The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a 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 ...

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 ...

people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central

Duero The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

valley, in the Meseta Central of northern

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 ...

(specifically in Castile and León). Their capital was ''

Intercatia Villanueva del Campo () is a town located in the Province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ult ...

'' in

Paredes de Nava Paredes de Nava is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. It is the birthplace of Renaissance painter Pedro Berruguete. Some paintings by him can be seen in the predella of the local church of Santa Eulalia ...

Origins

Also designated Vaccaenas in the ancient sources, the Vaccaei were probably largely of Celtic descent and probably related to 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 ...

. Their name may be derived from the Celtic word ', meaning a ''slayer'', since they were celebrated fighters. However, some scholars have reasoned that the name ‘Vaccaei’ may actually derive from ‘Aued-Ceia’, a contraction of ''Ceia'', the presumed ancient name of the modern

river Cea A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

, prefixed by the Indo-European root ''*aued-'' (water). They often acted in concert with their neighbours, the Celtiberi, suggesting that they may have been part of the Celtiberian peoples. They had a strict egalitarian society practising land reform and communal food distribution. This society was part of an Hispano-Celtic substrate, which explains the cultural, socio-economic, linguistic and ideological affinity of the Vaccaei,

, Vettones, Lusitani, Cantabri, Astures and

Callaeci The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; grc, Καλλαϊκοί) were a Celtic tribal complex who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the Norte Region in northern Portugal, a ...

. The Vaccean civilization was the result of a process of local evolution, importing elements from other cultures, whether by new additions of people or cultural and trading contacts with neighbouring groups. It is also believed that it was from the Vaccei that the warlike Arevaci stemmed from around the late 4th Century BC to conquer the eastern meseta.

Culture

Archeology has identified the Vaccei with the 2nd

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

‘Douro Culture’ – which evolved from the previous early Iron Age ‘ Soto de Medinilla’ (c. 800-400 BC) cultural complex of the middle Douro basin –, being also affiliated with the

Turmodigi The Turmodigi were a pre-Roman ancient people, later mixed with the Celts people of northern Spain who occupied the area within the Arlanzón and Arlanza river valleys in the 2nd Iron Age. Origins The ancestors of the Turmodigi arrived to the ...

. This is confirmed by the stratigraphic study of their settlements, where have been found elements of the Vaccean culture on top of the remains of earlier cultures. For example, at

Pintia Pintia is the name of an ancient city of the Vaccaei, situated in the area around Padilla de Duero, in the modern province of Valladolid, central Spain. The Vaccaei or Vacceans were the first sedentary occupants of the valley between the Duero ...

(modern-day Padilla de Duero – Valladolid), there is evidence of continuous human settlement since Eneolithic times to the

, when the Vaccean period arose. The necropolis at Pintia is currently being excavated by an international field school students’ team every summer under the supervision of the University of Valladolid and the Federico Wattenberg Center of Vaccean Studies. The Vaccei were considered the most cultivated people west of the

, and were distinguishable by a special collectivist type social structure, which enabled them to exploit successfully the wheat- and grass-growing areas of the western plateau.

Religion

Like the Arevaci, they also practiced the rite of excarnation by exposing the corpses of warriors slain in battle to the vultures, which were regarded as sacred animals, as described by

Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severu ...

Location

The Vaccean homeland extended throughout the center of the northern Meseta, along both banks of the Duero River. Their capital was ''Pallantia'' (either Palencia or Palenzuela) and

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 importanc ...

lists in their territory some twenty towns or ''

Civitates In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on t ...

'', including ''Helmantica/Salmantica'' (Salamanca), ''Arbucala'' (Toro), ''Pincia'' or ''Pintia'' ( Padilla de Duero – Valladolid), ''Intercatia'' (

– Palencia), ''Cauca'' ( Coca – Segovia), ''Septimanca'' ( Simancas), ''Rauda'' ( Roa), ''Dessobriga'' ( Oserna) and ''Autraca'' or ''Austraca'' – located at the banks of the river ''Autra'' ( Odra), seized from the Autrigones in the late 4th century BC – to name but a few. Although its borders are difficult to define, and shifted from time to time, it can be said to have occupied all of the province of Valladolid, and parts of León, Palencia,

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 o ...

, Segovia, Salamanca and Zamora. By the time of the arrival of the Romans, the Cea and Esla rivers separated the Vaccaei from the Astures in the northwest, while a line traced between the Esla and the

Pisuerga The Pisuerga is a river in northern Spain, the Duero's second largest tributary. It rises in the Cantabrian Mountains in the province of Palencia, autonomous region of Castile and León. Its traditional source is called Fuente Cobre, but it h ...

rivers was the border with the Cantabri. To the east, the Pisuerga and

Arlanza river The Arlanza River rises in the Sierra de la Demanda, near Quintanar de la Sierra in an area known as Fuente Sanza. As it flows through the province of Burgos, Spain, it passes through the municipalities of Castrovido, Salas de los Infantes, ...

s marked the frontier with the

, and a little farther south, the Arevaci were their neighbors and allies. On the south and southeast lay the Vettones in an area that roughly corresponds to the distribution of verracos around the highlands of Ávila and Salamanca and Aliste ( Zamora), between them and the Lusitanians. It is likely that there was some contact with the latter to the west of Zamora.

