Legio VI Victrix
Legio sexta victrix was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 41 BC by the general Octavian. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata and held veterans of that legion, some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion; the legion saw its first action in Perusia in 41 BC. It served against the Sextus Pompeius, who occupied Sicily and made threats to discontinue sending grain to Rome. In 31 BC the legion fought in the Battle of Actium against Mark Antony; the legion took part in the final stage of the Roman conquest of Hispania, participating in Augustus' major war against the Cantabrians, from 29 BC to 19 BC, that brought all of the Iberian Peninsula under Roman rule. The legion stayed in Spain for nearly a century and received the surname Hispaniensis, founding the city of Legio. Soldiers of this unit and X Gemina numbered among the first settlers of Caesaraugusta, what became modern-day Zaragoza; the cognomen Victrix dates back to the reign of Nero. But Nero was unpopular in the area, when the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, Servius Sulpicius Galba, said he wished to overthrow Nero, the legion supported him and he was proclaimed Emperor in the VI Victrix legionary camp.
Galba marched on Rome, where Nero killed himself. For a brief period (approximately 110 AD to 119, the legion was stationed along the Rhine River in the Roman province of Germany Inferior. In 119, Hadrian relocated the legion to northern Britannia, to assist those legions present in quelling the resistance there. Victrix was key in securing victory, would replace the diminished IX Hispana at Eboracum. In 122 the legion started work on Hadrian's Wall. Twenty years they helped construct the Antonine Wall and its forts such as Castlecary but it was abandoned by 164. In 175, the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, defeated the Iazyges tribe of Sarmatians, he settled 5,500 of them in Britain. The only detachment attested in Britain is a unit at Ribchester, south of Lancaster. Less certain is evidence from Bainesse, near Catterick, where lost tiles stamped BSAR may be evidence for the presence of a Sarmatian unit there. Legio VI was awarded the honorary title'Britannica' by Commodus in AD 184 following his own adoption of the title.
In 185, the British legions mutinied and put forward Priscus a commander of their own to replace the unpopular Emperor Commodus, but the former declined. The mutiny was suppressed by Pertinax, who would become emperor himself after Commodus was murdered; the large fort at Carpow was occupied from about 184 by Legio VI who completed the fort with the'principia' and praetorium which they roofed with tiles bearing their new'cognomen'. The Legate of the legion in the late second century, Claudius Hieronymianus, dedicated a temple to Serapis in Eboracum in advance of the arrival of Septimius Severus in AD208. An altar to Hercules was dedicated by Gaius Vitellius Atticianus, Centurion of the Legio VI Victrix, at Whitley Castle. Quintus Antonius Isauricus - AD 130s Claudius Hieronymianus - AD 190-AD 212 - Dis Manibus Gai Iuli Galeria tribu Caleni Lugduno veterani ex legione VI Victrice Pia Fideli heres a se memoriae fecit. Lincoln, U. K. RIB 252 = CIL VII 182. - Dis Manibus sacrum Nig̣ṛiṇae vixit annos XXXX Aurelius Casitto legionis VI Victricis Piae Fidelis curavit.
Great Chesters, U. K. RIB 1746 = CIL VII 740. - Dis Manibus Titi Flavi Flavini legionis VI Victricis Classicius Aprilis heres prius quam obiretfieri iussit. York, U. K. RIB 675. - Dis Manibus Lucius Bebius Augusta Crescens Vindelicum miles legionis VI Victricis Piae Fidelis annorum XLIII stipendiorum XXIII heres amico faciendum curavit. York, U. K. RIB 671. - Dis Manibus Flaviae Augustinae vixit annos XXXVIIII menses VII dies XI filius Saenius Augustinus vixit annum I dies III vixit annum I menses VIIII dies V Gaius Aeresius Saenus veteranus legionis VI Victricis coniugi carissimae et sibi faciendum curavit. York, U. K. RIB 685 = CIL VII 245. - Dis Manibus Gaius Iulius Gai filius colonia Flavia Ingenuus miles legionis VI Victricis Piae Fidelis. High Rochester, U. K. RIB 1292 = CIL VII 1057. - Dis Manibus Flavius Agricola miles legionis VI Victricis vixit annos XLII dies X Albia Faustina coniugi inconparabilifaciendum curavit. London, U. K. CIL V 25. -Lucio Pompeio Luci filio / Quirina Faventino / praefecto cohortis VI Asturum / tribuno militum legionis VI Victricis.
Astorga, Spain. CIL II 2637 = AE 1966, 187. - Lucius Valerius Silvanus / miles legionis VI Victricis / Deo Turiaco / votum solvit libens merito. Porto, Portugal. CIL II 2374 = AE 1959, 103. · - Titus Pompeius Titi filius / Tromentina / Albinus' domo Vienna / IIvir tribunus militum legionis VI Victricis. Mérida, Spain. AE 2002, 929. - Dis Manibus sacrum Gaius Iulius Severus veteranus legionis VI Victricis annorum LXI Iulia Danae liberta ex testamento. Mérida, Spain. CIL II 490. - Marcus Tavonius / Marci filius / Romilia / Firmus domo Ateste / miles legionis VI Victricis. Mérida, Spain. Museo Nacional de Arte Romano - Mérida. - Dis Manibus sacrum / Gaius Iulius Severus / veteranus legionis VI Victricis / annorum LXI / Iulia Danae liberta ex testamento. Mérida, Spain. CIL II 490. - Dis Manibus sacrum Lucius Maelonius Aper veteranus legionis VI Victricis Piae Fidelis annorum LXX militavit beneficiariuscode: lat promoted to code: la. Mérida, Spain
Vía de la Plata
The Vía de La Plata or Ruta de la Plata is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of Spain from north to south, connecting Mérida to Astorga. An extended form reaches north to the Bay of Biscay at Gijón; the path is used by AP-66 freeways, as well as by the older N-630 national road. The term Vía de la Plata is thought to use from the modern Spanish word for silver, plata; the name derives from the Arabic word al-balat, which means cobbled paving and described the road as engineered by the Romans. The historical origins of this route are uncertain, it is believed, based on diverse archaeological findings, that the route was used for commercial purposes involving tin. Tin was present in many regions of the Iberian Peninsula including Tartessos; the "Tin Way" was used as an access road, which allowed the Romans to conquer tribes such as the Callaici, the Astures, the Vacceos. Many sources, among them the Antonine Itinerary, describe the route to leave from Emerita Augusta, capital of Lusitania, towards Asturica Augusta through Tarraconensis.
The road contains physical evidence that shows a Roman constructed road, unchanged at various sections. It was conceived and built as a trade route for the exploitation of gold, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder who held high office as Procurator in Hispania Tarraconensis in 73 AD, it ran to Emerita Augusta in southwestern Spain. The road's first official name was Via Delapidata, stretched around 900 km, had a branch that joined with the Via Augusta. After its establishment, the Via Delapidata crossed Hispania from Cádiz, through the Pyrenees, towards Gallia Narbonensis and Rome in the Italian Peninsula; the road passes through Salmantica and Castra Caecilia. The Via Delapidata served as an access road from Hispania Baetica. During the Roman Empire it is known that it was used to connect two main areas of the highest importance at both end, the gold mines of Las Medulas and the copper mines of Rio Tinto; the suitability of the route's layout is demonstrated today. It is used by modern AP-66 freeways as well as by older N-630 national road.
Some stretches, pass through urban areas like Seville, where the Vía de la Plata runs along the Guadalquivir. The Vía de la Plata has become popular as an alternative to the French Way for pilgrims walking, cycling, or riding to Santiago de Compostela. Large sections are less the same as they were two thousand years ago. Camino de Santiago Vía de la Plata route website Guide to walking the Vía de la Plata La Vía de la Plata
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate or dry summer climate is characterized by rainy winters and dry summers, with less than 40 mm of precipitation for at least three summer months. While the climate receives its name from the Mediterranean Basin, these are located on the western coasts of continents, between 30 and 45 degrees north and south of the equator between oceanic climates towards the poles, semi-arid and arid climates towards the equator. In essence, due to the seasonal shift of the subtropical high-pressure belts with the apparent movement of the Sun, a Mediterranean climate is an intermediate type between these other climates, with winters warmer and drier than oceanic climates and summers imitating sunny weather in semi-arid and arid climates; the resulting vegetation of Mediterranean climates are the garrigue or maquis in the Mediterranean Basin, the chaparral in California, the fynbos in South Africa, the mallee in Australia, the matorral in Chile. Areas with this climate are where the so-called "Mediterranean trinity" of agricultural products have traditionally developed: wheat and olive.
