HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Vettones (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ''Ouettones'') were a pre-Roman people of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
of possibly
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 ...
ethnicity.


Origins

Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly western Hispano-Celtic features. Reissued in 2012 in softcover as . A Celtiberian origin has also been claimed. Organized since the 3rd Century BC, the Vettones formed a tribal confederacy of undetermined strength. Even though their tribes' names are obscure, the study of local epigraphic evidence has identified the Calontienses, Coerenses, Caluri,
Bletonesii The Bletonesii were one of the pre-Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, modern Spain and Portugal), dwelling around the city of ''Bletisa'' or ''Bletisama'', located in modern Ledesma in the province of Salamanca, Spa ...
and Seanoci, but the others remain unknown.


Culture

A predominately horse- and cattle-herder people that practiced
transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower val ...
,
archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
has identified them with the local 2nd
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
‘Cogotas II’ Culture, also known as the ‘Culture of the Verracos’ ('' verracos de piedra''), named after the crude
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
sculptures representing pigs,
wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...
s and
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...
s that still dot their former region. These are one of their most notable enduring legacies today, the other possibly being the game of Calva, which dates to the time of their influence. The
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
sites and respective cemeteries of Las Cogotas, La Osera, El Raso de Candeleda,
La Mesa de Miranda LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
and
Alcántara Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atteste ...
have provided enough elements – weapons, shields,
fibulae The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...
, belt buckles, bronze cauldrons,
Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...
and
Greek pottery Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
– which attest the strong contacts with the Pellendones of the eastern meseta, the Iberian south and the Mediterranean.


Location

The Vettones lived in the northwestern part of the '' meseta''—the high central upland plain of the
Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
—the region where the modern Spanish provinces of
Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m ab ...
and
Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
are today, as well as parts of Zamora, Toledo, Cáceres and also the eastern border areas of modern Portuguese territory. Their own capital city, which the ancient sources mysteriously failed to mention at all, has not yet been found though other towns mentioned by
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
were located, such as '' Capara'' ( Ventas de Cápara), ''Obila'' (
Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m ab ...
?), ''Mirobriga'' ( Ciudad Rodrigo?), ''Turgalium'' ( Trujillo, Cáceres), ''Alea'' ( Alía – Cáceres) and probably ''Bletisa'' / ''Bletisama'' ( Ledesma, Salamanca). Other probable Vettonian towns were ''Tamusia'' ( Villasviejas de Tamuja, near Botija, Cáceres; Celtiberian-type mint: ''Tamusiensi''), ''Ocelon / Ocelum'' ( Castelo Branco), ''Cottaeobriga'' ( Almeida) and ''Lancia'' ( Serra d’Opa).


History

Traditional allies of the Lusitani, the Vettones helped the latter in their struggle against the advancing Carthaginians led by Hasdrubal the Fair and
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...
in the late 3rd century BC. At first placed under nominal Punic suzerainty by the time of the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
, the Vettones threw off their yoke soon after 206 BC. However, a mercenary contingent of Vettones accompanied Hannibal on his march to Italy, led by the chieftain Balarus.
Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book '' Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and th ...
, '' Punica'', III, 378-414.
At the
Lusitanian War The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war 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 ...
s of the 2nd century BC they joined once again the Lusitani under
Punicus Punicus (known as ''Púnico'' in Portuguese and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He became their first military leader during the Lusitanian War, and also led their first majo ...
,
Caesarus Caesarus (known as ''Césaro'' in Portuguese and Spanish) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto- Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He followed and later replaced Punicus as their major military leader during the Lusitanian War. Biograp ...
and
Caucenus Caucenus (known as ''Cauceno'' in Portuguese and Spanish) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto- Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He was an important military figure during the earlier phase of the Lusitanian War. Biography Caucenus ...
in their attacks on Baetica, Carpetania, the Cyneticum and the failed incursion on the North African town of ''Ocilis'' (modern
Asilah Asilah (; ar, أزيلا or أصيلة; pt, Arzila; es, Arcila) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about south of Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. History The town's history d ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
) in 153 BC. Although incorporated around 134-133 BC into
Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania ( ...
, the Vettones continued to raid the more romanized regions further south and during the
Roman civil wars This is a list of civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts and rebellions in ancient Rome ( Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BCE – 476 CE). For the Eastern Roman Empire or ...
of the early 1st century BC, they even provided auxiliary troops to
Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the ...
' army in 77-76 BC. Crushed by the provincial '' propraetor''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 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 a civil war, an ...
in 61 BC, they later rose in support of
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
's faction and fought at the battle of Munda (
Montilla Montilla () is a town and municipality of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , the town had a population of 23,209, which makes it the fourth most populated municipality of the Province of Córdoba. It lies 32 miles south o ...
Córdoba) in Baetica.


Romanization

In the 1st Century BC, the Romans began to establish military colonies throughout Vettonia, first at ''Kaisarobriga'' or ''Caesarobriga'' (
Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in the ...
Toledo) and ''Norba Caesarina'' (near Cáceres), latter followed by ''Metellinum'' (
Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
), and in around 27-13 BC the Vettones were aggregated to the newly created Roman province of
Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...
with ''Emerita Augusta'' ( Mérida) as the capital of the new province. Despite their progressive assimilation into the Roman world, the Vettones managed to retain their martial traditions, which enabled them to provide the Roman Army with an auxiliary cavalry unit ('' Ala''), the Ala Hispanorum Vettonum Civium Romanorum, which participated in Emperor
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
' invasion of Britain in AD 43–60.


