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Tarraco (Tarragona)
Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of Hispania Tarraconensis following the latter's creation during the Roman Empire. In 2000, the archaeological ensemble of Tarraco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. History Punic Etymology Ta-Aragona name in Phoenician means the Aragona, which was the native Iberian term for the Ebro Valley. Origins and the Second Punic War The area was inhabited from the 5th century BC by Iberians, mainly in the Ebro Valley, who had commercial contacts with the Greeks and Phoenicians settled on the coast. Tarraco is first mentioned after the arrival of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus at Empúries in 218 BC at the start of the Second Punic War which began the Roman conquest of Hispania. The Romans conquered a field of Punic supplies for Hannibal's troops near ''Cissis'' and took the city. A short time later, the Romans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphitheatre Of Tarraco
The Roman Amphitheatre of Tarraco is a Roman amphitheatre in the Roman '' colonia'' of Tarraco –present-day Tarragona, Spain–, capital of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. It was built in the 2nd century AD near the local forum. It measured , and it could house up to 15,000 spectators. It was used for gladiatorial fights and combats between beasts or men and beasts. Currently in ruins, it is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.The public structures of Roman Tarraco are extensively discussed in Duncan Fishwick, ''The Imperial Cult in the Latin West'' History It was built at the end of 1st century AD and the start of 2nd century AD, down from the walls and facing the sea. There are remains of a large inscription dating to the reign of Elagabalus (3rd century AD) and located in the podium. In 259, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Valerian, the city's bishop, Fructuosus, and his d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicians
Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civilization which expanded and contracted throughout history, with the core of their culture stretching from Arwad in modern Syria to Mount Carmel. The Phoenicians extended their cultural influence through trade and colonization throughout the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to the Iberian Peninsula, evidenced by thousands of Phoenician inscriptions. The Phoenicians directly succeeded the Bronze Age Canaanites, continuing their cultural traditions after the decline of most major Mediterranean basin cultures in the Late Bronze Age collapse and into the Iron Age without interruption. They called themselves Canaanites and referred to their land as Canaan, but the territory they occupied was notably smaller than that of Bronze Age Canaan. The name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. As a young man, he was a partisan and protégé of the dictator Sulla, after whose death he achieved much military and political success himself. He was an ally and a rival of Julius Caesar, and died in civil war with him. A member of the senatorial nobility, Pompey entered into a military career while still young. He rose to prominence serving Sulla as a commander in the civil war of 83–81 BC. Pompey's success as a general while young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without following the traditional '' cursus honorum'' (the required steps to advance in a political career). He was elected as consul on three occasions (70, 55, 52 BC). He celebrated three triumphs, served as a commander in the Sertorian War, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Porcius Cato
Gaius Porcius Cato (before 157 BC – after 109 BC in Tarraco) was a Roman politician and general, notably consul in 114 BC. He was the son of Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and grandson of Cato the Censor. Initially a friend of the Gracchi brothers, Gaius betrayed Gaius Gracchus in the late 120s BC. He became consul in 114, but was crushed by the Scordisci in Thrace. His defeat led to a religious hysteria at Rome, and he was sentenced to pay a fine at his return. He was sued again in 109 before the Mamilian commission, which investigated possible bribes received by Roman politicians from the Numidian King Jugurtha. In fact the commission's members were former supporters of the Gracchi and made Gaius pay for his betrayal by forcing him into exile. Gaius left for Tarraco (modern Tarragona) in Spain, and became a citizen of that town. Family background Gaius Cato belonged to the plebeian gens Porcia, which became prominent at the beginning of the second century thanks to Cato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see things at great distance as if they were nearby was also called "Strabo". (; ''Strábōn''; 64 or 63 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek geographer who lived in Anatolia, Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is best known for his work ''Geographica'', which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known during his lifetime. Additionally, Strabo authored historical works, but only fragments and quotations of these survive in the writings of other authors. Early life Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amasya, Amaseia in Kingdom of Pontus, Pontus in around 64BC. His family had been involved in politics s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Murcia, Spain. It roughly covered today's Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia and Valencia. Further south was the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior ("Further Spain" or "Further Iberia"), named as such because it was further away from Rome. The two provinces were established in 197 BC, four years after the end of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). During this war Scipio Africanus defeated the Carthaginians at the Battle of Ilipa (near Seville) in 206 BC. This led to the Romans taking over the Carthaginian possessions in southern Spain and on the east coast up to the River