Most large, historic cities of the Mediterranean basin lie within Mediterranean climatic zones, including Algiers, Beirut, İzmir, Marseille, Rome and Valencia. Examples of major cities with Mediterranean climates that lie outside of the historic Mediterranean basin include major examples as Adelaide, Cape Town, Dushanbe, Los Angeles, Perth, San Francisco and Victoria. Under the Köppen climate classification, "hot dry-summer" climates and "cool dry-summer" climates are referred to as "Mediterranean". Under the Köppen climate system, the first letter indicates the climate group. Temperate climates or "C" zones have an average temperature above 0 °C, but below 18 °C, in their coolest months; the second letter indicates the precipitation pattern. Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm of precipitation and with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month. Some, use a 40 mm level; the third letter indicates the degree of summer heat: "a" represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C, while "b" indicates the average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C.
Under the Köppen classification, dry-summer climates occur on the western sides of continents. Csb zones in the Köppen system include areas not associated with Mediterranean climates but with Oceanic climates, such as much of the Pacific Northwest, much of southern Chile, parts of west-central Argentina, parts of New Zealand. Additional highland areas in the subtropics meet Cs requirements, though they, are not associated with Mediterranean climates, as do a number of oceanic islands such as Madeira, the Juan Fernández Islands, the western part of the Canary Islands, the eastern part of the Azores. Under Trewartha's modified Köppen climate classification, the two major requirements for a Cs climate are revised. Under Trewartha's system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of 10 °C or higher, the average annual precipitation must not exceed 900 mm. Thus, under this system, many Csb zones in the Köppen system become Do, the rare Csc zones become Eo, with only the classic dry-summer to warm winter, low annual rainfall locations included in the Mediterranean type climate.
During summer, regions of Mediterranean climate are influenced by cold ocean currents which keep the weather in the region dry and pleasant. Similar to desert climates, in many Mediterranean climates there is a strong diurnal character to daily temperatures in the warm summer months due to strong heating during the day from sunlight and rapid cooling at night. In winter, Mediterranean climate zones are no longer influenced by the cold ocean currents and therefore warmer water settles near land and causes clouds to form and rainfall becomes much more likely; as a result, areas with this climate receive all of their precipitation during their winter and spring seasons, may go anywhere from 3 to 6 months during the summer without having any significant precipitation. In the lower latitudes, precipitation decreases in both the winter and summer because they are closer to the Horse latitudes, thus bringing smaller amounts of rain. Toward the polar latitudes, total moisture increases; the rainfall tends to be more evenly distributed throughout the year in Southern Europe, while in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Southern California the summer is nearly or dry.
In places where evapotranspiration is higher, steppe climates tend to prevail, but still follow the weather pattern of the Mediterranean climate. The majority of the regions with Mediterranean climates have mild winters and warm summers; however winter and summer temperatures can vary between different regions with a Mediterranean climate. For instance, in the case of winters and Los Angeles experience mild temperatures in the winter, with frost and snowfall unknown, whereas Tashkent has colder winters with annual frosts and snowfall. Or to consider summer, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in that season. In contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around 21 °C due to
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of Saint James among other names, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual retreat for their spiritual growth, it is popular with hiking and cycling enthusiasts and organized tour groups. The French Way and the Routes of Northern Spain are the courses listed in the World Heritage List by UNESCO; the Way of St. James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages, together with those to Rome and Jerusalem, a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned. Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain, where he was buried in what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela; the Way can take one of dozens of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.
Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However, a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the Middle Ages, the route was travelled. However, the Black Death, the Protestant Reformation, political unrest in 16th century Europe led to its decline. By the 1980s, only a few hundred pilgrims per year registered in the pilgrim's office in Santiago. In October 1987, the route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe. Since the 1980s the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day international pilgrims. Whenever St. James's Day falls on a Sunday, the cathedral declares a Jubilee Year. Depending on leap years, Holy Years occur in 5-, 6-, 11-year intervals; the most recent were 1982, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010. The next will be 2021, 2027, 2032; the pilgrimage to Santiago has never ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James's remains in 812 AD, though there have been years of fewer pilgrims during European wars.
