Mastia (or ''Massia of the Tartessians'') is an ancient Iberian settlement, belonging to the
Tartessian confederation, once located in southeastern Spain. It has traditionally been associated with the city of
Cartagena (Spain).
The association has been made principally from the analysis of classical sources in the early 20th century by
Adolf Schulten.
The first description of the city of Mastia appears in a poem entitled ''Ora Maritima'' (''Sea Coasts'') by the Latin poet
Rufius Festus Avienius from the 4th-century AD. The poem claims to contain borrowings from the mythic 6th-century BC
Massiliote Periplus The Massaliote Periplus or Massiliote Periplus is a now-lost merchants' handbook, possibly dating from as early as the 6th century BC, describing the sea routes used by traders from Phoenicia and Tartessus in their journeys around Iron Age Europe.
...
. The description of Avienus reads:
However, there is currently no conclusive evidence that the Mastia of Avienus refers to the same site where Cartagena will be founded. Context and other geographic descriptions that precede and follow these lines suggest that it could refer to the same location. Some scholars locate Mastia somewhere near the ancient city of
Carteia
Carteia () was a Phoenician and Ancient Rome, Roman town at the head of the Bay of Gibraltar in Spain. It was established at the most northerly point of the bay, next to the town of San Roque, Cádiz, San Roque, about halfway between the modern ...
(near modern Gibraltar), at the head of the
Bay of Algeciras
The Bay of Gibraltar (), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Med ...
.
In addition to the ''Ora Maritima'', there is also a reference to Mastia in the treaty between Rome and Carthage of 348 BC, as ''Μαστια Ταρσειων'' (''Mastia of the Tartessians''), which marked the Roman boundary on 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 ...
.
For
Hecataeus of Miletus
Hecataeus of Miletus (; ; c. 550 – c. 476 BC), son of Hegesander, was an early Greek historian and geographer.
Biography
Hailing from a very wealthy family, he lived in Miletus, then under Persian rule in the satrapy of Lydia ...
know that some cities were dependent on or under the influence of Mastia field and mentioned:
* Sixos of the Mastians. The only one that can be confidently identified. It corresponds to the current Sexi (
Almuñécar
Almuñécar () is a Spanish city and municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southwestern part of the comarcas of Spain, comarca of the Costa Granadina, in the province of Granada. It is located on the shores of the Mediterranean sea ...
)
* Maniobora of the Mastians.
* Molybdine of the Mastians.
* Syalis of the Mastians.
Its mineral wealth, fisheries, and agriculture was the cause of the Kingdom of Tartessos keeping it in their area of influence.
References
{{reflist
History of Cartagena, Spain
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula