The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos, were an ancient 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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 Foot ...

Cremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish

province of Zaragoza Zaragoza (), also called Saragossa in English,''Encyclopædia Britannica''Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)/ref> is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Its capital is the city of Zaragoza, whic ...

from the 3rd Century BC.

Origins

Apparently of mixed Illyrian and

( Belgic) origin and probably related with the Bellovaci, the Belli were said to have migrated to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

around the 4th Century BC. They were also part 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 BC. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strabo) ...

. However, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the ancestors of the Celtiberian groups were installed in the Meseta area of the peninsula from at least 1000 BC and probably much earlier.

Location

The Belli inhabited the middle Jiloca and

Huerva The Huerva River is a river in Aragon, Spain. It is a tributary of the Ebro. Its mean annual discharge is only . Course This long river rises in the Sierra de Cucalón, near Fonfría, Teruel, Fonfría in the Jiloca Comarca. Flowing northwestward ...

river valleys in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

province with their territories stretching up to the Guadalope and upper Turia valleys, close to their neighbours and clients, the

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 ...

. Their early capital was '' Segeda'' ( Poyo de Maya –

; Celtiberian mint: ''Sekaiza''), subsequently transferred to nearby Durón de Belmonte and later offset by ''Bilbilis'' ( Valdeherrera, near

Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...

–

; Celtiberian mint: ''Bilbiliz''). Other Belli urban centers included ''Nertobriga'' ( La Almunia de Doña Godina –

; Celtiberian mint: ''Nertobis''), ''Contrebia Belaisca'' ( Zaforas de Botorita –

; Celtiberian mint: ''Contebacom Bel''), ''Beligiom'' ( Piquete de la Atalaya de Azuara – Zaragoza; Celtiberian mint: ''Belikiom''), ''Belgeda'' ( Belchite – Zaragoza) and ''Lesera'' (Moleta dels Frares, near El Forcall – Castellón). It is plausible that by the 2nd Century BC they exerted some form of control over the strategic frontier towns of ''Belia'' (situated somewhere between the

' and Aguas Vivas' rivers; Celtiberian mint: ''Belaiscom''), ''Osicerda'' ( El Palau de Alcañiz –

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

; Iberian designation: ''Usercerte''), ''Damania'' ( Hinojosa de Jarque – Teruel; Celtiberian mint: ''Tamaniu'') and ''Orosis'' ( La Caridad de Caminreal – Teruel; Celtiberian mint: ''Orosiz''), facing the Iberian Lobetani and

Edetani The Edetani were an ancient Iberians, Iberian (Pre-Ancient Rome, Roman) people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language. See also *Iberians *Edeta *Pre-Roman peoples of the I ...

peoples of the modern

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

coastal region.

Culture

The most culturally advanced of the peoples of southern

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

, the Belli were the first Celtiberian tribe to adopt coinage in the aftermath of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

and to post laws in written form on bronze tablets (''Tabulae''), using a modified Northeastern Iberian script (known as the Celtiberian script) for their own language. In this script and language they inscribed the characteristic Celtiberian 'hospitality tokens' which are small bronze objects, in two halves, each half being retained by people who stood in hospitality relationship to one another.Cremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 63. These would act as a sort of identity card, and were probably used as safe-conducts or other warranties. The two halves have been found in places several hundreds of kilometres apart, which implies that the various Celtic groups maintained a system of communications throughout at least central Spain. The most complete Celtiberian text we have on the bronze 'hospitality tokens' that acted as a sort of identity card is from the Belli and reads ''lubos alisokum aualoske kontebias belaiskas'' meaning 'Lubos of the Aliso family, son of Aualos, from Contrebia Belaisca' showing the self-description of this man, by paternity, extended family and territory which is characteristically Celtic.

History

During the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, the Belli joined the Celtiberian confederacy alongside the

Arevaci The Arevaci or Aravaci (''Arevakos'', ''Arvatkos'' or ''Areukas'' in the Greek language, Greek sourcesPtolemy, ''Geographiké Hyphegésis'', II, 6, 55.), were a Celts, CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. people who settled in the ...

, Lusones and

, with whom they developed close political and military ties – in 153 BC the Numantines even elected the Belli General Caros as leader of the Celtiberian coalition army that ambushed the

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 thro ...

Quintus Fulvius Nobilior at the battle of Vulcanalia ( Ribarroya), at the Baldano river valley in the beginning of the first

Numantine War The Numantine WarThe term Numantine War can refer to the whole conflict lasting from 154 to 133 or to just the latter part, from 143 to 133. Thus, the two conflicts are sometimes called the Numantine Wars (plural) and subdivided into the First a ...

. Prior to that, they had been forced in 181 BC to accept Roman suzerainty by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, but this did not prevent them from resisting further Roman encroachment of their lands as well as fighting off Turboletae raids and the Iberian Lobetani people.

Romanization

Defeated in 143 BC by Proconsul

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 ...

, and faced with the fall of

Numantia Numantia () 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 153 BC, Num ...

in 133 BC and the subsequent collapse of the Celtiberian confederacy, the Belli territory was 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 though little is known of their history afterwards. The Belli appear to have remained independent until the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war in the Roman Republic fought from 80 to 72 BC between two Roman factions, one led by Quintus Sertorius and another led by the senate as constituted in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war. The war was fough ...

s of the early 1st Century BC, when they sided with

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

and provided auxiliary troops to his army. During that conflict, the Belli found themselves being gradually pushed back from the upper Jiloca by the

who seized Beligiom, Belgeda, Damania and Orosis, therefore losing all the lands east of the

River. Around 72 BC they and their Titii allies merged with the pro-

Uraci, Cratistii and Olcades tribes to form the Late Celtiberian people (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Celtiberi'') of romanized southern

.Curchin, ''The Romanization of Central Spain: Complexity, Diversity and Change in a Provincial Hinterland'' (2004), pp. 35-36.

Notes

Bibliography

* 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, Barcelona (1998) * Rafael Trevino and Angus McBride, ''Rome's Enemies (4): Spanish Armies 218BC-19BC'', Men-at-Arms series 180, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London (1986) *

External links

Homepage of the Segeda archaeology sites
*https://www.celtiberia.net {{Pre-Roman peoples in Spain Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Ancient peoples of Spain