The Celtiberian confederacy was a tribal federation formed around the mid-3rd century BC, by the

Arevaci The Arevaci or Aravaci (''Arevakos'', ''Arvatkos'' or ''Areukas'' in the Greek sourcesPtolemy, ''Geographia'', II, 6, 55.), were a CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. people who settled in the central Meseta of northern Hispania a ...

Lusones The Lusones (Greek: ''Lousones'') were an ancient Celtiberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania), who lived in the high Tajuña River valley, northeast of Guadalajara. They were eliminated by the Romans as a signifi ...

Belli The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC. Origins Roman authors for unknown reasons wrote that the Belli wer ...

and

Titii The ''Titii'' (or ''Titii sodales'', later ''Titienses'', ''Sacerdotes Titiales Flaviales'') was a college ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests. Origins There are two versions of how the college was established. One credits Titus Tatius with creati ...

, with the Arevacian city of

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 ...

as the federal capital. During the Second Punic War the confederacy kept itself neutral, though Celtiberian mercenaries are mentioned fighting for both sides on a number of occasions. The first Roman incursion into the Celtiberian heartland occurred around 195 BC under

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 throu ...

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

, who attacked unsuccessfully the towns of ''Seguntia Celtiberorum'' and Numantia, where he allegedly delivered a speech to the numantines. Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae'', 16: 1, 3. Though neither Livy or any other Greco-Roman sources make no reference to such a speech. Upon the fall of Numantia in 134-133 BC, the Romans forcibly disbanded the Celtiberian confederacy and allowed the

Pellendones The Pellendones (also known as ''Pelendones Celtiberorum'' or ''Cerindones'') were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic people living on the Iberian Peninsula. From the early 4th century BC they inhabited the region near the source of the river Duero in wh ...

’ and Uraci to regain their independence from the Arevaci, who were now technically submitted and absorbed into Hispania Citerior province.

Notes

References

*Ángel Montenegro et alii, ''Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C)'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989) *Alberto Lorrio J. Alvarado, ''Los Celtíberos'', Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Murcia (1997) *Francisco Burillo Mozota, ''Los Celtíberos, etnias y estados'', Crítica, Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) *Rafael Trevino and Angus McBride, ''Rome's Enemies (4): Spanish Armies 218BC-19BC'', Men-at-Arms series 180, Osprey Publishing, London (1986) *J. Alberto Arenas Esteban & Mª Victoria Palacios Tamayo, ''El origen del mundo celtibérico'', Excmº Ayuntamiento de Molina de Aragón (1999)

External links

*http://www.celtiberia.net Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula {{Spain-hist-stub

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links