The Iacetani or Jacetani (, or ) were a pre-Roman people who populated the area north of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

(

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). They settled 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 ...

valley, specifically in the area along the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. Its capital was ''Iaca'' (now

Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca (province), Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón (river), ...

). According to

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 ...

, their land stretched from the Pyrenees to

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

and

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

. It is believed that they could be related to the Aquitanes. They were known to stamp coins. They also appear in the texts of

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. However, it is likely that some of the ancient sources confuse them with the Lacetani.

Origins

Their affiliation with the Vascones is disputable, as they inhabited an area in the high Aragon river valley (today's northwestern corner of

). Strabo mentions Iacetani in his

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 ...

chronicles as people independent from the Vascones, although another Greek historian,

identified them with the Vascones. According to some theories, they may have originated from the Aquitanians who crossed the

and settled in the southern slopes of the mountains along with the Vascones (they could be related peoples or tribes with a common origin but not the same people). These mountain people were bordered to the south by the Suessetani of the plains, who were often looted by the inhabitants of Iaca.

History

The Iacetani were defeated by the Romans in 195 BC when

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (, ; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor (), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He wa ...

took their capital with the support of the Suessetani, which distracted the Iacetanian army. Coins minted with the inscription "IACA" in northeastern Iberian script are coincident with their being mentioned by Strabo, dating between the 1st century BC and early in the 1st century AD.

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 ...

cited the Iacetani as one of the tribes that changed allegiances to him alongside the Ausetani and Illurgavones during his campaign extending the Roman frontier. This event happened shortly after Decimus Brutus defeated Domitius' fleet in the war against the Veneti and increased Caesar's reputation among the natives prompting the Iacetani to begin sending envoys and even agreed to supply him with corn.

Romanization

In 19 BC their territory was incorporated into the Roman Empire, in the aftermath of the Cantabrian Wars, as vassals of

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, ...

. This meant that they did not enjoyed the full Roman citizenship status, and their situation was precarious when compared to other peoples of the region, such as the Sedetani.

References

* VV. AA., Los Aragoneses, Madrid, Istmo (Fundamentos 57), 1977, pages 70–71. .

Bibliography

* Ángel Montenegro ''et alii'', ''Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C)'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989)

External links

Page on Iberian currency

Encyclopedia of Aragon

Great Encyclopedia Rialp on Iacetani
{{Pre-Roman peoples in Spain Iberians Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Tribes conquered by Rome