The ShoutTitulo de la entrada Titulo de la entradaTitulo de la entrada Titulo de la entradaTitulo de la entrada Titulo de la entradaTitulo de la entrada Titulo de la entradaTitulo de la entrada Titulo de la entradaTitulo de la entrada



UNIT 12: THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA


1.       EARLY SETLEMENTS OF THE PENINSULA

People from different origins lived on the Iberian peninsula between the 8th century BC, and the Roman conquest after the 3rd century BC. Some pre-Roman people lived inland, while others arrived on the coast from the eastern Mediterranean.

EARLY CELTIC SETTLEMENT

During the first milennium BC, the Celts settled on the Meseta and in the north-west of the peninsula. The Celts used iron tools in agriculture, and had livestock. They lived in walled settlements called castros, which were located in high defensive positions. They built circular stone houses

TARTESSOS

Tartessos was the earliest historical state on the Iberian peninsula. It developed in western Andalusia and the Guadalquivir Valley between the 8th and 6th centuries BC.
- Society was very hierarchical, under a military leader.
- They mined metals, and exported them to the Greeks and phoenicians.
- Tartessos had an advanced culture, with strong Greek and phoenician influences. They were expert craftsmen.

MEDITERRANEAN COLONISATION

Several Mediterranean people founded trading colonies in the south and east of the Iberian peninsula.
- The Phoenicians reached the Iberian peninsula from the eastern Mediterranean between the 10th and 8th centuries BC. They founded several colonies, including Gadir (Cádiz) and Malaca (Málaga). They brought textiles, pottery and manufactured products in exchange for metals.
- The Greeks founded trading colonies on the east coast from the 8th century BC. Greek colonies included Emporion (Ampurias) and Akra Leuke (Alicante).
- The Carthaginians founded colonies from the 6th century BC. These included Ebessus (Ibiza) and Cartago Nova (Cartagena).

WHAT WAS THE COLONISERS’ CONTRIBUTION TO IBERIAN DEVELOPMENT?

The colonisers made several important contributions to the economic and cultural development of the Iberian peninsula. These were:
- Improved techniques for mining and pottery.
- New crops such as olives and vines, which were introduced by the Greeks.
- The use of coins as currency.
- Writing with the Phoenician, and later, the Greek alphabet.




2.       PRE-ROMANS INHABITANTS

The Iberian peninsula was inhabited by three different groups when the Romans began their conquest of the peninsula in 218 BC. These groups are known as the pre-Romans. Due to differences in their society and places of settlement on the peninsula, we can distinguish three groups: the Iberians, the Celtiberians and the northern people or Celtics.

THE IBERIANS

The iberians lived on the Mediterranean coast and in the south of the peninsula.
- Politics and social organisation: they were ruled by chieftains, and lived in city-states with defensive walls. Their society was hierarchical, and they owned slaves.
- Economy: agriculture and livestock farming. Craftsmen made textiles, iron tools and pottery.
- Religion: they believed in spirits in Nature, but also worshipped some phoenician and Greek gods.
- Culture: they created exceptional sculptures like the Lady of Elche. They had writing.

THE CELTIBERIANS

The Celtiberians lived in the centre and west of the peninsula.
- Politics and social organisation: they formed clans, which were led by chieftains. They lived in settlements with defensive walls.
- Economy: cereals and livestock farming. They were metalworkers.
- Religion: they believed in spirits in Nature.
- Culture: they had little contact with Mediterranean cultures, and they did not have writing. Craftsmen made sculptures of bulls and pigs.

THE NORTHERN PEOPLE OF CELTICS

Different groups, of mainly celtic origin, lived in the north of Spain.
- Politics and social organisation: they formed clans. They lived in small settlements called castros.
- Economy: agriculture and livestock farming. They sometimes carried out raids on the people of the Meseta.
- Culture: they were isolated and had little contact with Mediterranean culture.They had no writing.

3.      THE ROMAN CONQUEST OF HISPANIA

THE PUNIC WARS

During the three Punic Wars (264 -(to) 146 BC), the Romans fought against the Carthaginians and became the leading power in the western Mediterranean. This war was fought all across the region, including the Iberian peninsula.
- During the First Punic War, the Carthaginians occupied the south of the Iberian peninsula.
- The Second Punic War began after the Carthaginian general Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum, which was allied to the Romans in 219 BC. The following year the Romans sent an army to fight against the Carthaginians on the Iberian peninsula.

THE ROMAN CONQUEST

The Romans conquered the peninsula, which they called Hispania, in three stages:
- Between 218 BC and 170 BC the Romans expelled the Carthaginians from Hispania, and conquered the south and east of the peninsula.
- In the next stage, 154 -(to) 133 BC, the Romans conquered central Hispania. They defeated the Celtiberians, despite resistance from the Lusitanos and the Arevacos.
- Between 29 -(to) 19 BC, under Octavian, the Romans defeated the Celtics.

