The Ilercavones were an

ancient Iberian The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...

(Pre- Roman) people of the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

(the Roman

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: Hisp ...

). They are believed to have spoken an Iberian language.

History

The name

Ilercavonia Ilercavonia ( ca, Ilercavònia, es, Ilercavonia) is an ancient comarca of Spain formerly populated by the ancient Iberian tribe known as Ilercavones. It is a greater comarca made up of smaller ones. The ties between the people of the region tra ...

to refer to the territory occupied by this Iberian tribe appears in ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Roman texts and documents and it was still mentioned in medieval texts. The northern limits of this territory were in Serra de la Llena, the northeastern in Coll de Balaguer, the western in Mequinensa and the southern in

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

. The Ilercavones were very religious as a people. They did not have temples, but every mountain or hill was considered a sacred place. The Ilercavones as a nation or tribe were already mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, who said that they inhabited the lands between river ''Udiva'' (possibly the Millars River) and further north of the Ebro, and by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

, who named the

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

and the harbor where they lived ''Tenebri'' (possibly

Orpesa Oropesa del Mar ( ca-valencia, Orpesa) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian community, ''comarca'' of Plana Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. References

Municipalities in the Province of Ca ...

). They were mentioned as well as by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

in his texts describing the first phase of the Roman invasion of Iberia. After the Roman conquest the Ilercavones became romanized, much like the other Iberian tribes in the peninsula. Gradually, they became assimilated into the Roman population, especially after acquiring the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of t ...

as their own vernacular.José María Blázquez Martínez, ''La Romanización,'' Volume 1, Ed. Istmo, 1995,

Archaeological sites

The most important archaeological sites are in the following places: * Castellet de Banyoles in Tivissa * Coll del Moro in Gandesa *Below the Castle of La Suda in

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

* Mianes in Tortosa *Below the

Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

castle in

Miravet Miravet is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre in the Province of Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nation ...

* La Ferradura in

Ulldecona Ulldecona is a town in the South of Catalonia, in Montsià ( Terres de l'Ebre), near the Senia River. Ulldecona is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. It has got town privileges since 1273. The nearest towns are: Al ...

* Moleta del Remei in Alcanar * Puig de la Nau in Benicarló * Sant Antoni Iberian village in Calaceite

References

External links

Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)Nonasp Antiguo, The Ilercavones in Matarranya

Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Ancient peoples of Spain History of Catalonia Tribes conquered by Rome {{Spain-hist-stub

History

Archaeological sites

See also

References

External links