Conistorgis was the main city of the Conii or Cynetes. In the Conii language it probably meant "city of the Conii". The

Celtici ] The Celtici (in Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish, and Galician languages, ) were a Celtic tribe or group of tribes of the Iberian Peninsula, inhabiting three definite areas: in what today are the regions of Alentejo and the Algarve in ...

seem to have been present there.

Location

Conistorgis was located somewhere in the interior of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, in southernmost

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, although the exact location is unknown.

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-si ...

places the land of the Conii between the river

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 ...

and Hieron Akroterion (sacred promontory), with the latter being the most extreme point of the known world. He places Conistorgis in

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 ...

territory. In 1990, the most likely location was considered to be Baixo Alentejo or

, northeast of Serra do Caldeirão. Some attempts have been made to identify Conistorgis with later, Roman sites. One suggestion is that Conistorgis would have been located in Beja, one of the few Portuguese cities not to have a preroman name. This hypothesis would interpret the name Conistorgis as having a

origin and meaning waterless () hill () and that

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 ...

would later rename

Pax Julia ''Pax Iulia'' (also known as ''Colonia Civitas Pacensis'') or later ''Pax Augusta'' was a city in the Roman province of Lusitania (today situated in the Portuguese municipality of Beja). History The region was inhabited during 400 BC by Celtic ...

. Another hypothesis is that Conistorgis would correspond to

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, Spain. None of these two suggestions are consensual among experts.

History

The Conii had made an alliance with the Romans during the conquest of 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 ...

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

mentions the city twice: once, between 155 and 152 BC, when the city is raided by the

Lusitanians 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 ...

, led by Caucenus, during the

Lusitanian War The Lusitanian Wars, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, were wars of resistance fought by the Lusitanian tribes of Hispania Ulterior against the advancing legions of the Roman Republic from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitanians re ...

against

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The second time is when Servius Sulpicius Galba retreats into the city around 150 BC, after his first battle against the Lusitanians.Appian's Roman History, Book VI. https://archive.org/details/appiansromanhist01appi/page/226/mode/2up Thus, the city was reconquered between 155 BC and 150 BC, probably by Marcus Atilius, when he fights against the Lusitanians and

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 ...

. 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 ...

, Conistorgis is again attacked. The Sertorian forces attack the Roman forces garrisoned in Conistorgis.

References

* Mattoso, José (dir.), História de Portugal. Primeiro Volume: Antes de Portugal, Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 1992. (in Portuguese) * *

, Geographika
III, 2, 2
*Muñoz, Mauricio Pasto: ''Viriato, A Luta pela Liberdade'' Ésquilo, 2003 (third edition; ).

External links

Destroyed populated places Roman towns and cities in Portugal History of the Algarve {{AncientRome-stub

Location

History

See also

References

External links