
The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; ) were a
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 ...
tribal complex who inhabited
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...
, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the
Norte Region in northern Portugal, and the
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 countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
regions of
Galicia, western
Asturias
Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
and western
León before and during the
Roman period
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. They spoke a
Q-Celtic language related to
Northeastern Hispano-Celtic, called
Gallaecian
Gallaecian or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic is an extinct Celtic language of the Hispano-Celtic group. It was spoken by the Gallaeci in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula around the start of the 1st millennium. The region became the Roman p ...
or
Northwestern Hispano-Celtic. The region was annexed by the Romans in the time of
Caesar Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...
during the
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 to ...
, a war which initiated the assimilation of the Gallaeci into Latin culture.
The endonym of modern-day Galicians, ''galegos'', derives directly from the name of this people.
Archaeology
Archaeologically, the Gallaeci evolved from the local
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a term that has never been formally defined. Some take its meaning to be a label for the period spanning approximately 1300–700 BC in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain; that is, the Atlantic coast of Euro ...
culture (1300–700 BC). During the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
they received additional influences, including from Southern Iberian and Celtiberian cultures, and from central-western Europe (
Hallstatt
Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...
and, to a lesser extent,
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...
), and from the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
(
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 civi ...
and
Carthaginians
The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...
). The Gallaeci dwelt in
hill forts (locally called ''castros''), and the archaeological culture they developed is known by archaeologists as "
Castro culture
Castro culture (, , , , meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day northern and central Portugal together with the Spanish regions of ...
", a hill-fort culture (usually, but not always) with round or elongated houses.

The Gallaecian way of life was based in land occupation especially by fortified settlements that are known in Latin language as "castra" (hillforts) or "oppida" (citadels); they varied in size from small villages of less than one hectare (more common in the northern territory) to great walled citadels with more than 10 hectares sometimes denominated ''oppida'', being these latter more common in the Southern half of their traditional settlement and around the
Ave river
Ave River (, ) is a river in Northern Portugal. It has its source in the Cabreira Mountain (Serra da Cabreira) in the Minho Region. In its course passes through the cities of Guimarães, Vizela, Santo Tirso, Trofa and Vila do Conde.
The Vize ...
.
Due to the dispersed nature of their settlements, large towns were rare in pre-Roman Gallaecia although some medium-sized
oppida
An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...
have been identified, namely the obscure ''Portus Calle'' (also known as ''Cales'' or ''Cale'';
Castelo de Gaia, near
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
), ''Avobriga'' (
Castro de Alvarelhos –
Santo Tirso
Santo Tirso () is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, 25 km from central Porto, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry. The population in 2021 was 67,709, in ...
?), ''Tongobriga'' (
Freixo –
Marco de Canaveses
Marco de Canaveses () is a city and municipality on Porto district, in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 53,450, in an area of 201.89 km2. The city itself had a population of 9,042 in 2001.
Geography
The city of Marco Canaveses i ...
), ''Brigantia'' (
Bragança?), ''Tyde/Tude'' (
Tui), ''Lugus'' (
Lugo
Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
) and the Atlantic trading port of ''Brigantium'' (also designated ''Carunium''; either
Betanzos or
A Coruña
A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
).
This livelihood in hillforts was common throughout Europe during the Bronze and Iron Ages, getting in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, the name of 'Castro culture" (''Castrum'' culture) or "hillfort's culture", which alludes to this type of settlement prior to the Roman conquest. However, several Gallaecian hillforts continued to be inhabited until the 5th century AD.

These fortified villages tended to be located in the hills, and occasionally rocky promontories and peninsulas near the seashore, as it improved visibility and control over territory. These settlements were strategically located for a better control of natural resources, including mineral ores such as iron. The Gallaecian hillforts and oppidas maintained a great homogeneity and presented clear commonalities. The citadels, however, functioned as city-states and could have specific cultural traits.
The names of such hill-forts, as preserved in Latin inscriptions and other literary sources, were frequently composite nouns with a second element such as -bris (from proto-Celtic *brixs), -briga (from proto-Celtic *brigā), -ocelum (from proto-Celtic *okelo-), -dunum (from proto-Celtic *dūno-) all meaning "hill > hill-fort" or similar: Aviliobris, Letiobri, Talabriga, Nemetobriga, Louciocelo, Tarbucelo, Caladunum, etc. Others are superlative formations (from proto-Celtic *-isamo-, -(s)amo-): Berisamo (from *Bergisamo-), Sesmaca (from *Segisamo-). Many Galician modern day toponyms derive from these old settlements' names: Canzobre < Caranzovre < *Carantiobrixs, Trove < Talobre < *Talobrixs, Ombre < Anobre < *Anobrixs, Biobra < *Vidobriga, Bendollo < *Vindocelo, Andamollo < *Andamocelo, Osmo < Osamo < *Uxsamo, Sésamo < *Segisamo, Ledesma < *φletisama...
