Iberians/History

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Spain is situated at the western most portion of the European continent. So it is not surprising that from early in its history, as successive waves of peoples that migrated throughout Europe, many would end up in the Iberian Peninsula. Its geography also forms a strategic gateway between the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and between Europe and Africa, that would point to its importance in world history.

The first to arrived in the region were a people called the Iberians from North Africa. These people would mix with the Celts who were next to settle in the region as they migrated across Europe. Together, forming what would be considered the foundation of what would be the Spanish people. Although the Spanish would fall victim to the expansionist Roman republic, the Celtiberi would eventually obtain latinitas and would  contribute some of Rome's most famous writers. Two of Rome's emperors would even be recruited from Spain.

The word "iberian", known in Greek cutlure since 500BCE was probably derived of the river Ebro, a natural frontier between the new settlers (who were believed by the Greeks to have first arrived from Africa more than two millenia before) and the whole peninsula. Much later, this demonym was extended to denote the Iron Age populations in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean, from the Rhone delta (Camargue) to Heracles's columns (Gibraltar) and that were clearly distinct from the Celtic influenced populations that lived more to the interior of the peninsula.

Dawn of the Iberians[edit | edit source]

Like most European nations, the Bronze Age history of Spain is almost non-existent, and what little pieces of information has been obtained with regards especially to the Late Bronze Age must be obtained from its protohistory — in other words, the accounts of literate cultures who had the good sense to keep records - or possibly, the good luck of having bequeathed something of use to us moderns in piecing back together this now lost world, either through historical documentation, or through simple homespun myths and legends.

By around 1900BCE the Iberians established a system of city-states which were ruled by despotic warrior or priestly castes. Iberian society was developing into a sophisticated society based the trade of metals and minerals that was abundant in the region. As the westernmost landmass in Europe, it is no surprise however that more would arrive and settle in the area, especially given the immense mineral wealth of the region, for in the days of the Romans, much wealth in the form of gold, copper, mercury and iron could all be found in the mountains of Iberia.

From around 1200BCE the Celts, in several waves came into the region as they migrated across the swath of Europe, and spread into the Peninsula and so by the onset of the Punic Wars, the Iberian peoples were split into three different groups — the north of Iberia, between the Duero (or Durius) and the Cantabrian coast were vastly Celtic like many other tribes to the north-east beyond the Pyrenees, while the centre was occupied by peoples whose culture was a fusion of both Celtic and Iberian customs, hence "Celt-Iberians" in differing degrees of "Celticisation". The coastal areas of the east and south, however, were more cosmopolitan due to their being exposed to foreign cultural influence through commerce and conquest. Most notable of these cosmopolitan societies were those of Tartessos in present-day Andalucia, which was eventually assimilated by the Carthaginians.

Tartessos[edit | edit source]

"When we talk about the Tartessians, we mean the people living in southwest Spain, around what is modern day Seville and Cadiz, from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age (from around 1200bce – 550bce).

The name Tartessos was the Greek name given to what is now the Guadalquivir River, and the name was also applied to a large city found on the river bank. What the Tartessians called themselves, we don’t know. Tartessos was a place rich in natural resources. They lived well with plenty of fishing, livestock, mining and smithing to sustain their economy, and according to all sources, they were a highly urbanized society with great skill at engineering, particularly when it came to moderating the flow of rivers. This suggests they had some rudimentary water power at their disposal. It is mentioned by many Greek and Roman authors alike as being a font of metals, predominently copper, tin, silver, and gold, as you can see from the metal work above. They had been mining at least since there year 1000bce, and in fact, over the middle to late period of their civilization, became the main supplier of bronze throughout the Mediterranean. They were renown for fine metalwork and filigrée jewellery among other things.

During the latter part of their reign over the southwest of Spain, called the “oriental period”, they had quite a bit of contact with the Phoenicians, trading constantly with them, and allowing them to set up outposts within the Tartessian empire’s borders. This helped the Phoenicians greatly, as having such open access to Tartessian mines was crucial for them after they lost their own assets in the Sinai in the 8th century BCE.

Contact with the Phoenicians had a great impact on Tartessian culture, as reflected in their imagery. Later sculpture and iconography took on an almost Mesopotamian flare, as seen in the above bronze plaque of Astarte, or similar goddess, that dates to the 8th century, Spain. But make no mistake, the Tartessians were not ‘given’ their culture by the Phoenicians or anyone else. They were a long standing people with a rich and complex history before the Greeks, Etruscans, Phoenicians, or Romans ever set foot in their land. As stated by Strabo, “They are considered the most educated of the Iberians, they have a scripture, even have historical chronicles, poems, and laws in verse of which they say are six thousand … ” This was an advanced and enlightened Bronze Age society, and had their own writing system, that is considered the oldest of the Iberian scripts. Though the staele that have survived the time do show considerable influence from the Phoenician alphabet, Tartessian is a language unto itself and has not been fully deciphered. It is also likely that recently archaeological discoveries show that there was more than one written dialect of the language. There were many famous figures in Tartessian society that were noted by outside contemporary writers, but none as much as King Argantonio, who was famed for his wisdom, wealth, and generosity. He was praised for his friendship, and in one story, invited a good many Greeks whose territory had been encroached upon by the Persians, to stay and settle in his lands. The Greeks did not take him up on the offer, but did accept his gift of over a ton of silver, so they could pay for the construction of a defensive wall. Eventually, despite their wealth and strong trading ties with the other Bronze Age societies, with the coming of the Iron Age, the Tartessian Empire fell by the wayside, and the Cartheginians and Romans soon took their place. But their legacy remains, and if you want more of their beautiful art or just more information, check out the National Museum of Archaeology of Spain and their protohistory exhibit online, or, the Archaeological Museum of Seville for more specific finds from the excavations."

The Celtiberians[edit | edit source]

The Celtiberians differed from the Iberian proper, by several ways: they were considered to be militaristic, giving great social significance to those who forged weapons (and not to mention their users). Greek and Roman sources attest the existence of cultural sophistication and social organisation in all Iberia in the pre-Roman era. Archaeologists who excavated the ruins of the famous city of Numantia discovered a culture acquainted with urban planning and sophisticated arts and crafts, particularly in ceramics, whose members lived in houses with two rooms and vaulted basements.

While some of the more isolated communities such as those in the mountainous regions of Gallaecia and the Pyrenees were organised on a tribal basis, some of the more urbanised areas of pre-Roman Iberia could be best described as feudal republics, with voting power prescribed to the nobility, while others had their own kings (regulii in Latin). Men frequently trained for combat through gymnastics, equestrian exercises as well as hunting, and prized physical appearance like the Minoans almost two thousand years earlier on the other end of the Mediterranean — obesity appears to have been frowned upon.

Religion is poorly known; ancient chroniclers do not refer to it often and votive inscriptions were not decifered. The objects found and the sanctuaries indicate a polytheistic and naturalist religion of Mediterranean characteristics, strongly influenced by Greek culture. Some known representations of gods include the Master of "Beasts" (greek Potnia Thérôn) and a Goddess of the Aphrodite-Astarte archetype. We can also find representations of fabulous animals (lions and sphinxes) as well as of bulls. The most important religious sanctuary is the one from Cerro de Los Santos, a rectangle with 20 m in length and 8m in width (in antis); in the interior a stone platform was placed to recieve the statues; eastern influence is still very visible. 

References[edit | edit source]

https://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi/volumes/vol6/6_2/gorbea_lorrio_6_2.pdf