The Duchy of Cantabria was created by the

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kn ...

s in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Its precise extension is unclear in the different periods, but it seems likely that it included

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

, parts of Northern Castile,

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

, and probably western areas of Biscay and Álava. The two main towns of Cantabria before its conquest by the Goths were Amaya (in northern

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

) and the City of Cantabria, believed to have been near modern

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

. Both towns were destroyed in 574 by Liuvigild, who massacred many of their inhabitants. The legend of this destruction remained for long in the memory of the affected peoples. Bishop

Braulio of Zaragoza Braulio ( la, Braulius Caesaraugustanus; 585 – 651 AD) was bishop of Zaragoza and a learned cleric living in the Kingdom of the Visigoths. Life Braulio was born of a noble Hispano-Roman family. His father was Bishop of Osma. In 610 Braulio ...

(631-651) wrote in his ''Life of St. Emilianus'' how the saint prophesied the destruction of Cantabria because of their alleged sins. It is held in popular belief that the converted refugees from the City of Cantabria founded the monastery of Our Lady of Codés in Navarre. A Senate of Cantabria mentioned in the Saint Aemilianus' work bears witness to a local nobility and a governing

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

that may have been of the last independent Hispano-Roman provincial authorities. Some names are provided too, such as autochthonous ''Sicorius'' or ''Tuentius'', with no clear ethnic affiliation, and Latin names ''Honorius'' and ''Nepotianus''.

References

See also