Associated archaeologically with the hill forts are the famous
Gallaecian warrior statues - slightly larger than life size statues of warriors, assumed to be deified local heroes.
Political-territorial organization
The Gallaecian political organization is not known with certainty but it is very probable that they were divided into small independent chiefdoms who the Romans called ''populus'' or ''civitas'', each one ruled by a local petty king or chief (''
princeps
''Princeps'' (plural: ''Principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person". As a title, ''Princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic wherein the ...
''), as in other parts of Europe. Each populus comprised a sizeable number of small hillforts (''castellum''). So each Gallaecian considered themselves a member of his or her populus and of the hillfort where they lived, as deduced by their usual onomastic phormula: first Name + patronymic (genitive) + (optionally) populus or nation (nominative) + (optionally) origin of the person = name of their hill-fort (ablative):
* Nicer Clvtosi > Cavriaca principis Albionum: Nicer son of Clutosius, from (the hill-fort known as) Cauria, prince of the Albions.
* Apana Ambolli f Celtica Supertam(arica)>
--bri: Apana daughter of Ambollus, a Supertamaric Celtic, from (the hill-fort known as)
bri.
* Anceitvs Vacci f Limicvs > Talabric(a): Ancetos son of Vaccios, a Limic, from (the hill-fort known as) Talabriga.
* Bassvs Medami f Grovvs > Verio: Bassos son of Medamos, a Grovian, from (the hill-fort known as) Verio.
* Ladronu
Dovai Bra
aus Castell
Durbede: Ladronos son of Dovaios, a Bracaran, from the castle Durbeds.
Gallaeci tribes
The list of Gallaeci tribes sorted by minority groups:
Bracarenses
* Abobrigenses
* Aquaflavienses / Aquiflavienses
*
Bracari
The Bracari or Callaeci Bracari were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, living in the northwest of modern Portugal, in the province of Minho Province, Minho, between the rivers Tâmega river, Tâmega and Cávado River, Cávado. After the con ...
* Bibali
* Caladuni
*
Coelerni
*
Equaesi
*
Gallaeci
The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; ) 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, and the Spanish regions ...
Proper /
Callaeci Proper
*
Grovii /
Grovi
* Helleni
*
Interamici / Interamnici
*
Leuni
*
Luanqui
* Lubaeni
*
Limici
*
Narbasi The Narbasi were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, living in the province of Minho (north of modern Portugal) and nearby areas of modern Galicia (Spain)
Galicia ( ; or ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community o ...
*
Nemetati
The Nemetati were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, living in the north of modern Portugal between the Cávado River, Cávado and Ave River valley, in the province of Minho Province, Minho, north of the Douro.
They are known because of a ment ...
*
Quaquerni /
Quarquerni /
Querquerni
*
Seurbi
*
Tamagani
*
Turodi /
Turodes
Lucenses
*
Adovi /
Iadovi
*
Albiones
*
Arroni
*
Arrotrebae /
Artabri
*
Baedi
*
Capori /
Copori
*
Celtici Praestamarici
*
Celtici Supertamarici
*
Cibarci / Cabarci
*
Cileni /
Celeni
* Egi / Egovarri / Varri Namarini
*
Lemavi
*
Nerii /
Neri
*
Seurri
Other minor groups
* Aebocosi
* Amphilochi
* Artodii
* Aunonenses
* Banienses
* Barhantes
* Brassii
*
Brigantes (Gallaecian tribe)
*
Cuci
* Iadones
*
Lapatianci
*
Louguei
* Naebisoci / Aebisoci
* Namarii
*
Poemani
* Segodii
* Tongobrigenses
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...
, who described the Galician seashore and their dwellers around 40 AD, divided the coastal Gallaeci in non-Celtic
Grovii along the southern areas; the Celtic peoples who lived along the
Rías Baixas
The Rías Baixas ( Galician for "Lower Rias") are a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia, Spain. They are the Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ría de Pontevedra, and the Ría de Vigo.Me ...
and
Costa da Morte regions in northern Galicia; and the also Celtic
Artabri who dwelled all along the northern coast in between the latter and the
Astures.