Ebro. Several governors of Hispania Citerior commanded wars against the Celtiberians who lived to the west of this province. In the late first century B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a Roman province located in Hispania (on the Iberian Peninsula) during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania (modern Portugal, Extremadura and a small part of Salamanca province) and Gallaecia (modern Northern Portugal and Galicia). Its capital was Corduba. Etymology ''Hispania'' is the Latin term given to the Iberian Peninsula. The term can be traced back to at least 200 BC when the term was used by the poet Quintus Ennius. The word is possibly derived from the Punic אי שפן ''I-Shaphan'' meaning "coast of hyraxes", in turn a misidentification on the part of Phoenician explorers of its numerous rabbits as hyraxes. Ulterior is the comparative form of ulter, which means "that is beyond". According to ancient historian Cassius Dio, the people of the region came from many different tribes. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carthago Nova
Cartago Nova was the name of the city of Cartagena from the Roman conquest until the Byzantine domination in the 6th century, when its name changed to Carthago Spartaria. History Origin Cartago Nova was founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal the Fair, son-in-law and successor of Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal. Cartago Nova became the most important of the Carthaginian cities on the peninsula, owing to its strong position and a well-built wall, and it was provided with harbors, lagoons, and silver mines. In Cartago Nova and the surrounding towns, salted fish abounded, and it was the principal emporium both for goods arriving by sea destined for inland residents, and for inland products intended for overseas trade. However, it seems that the city was not founded entirely ''ex novo'', but rather built on an earlier Iberian or possibly Tartessian settlement. There is evidence of commercial exchanges with the Phoenicians dating back to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders and strategists of all time, his greatest military achievement was the defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. This victory in Africa earned him the honorific epithet ''Africanus'', literally meaning 'the African', but meant to be understood as a conqueror of Africa (Roman province), Africa. Scipio's conquest of Carthaginian Iberia culminated in the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC against Hannibal's brother Mago Barca. Although considered a hero by the Roman people, primarily for his victories against Carthage, Scipio had many opponents, especially Cato the Elder, who hated him deeply. In 187 BC, he was tried in a show trial alongside his brother for bribes they supposedly received from the Seleucid king Antiochus III ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC)
Publius Cornelius Scipio (died 211 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic and the father of Scipio Africanus. A member of the Cornelia ''gens'', Scipio served as consul in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War. At the outbreak of the war, he was ordered to conduct the war effort in the Iberian Peninsula and confront Hannibal himself, while his fellow consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus was allocated Sicily and Africa. Scipio was given permission to recruit two Roman legions, 14,000 allied infantry, 1,600 allied cavalry and given 60 quinqueremes. He sailed with his army from Pisa with the intention of confronting Hannibal in Hispania. Stopping at Massalia (today Marseille) to replenish his supplies, he was shocked to discover that Hannibal's army had moved from Hispania and was crossing the Rhône. Scipio disembarked his army and marched to confront Hannibal, who, by now, had moved on. Returning to the fleet, he entrusted the command of his army to his br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Iberian Coinage
Ancient Iberian coinage began in the fifth century BC, and widespread minting and circulation in the Iberian peninsula began late in the third century, during the Second Punic War. Civic coinages - emissions made by individual cities at their own volition - continued under the first two and a half centuries of Roman control until ending in the mid-first century AD. Some non-civic coins were minted on behalf of Roman emperors during this period and continued to be minted after the cessation of the civic coinages. After the cessation of the civic coinages, these Imperial coins were the only coins minted in Iberia until the coins of the Suebi and Visigoths. Ancient Iberia was connected to the eastern and central Mediterranean, and so there are links to the Greek, Roman and Punic ( Carthaginian) civic coinages. There are also many differences that reflect dynamics within Iberia itself. The colonial background: 6th century BC to the Second Punic War (-218 BC) Small numbers of coins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Conquest Of Hispania
The romans ruled and occupied territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtic, Iberian, Celtiberian and Aquitanian tribes and the Carthaginian Empire. The Carthaginian territories in the south and east of the peninsula were conquered in 206 BC during the Second Punic War. Control was gradually extended over most of the peninsula without annexations. It was completed after the end of the Roman Republic (27 BC), by Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who annexed the whole of the peninsula to the Roman Empire in 19 BC. This conquest started with the Roman acquisition of the former Carthaginian territories in southern Hispania and along the east coast as a result of defeating the Carthaginians (206 BC) during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), after which the Carthaginian forces left the peninsula. This resulted in an ongoing Roman territorial presence in southern and eastern Hispania. In 197 BC, the Romans established two Roman pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
