian elements were also present. The most archaic peoples inhabited the North: Galicians, Asturians, and Basques. From this era remains Euskera (Basque language), which is still spoken in current areas of the Basque Country and Navarra.

The Vascones

According to Roman sources, the Vascones were a people established in large areas of the current eastern fringe of Navarra and Guipuzcoa. They maintained a faithful relationship with Pompey the Great, gaining Celtiberian territories such as Calagurris and extending east to the vicinity of Jaca and Alagon. In the reorganization under Augustus, their territory was included in the Conventus Caesaraugustanus. Their level of development was tribal, although they had several large settlements like Irun, Pamplona, Andelos, and Calahorra. In the Late Roman Empire and the High Middle Ages, they resisted integration with the Visigoths. Although defeated by Leovigild, they later extended their territories to the west and into the southwest of France. This led to the diffusion of their language and lifestyles and influenced the expansion of Basque identity.

Roman Administration in Hispania

The Roman provincial administration emerged as the First Punic War brought with it the expansion of Roman territory. In Hispania, after the conquest was finished, Augustus divided it into three provinces:

• Baetica: Capital in Corduba.
• Tarraconensis: Capital Tarraco.
• Lusitania: Capital in Emerita Augusta (Mérida).

Other provinces emerged later: Gallaecia, Carthaginensis, and Balearica. At the head of each province was a governor who depended on a number of officials responsible for various administrative, judicial, military, and fiscal tasks. The Roman administrative organization and the diffusion of Roman culture, religion, and customs were implanted in the provinces.

The Roman City of Andelos

There are not many mentions of Andelos from ancient authors. Ptolemy places it among the Vascones. In the place occupied by the Roman city of Andelos, there was an earlier settlement dating from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Possibly from the 2nd century BC, there was contact with the Romans, which seems to have been friendly. Gradually, the inhabitants adopted the Roman lifestyle. The city reached its splendor during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD and was given the title of civitas (city). The construction of a sophisticated water supply system permitted its development.

The Process of Romanization in Hispania

Romanization refers to the full integration of Hispanic society into the Roman world (economy, society, religion). Through this process, the indigenous peoples adopted Roman culture. It was a key moment in the history of the peninsula due to the following aspects:

• Latin as a common language.
• Roman law (laws and state structure).
• Diffusion of Christianity.

This process reached its maximum expression when, in the 3rd century AD, Emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire.

The Visigothic Monarchy in Hispania

From the 5th century, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the presence of barbarian peoples, including the Visigoths, became prominent. They eventually established dominance by the 8th century. The Visigoths established a monarchy endowed with significant powers, with its capital in Toledo and centralized administration. They also created a unitary state through territorial, legal, and religious unification (converting to Catholicism). However, disputes among the nobility favored the eventual overthrow of the Visigothic monarchy. It was a monarchy with a weak political structure that depended heavily on the loyalty of the nobles.

The Mozarabs under Muslim Rule

Within the Muslim society of Al-Andalus, religious tolerance was generally practiced, allowing non-Muslims (Christians and Jews) to maintain their faith in exchange for paying a special tax (jizya). While some Hispano-Goths converted to Islam, becoming known as the Muladi, others remained Christians living under Muslim dominion. These Christians who kept their religion and traditions were known as the Mozarabs. Their resistance to increasing Arabization pressures in the 9th century led to riots and subsequent migration into the Christian territories to the north.