Etymology
The Romans named the entire region north of the
Douro
The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
, where the
Castro culture
Castro culture (, , , , meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day northern and central Portugal together with the Spanish regions of ...
existed, in honour of the castro people that settled in the area of Calle — the ''Callaeci''. The Romans established a port in the south of the region which they called
Portus Calle, today's
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, in northern Portugal. When the Romans first conquered the Callaeci they ruled them as part of the province of
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...
but later created a new province of ''Callaecia'' () or
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...
.
The names "Callaici" and "Calle" are the origin of today's
Gaia
In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...
, Galicia, and the "Gal" root in "Portugal", among many other placenames in the region.
Gallaecian language
Gallaecian
Gallaecian or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic is an extinct Celtic language of the Hispano-Celtic group. It was spoken by the Gallaeci in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula around the start of the 1st millennium. The region became the Roman p ...
was a Q-Celtic language or group of languages or dialects, closely related to Celtiberian, spoken at the beginning of our era in the north-western quarter of the Iberian Peninsula, more specifically between the west and north Atlantic coasts and an imaginary line running north–south and linking Oviedo and Mérida. Just like it is the case for Illyrian or Ligurian languages, its corpus is composed by isolated words and short sentences contained in local Latin inscriptions, or glossed by classic authors, together with a considerable number of names – anthroponyms, ethnonyms, theonyms, toponyms – contained in inscriptions, or surviving up to date as place, river or mountain names. Besides, many of the isolated words of Celtic origin preserved in the local Romance languages could have been inherited from these Q-Celtic dialects.
Gallaecian deities
Through the Gallaecian-Roman inscriptions, is known part of the great pantheon of Gallaecian deities, sharing part not only by other Celtic or Celticized peoples in the Iberian Peninsula, such as Astur — especially the more Western — or Lusitanian, but also by Gauls and Britons among others. This will highlight the following:
*
Bandua: Gallaecian God of War, similar to the Roman god, Mars. Great success among the Gallaeci of Braga.
* Berobreus: god of the Otherworld and beyond. The largest shrine dedicated to Berobreo documented until now, stood in the fort of the Torch of Donón (Cangas), in the Morrazo's Peninsula, front of the Cíes Islands.
*
Bormanicus: god of hot springs similar to the Gaulish god, Bormanus.
*
Nabia: goddess of waters, of fountains and rivers. In Galicia and Portugal still nowadays, numerous rivers that still persist with his name, as the river Navia, ships and in northern Portugal there is the Idol Fountain, dedicated to the goddess ship.
* Cossus, warrior god, who attained great popularity among the Southern Gallaeci, was one of the most revered gods in ancient Gallaecia. Several authors suggest that Cosso and Bandua are the same God under different names.
*
Reue, associated with the supreme God hierarchy, justice and also death.
*
Lugus
Lugus (sometimes Lugos or Lug) is a Celtic god whose worship is attested in the epigraphic record. No depictions of the god are known. Lugus perhaps also appears in Ancient Rome, Roman sources and medieval Insular Celts, Insular mythology.
Va ...
, or Lucubo, linked to prosperity, trade and craft occupations. He is one of gods most common among the Celts and many place names are derived from his name.
*
Coventina, goddess of abundance and fertility. Strongly associated with the water nymphs, their cult record for most Western Europe, from England to Gallaecia.
*
Endovelicus (
Belenus
Belenus (Gaulish: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic healing god. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the British Isles, with a main sanctuary located at Aquileia, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. Through ...
), god of prophecy and healing, showing the faithful in dreams.
History
The fact that the Gallaeci did not adopt writing until contact with the
Romans constrains the study of their earlier history. However, early allusions to the Gallaeci are present in ancient Greek and Latin authors prior to the conquest, which allows the reconstruction of a few historical events of this people since the second century BC. The oldest known inscription referring to the Gallaeci (reading ''Ἔθνο
�ςΚαλλαϊκῶ
�', "people of the Gallaeci") was found in 1981 in the
Sebasteion of Aphrodisias,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, where a triumphal monument to
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
mentions them among other fifteen nations allegedly conquered by this Roman emperor.