ROMANISATION

The Romans imposed their political system on the conquered societies. They organised the territory into provinces, which were ruled by governors and their advisers. The inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula adopted Roman culture through a process called romanisation. This was the result of:
- New cities, which spread Roman culture.
- The contact between Roman legionaries and the local population. Some soldiers stayed on in Hispania after their military service ended.
- Latin, which became the shared language of all the people. Official Latin was the same everywhere, but local dialects were different from one region to another.
Romanisation did not happen to the same extent in all regions. It was rapid and complete in the south and east of Hispania. However, some northern people, like the vascones, were never fully romanised.

4.      ROMAN HISPANIA

THE CITIES

Under the Romans, cities became the centres of political, social and cultural life. There were two main types of cities:
- Colonies were established by the Romans. Retired legionaries lived in them, together with people from Rome. There were many Roman colonies including Corduba (Córdoba), Italica (Santiponce near Seville), Hispalis (Seville) and Emerita Augusta (Mérida).
- Other cities already existed when the Romans arrived. Cities that welcomed the Romans bécame municipalities with similar rights to Italian cities. However, those that resisted Roman rule were forced to pay tribute.

THE ECONOMY

The main economic activities in Roman Hispania were the following:
- Agriculture: olives, vines and wheat. The Romans introduced iron ploughs pulled by oxen and also irrigation.
- Mining: silver was mined in Cartagena and the Morena Range. Mercury was mined in Almadén, and gold in León and Galicia.
- Craftwork: textiles, pottery and iron tools. Olive oil was made from olives, and wine from vines.
- Trade: Hispania exported raw materials to Rome and other parts of the empire. It imported manufactured goods and luxury products. Trade was facilitated by a network of roads and ports.

ROMAN CULTURE

Hispania made an important contribution to Roman culture. One of the most famous Roman philosophers, Seneca, was born in Córdoba. The poet Martial also came from Hispania. The peninsula was so strongly romanised that people from Hispania even became emperors. Two of the greatest Roman emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, were born in Italica. The emperor Theodosius from the 4th century BC was also from Hispania.

ROMAN ART

The Romans created great art in Hispania:
- In architecture, the Romans built many important buildings that reflected the prosperity of Hispania’s cities. These included public baths, like those in Italica, and theatres, like those in Emerita Augusta and Saguntum.
- Impressive engineering works included the bridge of Alcántara, the defensive walls of Lugo and the Segovia aqueduct.
- In sculpture, there were portraits of emperors like Augustus and Trajan.

5. THE FALL OF ROMAN HISPANIA

THE GERMANIC INVASIONS

The 3rd century crisis affected many regions of the Roman Empire. On the Iberian Peninsula, both trade and urban life declined. Germanic civilisations were on the move, both outside and inside the empire’s frontiers, and they moved into parts of Hispania. In 409 AD, three Germanic groups, the Suevi, Vandals and Alans, entered Hispania, but Rome was now too weak to resist them. Instead, it came to an agreement with a different Germanic group, the Visigoths. In return for land in Gallia, the Visigoths expelled the invaders from most of Hispania. But in 507 AD, the Visigoths lost their kingdom in Gallia. Consequently, they returned to Hispania, and this time they stayed. They created the Visigothic kingdom, which unified most of the peninsula and had its capital in Toledo.

OTHER INHABITANTS

- The Suevi settled in the north-west, but the area came under Visigothic control in the late 6th century.
- The Cántabros and the Vascones were never fully romanised, and they also resisted the Visigoths.
- Under the Emperor Justinian in 6th century, the Byzantine Empire gained control of the south-east of the Peninsula.

THE VISIGOTHIC KINGDOM OF TOLEDO

The Visigoths were only a minority, but they dominated the Hispano-Roman population.
- Politics: their monarchy was elected so there were often disagreements about succession. They were advised by an assembly of aristocrats, called the Aula Regia.
- Religion: the Visigoths practised a different type of Christianity called Arianism, but under King Recaredo, they converted to Catholicism. The Councils of Toledo were a series of important meetings, where religious and political questions were decided.
- Economy: after the decline of city life in the late Roman empire, the economy was mainly based on agriculture.
- Culture: the Visigoths built small, decorated churches and their craftsmen made exceptional jewellery. This was not a period of original intellectual achievement, but Saint Isidore of Seville wrote Etymologiae, which was an encyclopedia of all existing knowledge. Under King Rodrigo, the Visigoths were defeated by the Muslims at the Battle of Guadalete in 711 AD. This marked the end of the Visigothic kingdom, and the beginning of Muslim rule on the Iberian peninsula.
Unit 12: The ancient history of the Iberian Peninsula


No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario