Tautalus was a chieftain of the

Lusitanians The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

, a proto-

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

tribe from western

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispani ...

. He replaced

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or w ...

at the last year of the

Lusitanian War The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war of resistance fought by the Lusitanian tribes of Hispania Ulterior against the advancing legions of the Roman Republic from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitanians revo ...

Biography

He is first mentioned to take the mantle of Viriathus after the latter's murder. His participation in the war was short, and he was acknowledged to lack Viriathus's tactic skills. Leading the remnants of Viriathus's army, he marched against the city of

Saguntum Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, c ...

in the Roman province of

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

, besieging it unsuccessfully. After being repelled by the defenders, they turned against Hispania Ulterior, going down the Betis river, where Quintus Servilius Caepio met them with a numerically superior army. Tautalus and the Lusitanians were defeated and forced to surrender their weapons. However, after signing a peace treaty with Tautalus, Caepio assigned them lands in order to make them stop their rebel activities. The Lusitanians were then settled by Decimus Junius Brutus in the colony of Valentia (possibly modern Valença do Minho o

Valencia de Alcántara Valencia de Alcántara (Population: 6178) is a municipality located in the Cáceres (province), province of Cáceres, in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is near the Portugal, Portuguese border (District of Portalegre), separate ...

, if not the more geographically distant

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...

Etymology

The name ''Tautalus'', as transmitted by

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

, is recognized to come from the

and Germanic root ''teu'', meaning "people." However, there are doubts about whether Appian meant it to be ''Tautalus'' or ''Tantalus'', as in the Hellenic name

Tantalus Tantalus ( grc, Τάνταλος ) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the wate ...

. Similarly, Diodorus transmits the name as ''Tautamus'' or ''Tantamus''.

Notes

139 BC Lusitanians Celtic warriors Spanish rebels Year of birth unknown {{History-stub

Biography

Etymology

See also

Notes