Protected by their mountainous country and its isolation, the Gallaican tribes did not fell under
Carthaginian rule in the 3rd century BC, though a combined Gallaeci-
Lusitani
The Lusitanians were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and Extremadura and Castilla y Leon of Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians ...
mercenary contingent led by a chieftain named
Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish; died 139 Anno Domini, BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanians, Lusitanian people that resisted Roman Republic, Roma ...
(not the later
Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish; died 139 Anno Domini, BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanians, Lusitanian people that resisted Roman Republic, Roma ...
that defended western
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
) is mentioned in
Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
's army during his march to Italy during 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 ...
, participating in the
battles of Lake Trasimene and
Cannae
Cannae (now , ) is an ancient village of the region of south east Italy. It is a (civil parish) of the (municipality) of . Cannae was formerly a bishopric, and is a Latin Catholic titular see (as of 2022).
Geography
The commune of Cannae i ...
.
On his epic poem ''
Punica
''Punica'' is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Lythraceae. The better known species is the pomegranate (''Punica granatum''). The other species, the Socotra pomegranate ('' Punica prot ...
'',
Silius Italicus
Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book '' Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and the ...
gives a short description of these mercenaries and their military tactics:
The Gallaeci came into direct contact with Rome relatively late, in the wake of the Roman punitive campaigns against their southern neighbours, the
Lusitani
The Lusitanians were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and Extremadura and Castilla y Leon of Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians ...
and the
Turduli Veteres. Regarded as hardy fighters, Gallaeci warriors fought for the Lusitani during
Viriathus
Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish; died 139 Anno Domini, BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanians, Lusitanian people that resisted Roman Republic, Roma ...
'
campaigns in the south, and in 138-136 BC they faced the first Roman incursion into their territory by consul
Decimus Junius Brutus, whose campaign reached as far as the river ''Nimis'' (possibly the
Minho or Miño). After seizing the town of ''
Talabriga'' (Marnel,
Lamas do Vouga –
Águeda
Águeda () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. According to the Portuguese 2011 census, the municipality of Águeda had 47,729 inhabitants, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 14,504 (2001 data), while the remainder is distri ...
) from the Turduli Veteres, he crushed an allegedly 60,000-strong Gallaeci relief army sent to support the Lusitani at a desperate and difficult battle near the
Durius river, in which 50,000 Gallaicans were slain, 6,000 were taken prisoner and only a few managed to escape, before withdrawing south.
It remains unclear if the Gallaeci participated actively in 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, although a fragment of
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...
records the sertorian
legate
Legate may refer to: People
* Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr
* Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor
* William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur
Political and religious offices
*Legatus, a hig ...
Marcus Perperna Veiento
Marcus Perperna (or Perpenna) Veiento (also, incorrectly, Vento; died 72 BC) was a Roman aristocrat, statesman and general. He fought in Sulla's civil war, Lepidus' failed rebellion of 77 BC and from 76 to 72 BC in the Sertorian War. He conspired ...
capturing the town of Cale in around 74 BC. Later in 61-60 BC the
Propraetor
In ancient Rome, a promagistrate () was a person who was granted the power via '' prorogation'' to act in place of an ordinary magistrate in the field. This was normally ''pro consule'' or ''pro praetore'', that is, in place of a consul or praet ...
of
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 moder ...
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
forced upon them the recognition of Roman suzerainty after defeating the northern Gallaeci in a combined sea-and-land battle at ''Brigantium'', but it remained mostly nominal until the outbreak of the
first Astur-Cantabrian War in 29 BC. Again, the involvement of the Gallaeci in the latter conflict remains obscure, with
Paulus Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...
briefly mentioning that the Augustan
legates
A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...
Gaius Antistius Vetus and
Gaius Firmius fought a difficult campaign to subdue the Gallaeci tribes of the more remote forested and mountainous parts of Gallaecia bordering the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, defeating them only after a series of severe battles, though no exact details are given. After conquering Gallaecia,
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
promptly used its territory – now part of his envisaged
Transduriana Province, whose organization was entrusted to
suffect consul
The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...
Lucius Sestius Albanianus QuirinalisStrabo
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-si ...
, ''Geographica'', III, 4, 20. – as a springboard to his rear offensive against the
Astures.
Romanization
In the later part of the 1st century BC military colonies were established at ''
Portus Cale'' (
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
), ''Bracara Augusta'' (
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
), ''Lucus Augusti'' (
Lugo
Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...
