The Carpetani (

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 ...

: ''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 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 ...

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 ''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus was s ...

, 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 Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

and

Alcaraz Alcaraz may refer to: * Alcaraz, Albacete, municipality in Spain * Alcaraz (surname), includes a list of people with the name * Alcaraz rug, Spanish rug design * Alcaraz Palace, ancient palace in Persia, built around 2000 BC * Villa Alcaraz, vi ...

highland ranges along the middle

Tagus basin The Tagus Basin is the drainage basin of the Tagus, Tagus River, which flows through the west of the Iberian Peninsula and empties into Lisbon. It covers an area of 78,467 km2, which is distributed 66% (55,645 km2) on Spanish territory and 34% on ...

, occupying a territory that stretched from the

Guadarrama Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Its population is 17,063 according to the Continuous Register of 2023; the population swells to approximately 60,000 in summer. In th ...

river at the north to the upper ''Anas'' (

Guadiana The Guadiana River ( , , , ) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the e ...

) 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 ...

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 Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

, an area designated as

Carpetania Carpetania was an ancient region of what is today Spain, located between the Sierra de Guadarrama, the mountains of Toledo, the river Guadiana and the mountain range of Alcaraz, including approximately, the present independent communities of Mad ...

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 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 the ...

'') in the region were ''Toletum'' (near modern

; Roman or Celtiberian-type mint: ''Tole''), ''Iplacea''/''

Complutum Complutum was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman city located in the present-day city of Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It has been partially excavated and the impressive remains can be seen today at the Complutum archaeological site south west of the cu ...

'' (

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 Titulcia is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain. History Supposedly of Roman origin, Titulcia is situated on the ancient military road from Emerita Augusta and Cesaraugusta (now Zaragoza). With the arrival of the Arabs, the city w ...

–

), ''Consabura'' (

Consuegra Consuegra is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. In 2018, the municipality had a population of 10,098 inhabitants. It is 80 km from Ciudad Real and 60 km from Toledo. Consuegra is located in La Man ...

– Toledo), ''Barnacis'' (

Orgaz Orgaz is a municipality located in the Toledo (province), province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2012 census, the municipality had a population of 2804 inhabitants, but it has since declined. Burial of the Count of Orgaz ...

– Ciudad Real; Celtiberian-type mint: ''Bornaiscom''), ''

Laminium Laminium was an ''oppidum'' (fortified city), the southernmost of the Carpetania, Carpetan tribe and head of the ''Ager Laminitanus''. Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy make references to it on several occasions. The Roman ''Laminium'' acquired the st ...

'' (

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 ...

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

– Ciudad Real) and ''Alce'' (

Campo de Criptana Campo de Criptana is a municipality and town in the province of Ciudad Real in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain). It is found in the region known as La Mancha. History Historical development The area surrounding Campo de ...

– Ciudad Real). Towns of lesser importance were ''Aebura'' ( Cuerva – Toledo), ''Metercosa'' ( Madridejos – Toledo), ''Ispinum'' (

Yepes Yepes is a ''villa'' (town) in the northern region of the province of Toledo (province), Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Population *The first numbers about the population of Yepes date back to 1534 and accoun ...

– Toledo), ''Miaccum'' (

Casa de Campo The Casa de Campo (, for Spanish: ''Country House'') is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of central Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate, located just west of the R ...

– Madrid), ''Mantua'' (

Montiel Montiel is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 271.22 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 1,294. History On 5 March 122 ...

– Ciudad Real), ''Thermida'' ( Trillo – Guadalajara), ''Ilarcuris'' ( Horche – Guadalajara) and ''Ilurbida'' ( Lorvigo, near

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

– 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 The Celtiberian script is a Paleohispanic script that was the main writing system of the Celtiberian language, an extinct Continental Celtic language, which was also occasionally written using the Latin alphabet. This script is a direct adap ...

, 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 The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a pre- Roman Celtic people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania (specifically in Castile and León). Origins Also designated Vaccaena ...

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 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) ...

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 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 ...

, they opposed Carthaginian expansion in central Spain, but in 220 BC

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 ...

defeated a combined force of

Olcades The Olcades were an ancient stock-raising pre-Roman people from Hispania, who lived to the west of the Turboletae in the southeastern fringe of the Iberian system mountains. Origins Related to both the Celtiberians and Carpetani, the Olcades a ...

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 Sagunto () is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile '' comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

. They also provided mercenary troops to the Carthaginian armies, for

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube frontier ...

mentions the desertion of 3,000 Carpetani warriors from Hannibal's army when he entered in Italy after crossing the Alps. During 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, the Carpetani remained loyal to Rome, whilst their perpetual rivals and enemies the

and

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 ...

. 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