History

A warrior people, the Vaccaei were far from being the "harmless and submissive nation" portrayed by Paulus Orosius. They participated in the 5th century BC Celtici migrations alongside off-shots of the Arevaci and Lusones to settle in the west and southwest regions 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 ...

. In the early 3rd Century BC they aided the smaller

people in their liberation from the rule of the Autrigones. The Vaccaei enter the historical record around the late 3rd century BC, when in 221-220 BC they allied themselves with the

Carpetani The Carpetani ( Greek: ''Karpetanoi'') were one of the Celtic pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, modern Spain and Portugal), akin to the Celtiberians, dwelling in the central part of the '' meseta'' - the high ce ...

and Olcades to thwart

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

's offensive into their respective territories, only to be brought into submission after the fall of Salmantica and Arbucala to the Carthaginians, who defeated them at the battle on the Tagus. The Vaccaei appear to have taken no part in the

2nd Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in I ...

, though in 193-192 BC they joined the combined force of Carpetani, Vettones, and

that was defeated by

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Marcus Fulvius at the battle of Toletum. Alongside the Lusitani, they were again beaten by the

Praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

of Hispania Ulterior Lucius Postumius Albinus during its first incursion into the central Meseta in 179 BC. Allies of the Arevaci during the Celtiberian Wars, the Vaccaei assumed a more important role by supporting their neighbors, despite being subjected to the punitive campaigns carried out by the Roman consul Lucius Licinius Luculus (151-150 BC), proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus in 142 BC, and consuls Marcus Popilius Laenas (139-138 BC) and

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina was a consul of the Roman Republic in 137 BC. In 125 BC Lepidus was an augur (a divinatory priest). In that year he was prosecuted by the censors. According to Velleius Paterculus, he was prosecuted by both censors ...

in 137 BC. After the destruction of Numantia in 134-133 BC, the Vaccaei were technically submitted and included 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; however, during the Sertorian Wars they lent their support to Quintus Sertorius, with several Vacceian towns remaining loyal to his cause even after his death. In 76 BC, Sertorius' sent one of its cavalry commanders, Gaius Insteius, to the Vacceian country in search of remounts for its battered mounted troops. The backlash came in 74 BC when

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 ' ...

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

besieged the Vacceian capital Pallantia, setting on fire its

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

brick walls and stormed Cauca. Defeated in 73 BC by

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...

and Pompey, the Vaccaei rose again in 57-56 BC in a joint uprising with the

and northern Celtiberians, which was crushed by the

of Citerior Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos Iunior. Pressured by Astures' and Cantabri raids, the Vaccaei rebelled a last time in 29 BC, just prior to the

Astur-Cantabrian wars The Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) (''Bellum Cantabricum''), sometimes also referred to as the Cantabrian and Asturian Wars (''Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum''), were the final stage of the two-century long Roman conquest of Hispania, in what tod ...

, only to be subdued by Consul Titus Statilius Taurus.Cassius Dio, ''Romaïké istoría'', 51: 20; 53: 23.

Romanization

The Vaccaei were later aggregated to the new Hispania Terraconensis province created in 27 BC by Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. Later during the imperial era, the Vaccei seemed to have provided recruits for the ''Ala II Flavia Hispanorum civium romanorum'', an auxiliary cavalry unit raised after AD 63 and cantoned in the Roman Legionary Fortress (''castrum'') of ''Petavonium'' ( Rosinos de Vidriales, Santibanez de Vidriales – Zamora).

Namesake

The Basques came to be called mistakenly ''Vaccaei'' and ''Vacceti'' by several early medieval chronicles and authors.

Notes

Bibliography

* Blanco, António Bellido, ''Sobre la escritura entre los Vacceos'', in ZEPHYRUS – revista de prehistoria y arqueologia, vol. LXIX, Enero-Junio 2012, Ediciones Universidad Salamanca, pp. 129–147. * Collins, Roger, ''The Vaccaei, the Vaceti, and the rise of Vasconia'', ''Studia Historica VI''. Salamanca, 1988. Reprinted in Roger Collins, ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum (1992). . * Cremin, Aedeen, ''The Celts in Europe'', Sydney, Australia: Sydney Series in Celtic Studies 2, Centre for Celtic Studies, University of Sydney (1992) . * Alvarado, Alberto Lorrio J., ''Los Celtíberos'', Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Murcia (1997) * Duque, Ángel Montenegro ''et alli'', ''Historia de España 2 – colonizaciones y formacion de los pueblos prerromanos'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989) * González-Cobos, A.M., ''Los Vacceos – Estudio sobre los pobladores del valle medio del Duero durante la penetración romana'', Universidad Pontificia, Salamanca (1989) * Harry Morrison Hine, ''Hannibal's Battle on the Tagus (Polybius 3.14 and Livy 21.5)'', Latomus: revue d'études latines, Société d'Études Latines de Bruxelles 38 (4), Bruxelles (1979) * Motoza, Francisco Burillo, ''Los Celtíberos – Etnias y Estados'', Crítica, Grijalbo Mondadori, S.A., Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) * * Philip Matyszak, ''Sertorius and the struggle for Spain'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013)

External links

Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)
* Álvarez-Sanchís, Jesús R. (2005),

. ''e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies'' 6: 255-285 * 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 Tribes conquered by Rome