The Carpetani ( Greek: ''Karpetanoi''), also named ''Karpesioi'' by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, were one of the Celtic peoples inhabiting 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 ...

prior to the Roman conquest. Their core domain was constituted by the lands between the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

and the Anas, in the southern Meseta. Agriculture is thought to have had a greater importance in the Carpetanian economy than other neighboring peoples'.

Location

Since the 5th century BC the Carpetani inhabited the Toledo and Alcaraz highland ranges along the middle Tagus basin, occupying a territory that stretched from the Guadarrama river at the north to the upper ''Anas'' ( Guadiana) in the modern provinces of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, Toledo,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and Ciudad Real, an area designated as Carpetania in the ancient sources. Main

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

s ('' Civitates'') in the region were ''Toletum'' (near modern Toledo; Roman or Celtiberian-type mint: ''Tole''), ''Iplacea''/'' Complutum'' (

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

–

); Celtiberian-type mint: ''Ikezancom Konbouto''?), ''Titulcia'' (El Cerrón, near modern Titulcia –

), ''Consabura'' ( Consuegra – Toledo), ''Barnacis'' ( Orgaz – Ciudad Real; Celtiberian-type mint: ''Bornaiscom''), '' Laminium'' (

Argamasilla de Alba Argamasilla de Alba is a municipality in the Province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 6,791. According to local legend, ''Don Quixote'' author Miguel de Cervantes was held prisoner here, and refers to the munici ...

or Alhambra – Ciudad Real) and ''Alce'' ( Campo de Criptana – Ciudad Real). Towns of lesser importance were ''Aebura'' ( Cuerva – Toledo), ''Metercosa'' ( Madridejos – Toledo), ''Ispinum'' ( Yepes – Toledo), ''Miaccum'' ( Casa de Campo – Madrid), ''Mantua'' ( Montiel – Ciudad Real), ''Thermida'' ( Trillo – Guadalajara), ''Ilarcuris'' ( Horche – Guadalajara) and ''Ilurbida'' ( Lorvigo, near Talavera de la Reina – Toledo). The exact location of the remaining Carpetanian towns is either uncertain or unknown, this is true in the cases of ''Dipo'' (near Toledo?), ''Libora'', ''Varada'', ''Caracca'' or ''Characa'', ''Rigusa'', ''Paterniana'', and ''Alternia''.

Origins

The origins of the Carpetani are obscure though their ruling elite certainly had Celtiberian and Gallic-

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

elements, whose ancestors arrived to the Peninsula in the wake of the Celtic migration at the 4th century BC; the rest of the population was clearly

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

and very mixed, including people of native Ibero- Tartessian and Indo-Aryan affiliation. Recent analysis of local epigraphic sources revealed that the Carpetani comprised some twenty-seven tribes, namely the Aelariques, Aeturiques, Arquioci, Acualiques, Bocouriques, Canbarici, Contucianci, Dagencii, Doviliques, Duitiques, Duniques, Elguismiques, Langioci, Longeidoci, Maganiques, Malugeniques, Manuciques, Maureici, Mesici, Metturici, Moenicci, Obisodiques, Pilonicori, Solici, Tirtaliques, Uloques, and Venatioques.

Culture

In archeological terms, it is now believed that they stemmed from both the transitional Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

/early

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 ...

'Campiñas de Madrid' farmers' and the ' Cogotas I' cultural groups. Only a few Carpetanian towns appear to have issued their own currency, modelled after Roman patterns copied directly or adapted via Celtiberian coinage. In the 2nd century BC, ''Iplacea/Complutum'' and ''Barnacis'' struck coins with their names marked in Celtiberian script, whilst later ''Toletum'' struck theirs bearing its name in

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

History

By the later part of the 3rd century BC, the Carpetani had evolved into a sort of federation or loose tribal confederacy whose nominal capital was set at ''Toletum'', with several centres of power in the main towns ruled by petty kings (). Some of these Rulers appear to have risen to prominence in the early 2nd century BC – one king Hilernus led a coalition of Carpetani, Vaccaei,

Vettones The Vettones (Greek language, Greek: ''Ouettones'') were an Prehistoric Iberia#Iron Age, Iron Age pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula. Origins Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly Hispano-Celtic lan ...

and Celtiberians against

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 ...

Marcus Fulvius near Toletum in 193 BC, but he was defeated in battle and captured; another ''Regulus'', Thurrus, ruler of Alce signed a treaty with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus in 179 BC. Prior to the Second Punic War, they opposed Carthaginian expansion in central Spain, but in 220 BC Hannibal defeated a combined force of Vaccaei, Olcades and Carpetani at the battle on the Tagus, thus completing his conquest of Hispania south of the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

with the exception of Saguntum. They also provided mercenary troops to the Carthaginian armies, for Frontinus mentions the desertion of 3,000 Carpetani warriors from Hannibal's army when he entered in Italy after crossing the Alps. During the Sertorian Wars, the Carpetani remained loyal to Rome, whilst their perpetual rivals and enemies the

and Celtiberians sided with Quintus Sertorius. From 197 BC and over the next 170 years, the Roman Republic slowly expanded its control over Hispania. This was a gradual process of economic, diplomatic and cultural infiltration and colonisation, with campaigns of military suppression when there was native resistance, rather than the result of a single policy of conquest. The Romans turned some of the native cities into tributary cities and established outposts and Roman colonies to expand their control.Fernández-Götz, Manuel; Maschek, Dominik; Roymans, Nico (December 2020). "The dark side of the Empire: Roman expansionism between object agency and predatory regime". Antiquity. 94 (378): 1633–1635. doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.125. S2CID 229167666.

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) * Francisco Burillo Mozota, ''Los Celtíberos - etnias y estados'', Crítica, Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) *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) * João Ferreira do Amaral, ''Os Filhos de Caim e Portugal - povos e migrações no II milénio a.C.'', Quetzal Editores, Lisbon (2004) * Juan Pereira Siesto (coord.), ''Prehistoria y Protohistoria de la Meseta Sur (Castilla-La Mancha)'', Biblioteca Añil n.º 31, ALMUD, Ediciones de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real (2007) * Julián Hurtado Aguña, ''Las gentilidades presentes en los testimonios epigráficos procedentes de la Meseta meridional'', Boletín del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueología: BSAA, Tomo 69–70, (2003-2004) pp. 185–206. - http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1404299 * *Philip Matyszak, ''Sertorius and the struggle for Spain'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013) *

External links

Jesús R. Álvarez-Sanchís, "Oppida and Celtic society in western Spain,"
in ''e-Celtoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies'', Vol. 6 (''The Celts in the Iberian Peninsula'')

{{Pre-Roman peoples in Spain Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula Ancient peoples of Spain