Tanginus (known as ''Tangino'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

) was a chieftain of the

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...

, active during the

Numantine War The Numantine WarThe term Numantine War can refer to the whole conflict lasting from 154 to 133 or to just the latter part, from 143 to 133. Thus, the two conflicts are sometimes called the Numantine Wars (plural) and subdivided into the First an ...

Biography

Despite his allegiance to the Numantines during the war, Tanginus's original tribe is unknown. It is usually acknowledged he was under the umbrella term of a Celtiberian, although he might have been also a

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

given that his name was common in Lusitania. Latder tradition claim Tanginus was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

before the war. In any case, he went to follow the usual warring activities of the Celtiberians, who often sacked the territories attacked by Tanginus. He entered the Numantine War in 141 BC, while

Quintus Pompeius Quintus Pompeius was the name of various Romans from the gens Pompeia, who were of plebeian status. They lived during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Consul of 141 BC Quintus Pompeius A. f. (flourished 2nd century BC) was the son of an Aulu ...

was battling Celtiberian settlements around the

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...

Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray (Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...

. Leading large contingents of bandits, Tanginus sacked the territories of the

Edetani The Edetani were an ancient Iberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language. See also *Iberians * Edeta *Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Thi ...

ans and

Sedetani The Sedetani were an ancient Iberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language. The Sedetani minted their own coins. Their territory extended from central to ...

ans, allies to Rome, which forced Pompeius to leave Numantia and march to protect their vassals. Some argue this could have been Tanginus's goal, as previous attempts to break the siege of Numantia by force had proved to be unsuccessful. Pompeius encountered Tanginus in Salduie (modern day

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

), where the Celtiberian crossed the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

river to keep the distance with the more numerous Romans. However, Pompeius crossed it too with cavalry troops and reached their enemies in Ebelinum (

Ayerbe :''Ayerbe is also the name of a village in the Broto municipality.'' Ayerbe is a town in the Hoya de Huesca comarca, in the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. Geography Ayerbe is located 28 km from Huesca on highway A 132 in the directi ...

), after which the rest of his army followed them and defeated the Celtiberians. Tanginus's final fate is unknown, although it is traditionally believed he survived and escaped by horse. However, Pompeius captured many of his warriors, which attracted a great deal of attention in ancient sources: unwilling to become prisoners or slaves, many of the seized Celtiberians killed themselves, their captors and each other, to the point the Romans had to tie them up to stop the bloodshed. Even when Pompeius tried to send the survivors to Rome by sea, the prisoners fought the sailors and scuttled the ships, dying all of them. Tanginus's empress was not in vain, as when Pompeius returned to Numantia to resume the siege, he suffered repeated defeats there and was forced to sign a peace treaty.

Etymology

The name ''Tanginus'' or ''Tancinus'' has

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 Foo ...

and

Germanic Germanic may refer to: * Germanic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group identified by their use of the Germanic languages ** List of ancient Germanic peoples and tribes * Germanic languages :* Proto-Germanic language, a reconstructed proto-language o ...

roots.

Notes

{{reflist 141 BC Celtic warriors Spanish rebels Year of birth unknown