The main pilgrimage route to Santiago follows an earlier Roman trade route, which continues to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, ending at Cape Finisterre. Although it is known today that Cape Finisterre, Spain's westernmost point, is not the westernmost point of Europe, the fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae indicates that they viewed it as such. At night, the Milky Way overhead seems to point the way, so the route acquired the nickname "Voie lactée" – the Milky Way in French; the scallop shell found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on a variety of meanings, metaphorical and mythical if its relevance may have derived from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir. Two versions of the most common myth about the origin of the symbol concern the death of Saint James, martyred by beheading in Jerusalem in 44 AD. According to Spanish legends, he had spent time preaching the gospel in Spain, but returned to Judaea upon seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary on the bank of the Ebro River.
Version 1: After James's death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain, a heavy storm hit the ship, the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, it washed covered in scallops. Version 2: After James's death his body was transported by a ship piloted by an angel, back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago; as the ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on shore. The young groom was on horseback, on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells. From its connection to the Camino, the scallop shell came to represent pilgrimage, both to a specific shrine as well as heaven, recalling Hebrews 11:13, identifying that Christians "are pilgrims and strangers on the earth"; as the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, the shell is seen frequently along the trails.
The shell is seen on signs along the Camino in order to guide pilgrims along the way. The shell is more seen on the pilgrims themselves. Wearing a shell denotes that one is a traveler on the Camino de Santiago. Most pilgrims receive a shell at the beginning of their journey and either attach it to them by sewing it onto their clothes or wearing it around their neck or by keeping it in their backpack; the scallop shell served practical purposes for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. The shell was the right size for eating out of as a makeshift bowl. During the medieval period, the shell was proof of completion rather than a symbol worn during the pilgrimage; the pilgrim's staff is a walking stick used by pilgrims to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The stick has a hook on it so that something may be hung from it, may have a crosspiece on it; the earliest records of visits paid to the shrine dedicated to St. James at Santiago de Compostela date from the 9th century, in the time of the Kingdom of Asturias and Galicia.
The pilgrimage to the shrine bec
Hispania
Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces and Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis. Subsequently, the western part of Tarraconensis was split off, first as Hispania Nova renamed "Callaecia". From Diocletian's Tetrarchy onwards, the south of remaining Tarraconensis was again split off as Carthaginensis, then too the Balearic Islands and all the resulting provinces formed one civil diocese under the vicarius for the Hispaniae; the name, was used in the period of Visigothic rule. The modern placenames Hispaniola are both derived from Hispania; the origin of the word Hispania is much disputed and the evidence for the various speculations are based upon what are at best mere resemblances to be accidental, suspect supporting evidence. One theory holds it to be from the Phoenician language of colonizing Carthage.
It may derive from a Punic cognate of Hebrew אי-שפניא meaning "island of the hyrax" or "island of the hare" or "island of the rabbit". Some Roman coins of the Emperor Hadrian, born in Hispania, depict a rabbit. Others derive the word from Phoenician span, meaning "hidden", make it indicate "a hidden", that is, "a remote", or "far-distant land". Another theory, proposed by the etymologist Eric Partridge in his work Origins, is that it is of Iberian derivation and that it is to be found in the pre-Roman name for Seville, which hints at an ancient name for the country of *Hispa, an Iberian or Celtic root whose meaning is now lost. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis. Hispalis may alternatively derive from Heliopolis. According to Manuel Pellicer Catalán, the name derives from Phoenician Spal "lowland", rendering this explanation of Hispania dubious. Hispania was called Hesperia Ultima, "the last western land" in Greek, by Roman writers, since the name Hesperia had been used by the Greeks to indicate the Italian peninsula.
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. During Antiquity and Middle Ages, the literary texts derive the term Hispania from an eponymous hero named Hispan, mentioned for the first time in the work of the Roman historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus, in the 1st century BC. Although "Hispania" is the Latin root for the modern name "Spain", substituting Spanish for Hispanicus or Hispanic, or Spain for Hispania, should be done and taking into account the correct context; the Estoria de España written on the initiative of Alfonso X of Castile "El Sabio", between 1260 and 1274, during the Reconquest of Spain, is believed to be the first extended history of Spain in Old Spanish using the words "España" and "Españoles" to refer to Medieval Hispania. The use of Latin "Hispania", Castilian "España", Catalan "Espanya" and French "Espaigne", between others, to refer to Roman Hispania or Visigothic Hispania was common throughout all the Late Middle Ages.
