The Lusones (

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 ...

: ''Lousones'') were an ancient Celtiberian (Pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

) 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: Hi ...

), who lived in the high Tajuña River valley, northeast of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

. They were eliminated by the Romans as a significant threat in the end of the 2nd century BC.

Origins

They spoke a variety of the

Celtiberian language Celtiberian or Northeastern Hispano-Celtic is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula between the headwaters of the Douro, Tagus, Júcar and Turia rivers and the Ebr ...

and were a subdivision of the

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...

. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the ancestors of the Celtiberian groups were installed in the Meseta area of the

from at least 1000 BC and probably much earlier. A mixed people, they included elements of early Italic ( Osco-

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

) and Gallic affiliation, the latter possibly related to the namesake Helvetic Lusones from present-day

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

or from

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

, who migrated to the

around the 4th Century BC. Some scholars also reasoned that they might bear a connection with the

Lusitani 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. ...

, with the latter people being actually an off-shot of the Lusones that migrated to the west of the Peninsula during the 4th Century BC.

Location

The Greek geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

located the Lusones near the

Tajo The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

headwaters, whereas the historian

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, Ha ...

places them along the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

. In fact, their lands were located in the Aragonese region along the middle

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

, on the

Moncayo range Moncayo is a 15 km long and about 7 km wide mountain chain giving name to the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, Aragon, Spain. The Moncayo's highest summit, San Miguel (), is the highest point in the 500 km long Sistema Ibérico. The ...

(Latin: ''Mons Chaunus'') between the Queiles and Huecha rivers, occupying the western

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

and most of

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populati ...

, stretching to the northeastern fringe of nearby

and southern

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

provinces. Their presumed capital was ''Turiaso'' or ''Turiasso'' ( La Oruña, Vera de Moncayo – Zaragoza; Celtiberian mint: ''Turiazu''); other key Lusones towns were ''Calagurris/Galagorina'' (

Calahorra Calahorra [] ( an, Calagorra, la, Calagurris) is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris ...

–

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 ...

; Celtiberian mint: ''Kalacoricos''), ''Cascantum/Cascanton'' (

Cascante Cascante is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. During the Roman period, Cascante was known as Cascantum. Notable people * Kike Sola, footballer * Álex Remiro, footballer * Lu ...

– Navarre; Celtiberian mint: ''Caiscata''), ''Bursau/Bursada'' ( Borja – Zaragoza; Celtiberian mint: ''Burzao''), ''Carabis/Caravis'' (

Magallón Magallón is a Spanish municipality, in the province of Saragossa, autonomous community of Aragon. It has an area of 78.61 km², with a population of 1221 inhabitants (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nuklear ...

– Zaragoza; Celtiberian mint: ''Carauez''). They were also involved in the foundations of both the ‘bandit town’ of ''Complega'' (site unknown; Celtiberian mint: ''Kemelon'') and the Roman colony of ''Grachurris'' ( Eras de San Martín, Alhama –

) by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus the Elder in 181 BC.

History

The Lusones joined their neighbours the

Arevaci The Arevaci or Aravaci (''Arevakos'', ''Arvatkos'' or ''Areukas'' in the Greek sourcesPtolemy, ''Geographia'', II, 6, 55.), were a CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. people who settled in the central Meseta of northern Hispania a ...

, Belli and

Titii The ''Titii'' (or ''Titii sodales'', later ''Titienses'', ''Sacerdotes Titiales Flaviales'') was a college ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests. Origins There are two versions of how the college was established. One credits Titus Tatius with creati ...

into the

Celtiberian Confederacy The Celtiberian confederacy was a tribal federation formed around the mid-3rd century BC, by the Arevaci, Lusones, Belli and Titii, with the Arevacian city of Numantia as the federal capital. During the Second Punic War the confederacy kept itsel ...

in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC and fought alongside their allies in the

Celtiberian Wars The First Celtiberian War (181–179 BC) and Second Celtiberian War (154–151 BC) were two of the three major rebellions by the Celtiberians (a loose alliance of Celtic tribes living in east central Hispania, among which we can name the Pellend ...

against

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, until the destruction of

Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...

brought the collapse of the alliance in 134-133 BC. Prior to that, they were defeated by

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

in 142 BCAppian, ''Iberiké'' 76. and despite being forcibly incorporated into

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 ...

province, they continued to resist Roman authority for decades. Remaining warlike as ever, the Lusones plotted with the

and

Pellendones The Pellendones (also known as ''Pelendones Celtiberorum'' or ''Cerindones'') were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic people living on the Iberian Peninsula. From the early 4th century BC they inhabited the region near the source of the river Duero in wh ...

the anti-Roman uprisings that rocked Celtiberia throughout most of the 1st Century BC. These revolts served only to weaken the Lusones' military however, and by mid-Century they had been driven out from the right bank of the Ebro by the

Vascones The Vascones were a pre-Roman tribe who, on the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century, inhabited a territory that spanned between the upper course of the Ebro river and the southern basin of the western Pyrenees, a region that coincides wi ...

, who seized four of their key border towns including Grachurris. The Lusones virtually disappear from the historical record upon the end of the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war fought from 80 to 72 BC between a faction of Roman rebels ( Sertorians) and the government in Rome (Sullans). The war was fought on the Iberian Peninsula (called ''Hispania'' by the Romans) and was one of the ...

s in 72 BC, and little is known from them afterwards though is likely that they merged with – or were absorbed by – their neighbours the Belli and Titii.

Notes

Bibliography

* Aedeen Cremin, ''The Celts in Europe'', Sydney, Australia: Sydney Series in Celtic Studies 2, Centre for Celtic Studies, University of Sydney (1992) . * Ángel Montenegro ''et alii'', ''Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C)'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989) * Alberto J. Lorrio, ''Los Celtíberos'', Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Murcia (1997) * Francisco Burillo Mozota, ''Los Celtíberos, etnias y estados'', Crítica, Grijalbo Mondadori, S.A., Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) *

External links

Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)

(in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

). *http://www.celtiberia.net {{Pre-Roman peoples in Spain Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula Ancient peoples of Spain