) and ''
Asturica Augusta
Asturica Augusta was a Ancient Rome, Roman city corresponding to the Spanish city of Astorga, Spain, Astorga, in the province of León, Spain, León. Founded around 14 B.C. as a camp of the Legio X Gemina, at the beginning of the first century it ...
'' (
Astorga), with the pacified Gallaeci tribes being integrated by Augustus into his new
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...
province. Later in the 3rd century AD, Emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
created an administrative division which included the
Conventus of Gallaecia, Asturica and, perhaps, Cluniense into the new province of Gallaecia (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
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 of all kno ...
: ''Kallaikia''), with ''Bracara Augusta'' as the new provincial capital. Gallaecia during the Empire became a recruiting district of auxiliary troops (''auxilia'') for the Roman Army and Gallaican auxiliary cavalry (''equitatae'') and infantry (''peditatae'') units (''Cohors II Lucensium'', ''Cohors III Lucensium'', ''Cohors I Bracaraugustanorum'', ''Cohors III Bracaraugustanorum'', ''Cohors III Callaecorum Bracaraugustanorum'', ''Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium'', ''Cohors VI Braecarorum'', ''Cohors I Asturum et Callaecorum'') distinguished themselves during Emperor
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
'
conquest of Britain in AD 43-60.
The region remained one of the last redoubts of Celtic culture and language in 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 ...
well into the Roman imperial period, at least until the spread of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and the
Germanic invasions of the late 4th/early 5th centuries AD, when it was conquered by the
Suevi
file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple.
The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...
and their
Hasdingi
The Hasdingi were one of the Vandal peoples of the Roman era. The Vandals were Germanic peoples, who are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language, and were first reported during the first centuries of the Roman empire in the area which i ...
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...
' allies.
See also
*
Albiones
*
Astures
*
Cantabri
The Cantabri (, ''Kantabroi'') or Ancient Cantabrians were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. These peoples and their territor ...
*
Celtici
*
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...
*
Gallaecian warrior statues
*
Galician Institute for Celtic Studies
*
Prehistoric Iberia
Prehistory in the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the first ''Homo'' genus representatives from Africa, which may range from 1.5 million years (Year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma) ago to 1.25 Ma ago, depending on t ...
*
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
This is a list of the pre- Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, i.e., modern Portugal, Spain and Andorra). Some closely fit the concept of a people, ethnic group or tribe. Others are confederations or even unions of tribe ...
Notes
References
* Ángel Montenegro ''et alii'', ''Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C)'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989)
* André Pena Granha, "A CULTURA CASTREXA INEXISTENTE. CONSTITUIÇÃO POLÍTICA DAS GALAICAS TREBA". Cátedra, Pontedeume (2014)
* Armando Coelho Ferreira da Silva, ''A Cultura Castreja no Noroeste de Portugal'', Museu Arqueológico da Citãnia de Sanfins, Paços de Ferreira (1986)
* Francisco Manuel Veleda Reimão Queiroga, ''War and castros: new approaches to the north-western Portuguese Iron Age'', BAR International Series, Archaeopress, Oxford (2003)
* José Manuel Coutinhas, ''Aproximação à identidade etno-cultural dos Callaici Bracari'', Porto (2006)
*
Further reading
* Daniel Varga, ''The Roman Wars in Spain: The Military Confrontation with Guerrilla Warfare'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2015)
* Mário Varela Gomes & Armando Coelho Ferreira da Silva, ''Proto-História de Portugal'', Universidade Aberta, Lisboa (1995)
* Martín Almagro-Gorbea, José María Blázquez Martínez, Michel Reddé, Joaquín González Echegaray, José Luis Ramírez Sádaba, and Eduardo José Peralta Labrador (coord.), ''Las Guerras Cántabras'', Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander (1999)
*
* Luis Berrocal-Rangel, ''Los pueblos célticos del soroeste de la Península Ibérica'', Editorial Complutense, Madrid (1992)
* Luis Silva, ''Viriathus and the Lusitanian resistance to Rome 155-139 BC'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013)
* Philip Matyszak, ''Sertorius and the struggle for Spain'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013)
* R. F. J. Jones, ''The Roman Military Occupation of North-West Spain'', The Journal of Roman Studies (JRS), Vol. 66, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (1976), pp. 45-66. �
External links
Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)* https://www.celtiberia.net
{{Pre-Roman peoples in Iberia
Tribes of Gallaecia
History of Galicia (Spain)
History of Asturias
Ancient peoples of Spain
Ancient peoples of Portugal