A document dated 1292 mentions the names of foreigners from Medieval Spain as "Gracien d'Espaigne". Latin expressions using "Hispania" or "Hispaniae" like "omnes reges Hispaniae" are used in the Middle Ages at the same time as the emerging Spain Romance languages during the Reconquista use the Romance version interchangeably. In James Ist Chronicle Llibre dels fets, written between 1208 and 1276, there are many instances of this: when it talks about the different Kings, "los V regnes de Espanya"; the Latin term Hispania used during Antiquity and the Low Middle Ages as a geographical name, starts to be used with political connotations, as shown in the expression "Laus Hispaniae" to describe the history of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula of Isidore of Seville's "Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum".: You are, Oh Spain and always happy mother of princes and peoples, the most beautiful of all the lands that extend far from the West to India. You, by right, are now the queen of all provinces, from whom the lights are given not only the sunset, but the East.
You are the honor and ornament of the orb and the most illustrious portion of the Earth... And for this reason, long ago, the golden Rome desired you In modern history and Spanish have become associated with the Kingdom of Spain alone, although this process took several centuries. After the union of the central peninsular Kingdom of Castile with the eastern peninsular Kingdom of Aragon in the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, onl
Province of León
León is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 lives in León; the climate is cold in winter and hot in summer. This creates the perfect environment for wine and all types of cold meats and sausages like the leonese “Morcilla” and the “Cecina”. There are two famous Roman Catholic cathedrals in the province, the main one in León and another in Astorga; the province shares the Picos de Europa National Park with Asturias. It has 211 municipalities; the province of León was established in 1833 with the new Spanish administrative organisation of regions and provinces to replace former kingdoms. The Leonese Region was composed of the provinces of Salamanca and Zamora; until 1833, the independently administered Kingdom of León, situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula, retained the status of a kingdom, although dynastic union had brought it into the Crown of Castile. The Kingdom of León was founded in 910 A.
D. when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León. The Atlantic provinces became the Kingdom of Portugal in 1139; the eastern, inland part of the kingdom was joined dynastically to the Kingdom of Castile first in 1037–1065, again 1077–1109 and 1126–1157, 1230–1296 and from 1301 onward. León retained the status of a kingdom until 1833, being composed by Adelantamientos Mayores, where Leonese Adelantamiento consisted of the territories between the Picos de Europa and the Duero River. According to UNESCO, in 1188 the Kingdom of León developed the first Parliament in Europe. In 1202 its parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds; the Leonese language is recognized by the Statute of León. The Provincial Government of León signed accords with language associations for promoting Leonese. Leonese is taught in León city, Mansilla de las Mulas, La Bañeza, Valencia de Don Juan or Ponferrada for adult people, in sixteen schools of León city.
The City Council of León writes some of its announcements in Leonese in order to promote the language. In the western part of the El Bierzo, the westernmost region of the province, Galician language is spoken and taught at schools, it is officially recognized by the Statute of Castile and León. Embutidos Cecina de León: from beef. In the Leonese language, cecina means "meat, salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke". Cecina de León is made of the hind legs of beef, salted and air-dried in the province of León, has PGI status. Botillo: from pig. Traditionally made in the western Leonese regions, botiellu in Leonese or botelo in Galician, is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine, it is a culinary specialty of the county of El Bierzo and of the region of Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. This type of embutido is a meat product made from different pieces left over from the butchering of a pig, including the ribs and bones with a little meat left on them; these are chopped. It can include the pig's tongue, shoulder blade and backbone, but never exceeding 20% of the total volume.
It is consumed cooked, covered with a sheet. It has a PGI status. Cheese Queso de Valdeón: a blue cheese produced in Posada de Valdeon, traditionally wrapped in chestnut or sycamore maple leaves before being sent to market. Wines Bierzo: in the west of the Province of León and covers about 3,000 km²; the area consists of a wide, flat plain. The Denominación de Origen covers 23 municipalities. Tierra de León: in the southeast of the Province of León. Sweets Mantecadas de Astorga Hojaldres de Astorga Lazos de San Guillermo Nicanores de Boñar List of municipalities in León El Bierzo Maragatería Tierra de Campos La Montaña La Ribera La Cabrera Tierras de La Bañeza Tierras de León Kingdom of León Leonese language Montes de León Cave of Valporquero The Official Tourism Website of the Province of Leon Leonese Provincial Government Leonese City Council
Gallaeci
The Gallaeci, Callaeci or Callaici were a large Celtic tribal federation who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region corresponding to what is now northern Portugal, western Asturias and western Castile and León in Spain and during the Roman period. They spoke a Q-Celtic language related to Northeastern Hispano-Celtic called Gallaic, Gallaecian, or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic; the region was annexed by the Romans in the time of Caesar Augustus during the Cantabrian Wars, a war which initiated the assimilation of the Gallaeci into Latin culture. The fact that the Gallaeci did not adopt writing until contact with the Romans constrains the study of their earlier history. However, early allusions to this people are present in ancient Greek and Latin authors prior to the conquest, which allows the reconstruction of a few historical events of this people since the second century BC. Thanks to Silius Italicus, it is known that between the years 218 and 201 BC, during the Second Punic War, some Gallaecian troops were involved in the fight in the ranks of Carthaginian Hannibal against the Roman army of Scipio Africanus.