Namesake

The Vettones are not to be confused with the ''Vettonenses'', inhabitants of ''Vettona'' (today's
Bettona Bettona (Latin: ''Vettona'') is an ancient town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in central Umbria at the northern edge of the Colli Martani range. It is 5 km (3 mi) E of Torgiano and 12 km (7 mi) SW of Assisi. ...
) in
Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...
.


See also

*
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 ...
*
Bletonesii The Bletonesii were one of the pre-Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, modern Spain and Portugal), dwelling around the city of ''Bletisa'' or ''Bletisama'', located in modern Ledesma in the province of Salamanca, Spa ...
*
Carpetani The Carpetani ( Greek: ''Karpetanoi'') were one of the Celtic pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, modern Spain and Portugal), akin to the Celtiberians, dwelling in the central part of the '' meseta'' - the high ce ...
*
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 ...
*
Celtiberian script The Celtiberian script is a Paleohispanic script that was the main writing system of the Celtiberian language, an extinct Continental Celtic language, which was also occasionally written using the Latin alphabet. This script is a direct adapt ...
*
Cynetes The Cynetes or Conii were one of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, living in today's Algarve and Lower Alentejo regions of southern Portugal, and the southern part of Badajoz and the northwestern portions of Córdoba and Ciudad R ...
*
Lusitanian War The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war 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 ...
s *
Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war fought from 80 to 72 BC between a faction of Roman rebels ( Sertorians) and the government in Rome (Sullans). The war was fought on the Iberian Peninsula (called ''Hispania'' by the Romans) and was one of the ...
s *
Roman civil wars This is a list of civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts and rebellions in ancient Rome ( Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BCE – 476 CE). For the Eastern Roman Empire or ...
*
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula This is a list of the pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, i. e., modern Portugal, Spain and Andorra). Some closely fit the concept of a people, ethnic group or tribe. Others are confederations or even unions of t ...
* Ala Hispanorum Vettonum civium Romanorum


Notes


Bibliography

*Aedeen Cremin, ''The Celts in Europe'', Sydney, Australia: Sydney Series in Celtic Studies 2, Centre for Celtic Studies, University of Sydney (1992) *Ángel Montenegro ''et alii'', ''Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C)'', Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989) *Christophe Bonnaud, ''Les castros vettons et leurs populations au Second Âge du Fer (Ve siècle-IIe siècle avant J.-C.), I: implantation et systèmes défensives'' in Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia, pp. 209–242, volume 8, número 1, IPA Lisboa (2005) *Christophe Bonnaud, ''Les castros vettons et leurs populations au Second Âge du Fer (Ve siècle-IIe siècle avant J.-C.), II: l’habitat, l’économie, la société'' in Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia, pp. 209–242, volume 8, número 2, IPA Lisboa (2005) *Eduardo Sánchez Moreno, ''Vetones: Historia y Arqueología de un pueblo prerromano'', Ediciones de la Universidad Autónoma, Madrid (2000) *Francisco Burillo Mozota, ''Los Celtíberos, etnias y estados'', Crítica, Grijalbo Mondadori, S.A., Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) *Isabel Baquedano Beltrán, ''La necrópolis vettona de La Osera (Chamartín, Ávila, España) – volumen I'', Zona Arqueológia número 19-I, Museo Arqueológico Regional, Alcalá de Henares (2016) *Isabel Baquedano Beltrán, ''La necrópolis vettona de La Osera (Chamartín, Ávila, España) – volumen II'', Zona Arqueológia número 19-II, Museo Arqueológico Regional, Alcalá de Henares (2016) *Manuel Salinas de Frías, ''Los vettones: indigenismo y romanización en el occidente de la meseta'', Ediciones Universidad Salamanca, Salamanca (2001) *Martín Almagro-Gorbea & Ana Maria Martín, ''Castros y Oppida en Extremadura'', Editorial Complutense, Madrid (1994) *Jesús R. Álvarez-Sanchís, ''Los vettones'', Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid (2003) *Jesús R. Álvarez-Sanchís, ''Los señores del ganado – Arqueología de los pueblos prerromanos en el occidente de Iberia'', Colección Arqueología, Editorial Akal, Madrid (2003) *Jonathan Edmondson, "A criação de uma sociedade provincial romana" in ''A Lusitânia Romana: fronteira do mundo antigo'', National Geographic História, edição especial, RBA Revistas S.L., Barcelona (2022), pp. 34-43. *Philip Matyszak, ''Sertorius and the struggle for Spain'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013)


Further reading

*Barry Cunliffe, ''The Celts – A Very Short Introduction'', Oxford University Press (2003) . *Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, ''The Celts: A History'', The Collins Press, Cork (2002) *Daniel Varga, ''The Roman Wars in Spain: The Military Confrontation with Guerrilla Warfare'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2015) * *Ludwig Heinrich Dyck, ''The Roman Barbarian Wars: The Era of Roman Conquest'', Author Solutions (2011) ISBNs 1426981821, 9781426981821 *Luis Silva, ''Viriathus and the Lusitanian resistance to Rome 155-139 BC'', Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley (2013) *John T. Koch (ed.), ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO Inc., Santa Barbara, California (2006) , 1-85109-445-8


External links


Mapa del territorio vettón (Map of Vettonian Territory)
{{Pre-Roman peoples in Portugal Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula Ancient peoples of Spain Tribes conquered by Rome