Silius Italicus added a short description of the Gallaecian contingent and their curious military tactics: The first known military conflict between Gallaeci and Romans is mentioned in Appian of Alexandria's book Iberiké, narrating events during the Lusitanian War. In 139 BC, after being cheated by the Lusitanian chief, Quintus Servilius Caepio's army devastated few Gallaecian and Vettonian regions; the attack on these Southern Gallaecian peoples, near the border with Vettones, was punishment for Gallaecian support to Lusitanians. Orosius mentioned that Brutus surrounded the Gallaeci, who were unaware, crushed sixty thousand of them who had come to the assistance of the Lusitani; the Romans were victorious only after a desperate and difficult battle and fifty thousand of them were slain in that battle, six thousand were captured, only some escaped. The legates Antistius and Firmius fought appalling battles and subdued the further parts of Gallaecia and mountainous and bordering the Atlantic.
Archaeologically, the Gallaeci were a local Atlantic Bronze Age people. During the Iron Age they received several influences, including from other Iberian cultures, from central-western Europe, from the Mediterranean; the Gallaeci dwelt in hill forts, the archaeological culture they developed is known by archaeologists as "Castro culture", a hill-fort culture with round houses. The Gallaecian way of life was based in land occupation by fortified settlements that are known in Latin language as "castrum" or oppida, being able to vary its size from a small village of less than one hectare, great walled citadels with more than 10 hectares denominated oppida being these latter more common in the Southern half of their traditional settlement around the Ave river; this livelihood in hillforts was common throughout Europe during the Bronze and Iron Ages, getting in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, the name of'Castro culture" or "hillfort's culture", which alludes to this type of settlement prior to the Roman conquest.
However, several Gallaecian hillforts continued to be inhabited until the 5th century AD. These fortified villages or cities tended to be located in the hills, rocky promontories and peninsulas near the seashore, as it improved visibility and control over territory; these settlements were strategically located for a better control of natural resources, including mineral ores such as iron. The Gallaecian hillforts and oppidas maintained a great homogeneity and presented clear commonalities; the citadels, functioned as city-states and could have specific cultural traits. The Gallaecian political organization is not known with certainty, but it is probable that they were divided into small independent states that comprised in its interior a great number of small hillforts, these stated were ruled by local petty kings, which the Romans called princeps as in other parts of Europe. Commonalities, including political ones, were effective and support between the cities that attempted to halt the Roman conquest of the Gallaecian lands and an successful attempt by Gallaecian warriors to drive the Romans out of Lusitania through the destruction of Roman settlements reaching the south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Some of the most famous cities were the wealthy and famously resistant city of Cinania, the notable city of Avobriga and its neighboring citadel, which allied with Rome, but became the leader for the Gallaeci resistance. The ruins of these cities may still exist today in Northern Portugal, although the location of each is still not attributed with certainty to some of the main Castro culture ruins; each Gallaecian considered himself a member of the hillfort where lived and the state / people to whom they belonged, that the Romans called populus, among all some of them left us their names: Arrotrebae, Praestamarici, etc. Gallaeci tribes: The Romans named the entire region north of the Douro, where the Castro culture existed, in honour of the castro people that settled in the area of Calle — the Callaeci; the Romans established a port in the south of the region which they called Portus Calle, today's Porto, in northern Portugal. When the Romans first conquered the Callaeci they ruled them as part of the province of Lusitania but created a new province of Callaecia or Ga
.svg)
Spain
Castile and León
The walls of the town were built at the time of Ancient Rome.
Media related to Astorga at Wikimedia Commons
Texts on Wikisource:
