The Indigetes (Latin: ''indigetes'' or ''indigetae'' or ''Indiketes'') were an ancient Iberian (Pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

) people of the eastern side 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 Roman

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

). They are believed to have spoken the

Iberian language The Iberian language was the language of an indigenous western European people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian Peninsula in the pre- Migration Era (before about 375 AD). The ...

. They occupied the far north east area of the Iberian Peninsula known as

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...

, in the gulf of

Empúries Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tr ...

and Rhoda, stretching up into the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

though the regions of

Empordà Emporda (from the official name in ca, Empordà, , name in es, Ampurdán, ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two ''comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important ...

, Selva and perhaps as far as Gironès, where the

Ausetani The Ausetani were an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language. They lived in the eponymous region of Ausona and gave their name to the Roman city of '' ...

could be found who were related ethnically. They were divided into four tribes, and the main towns they centered on were: ''Indika'' (only mentioned by

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethn ...

, still unidentified, but he was possibly referring to Empúries or Ullastret), ''Empodrae'' (Empúries, where there was an extremely important Greek,

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in ...

n and MassaliotanInformation taken from the Spanish Version of this article, seems to relate to other, possibly Iberian, Peoples of the area. colony, which had their corresponding commercial “emporio”), ''Rhoda'' (

Roses A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

), ''Juncaria'' (

La Jonquera La Jonquera () is a municipality in the '' comarca'' of l'Alt Empordà, in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated next to the border with Northern Catalonia, nowadays France, opposite the municipality of Le Perthus. History The area has always been ...

), ''Cinniana'' (

Cervià Cervia ( rgn, Zirvia) is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,700 at the 2018 censu ...

) and ''Deciana'' (close to La Jonquera). This land was watered by the ''Clodianus'' (

Fluvià The Fluvià () is a river in Catalonia. It rises in the Serralada Transversal, passes through Olot and Besalú, and flows into the Mediterranean Sea near Sant Pere Pescador. The ancient city of Empúries was founded near the mouth of the Flu ...

), the ''Sambrocas'' (

Muga Muga or MUGA may refer to: * Assam silk * Bodegas Muga, a Rioja winery * MUGA scan * Muga, Nepal, village * Muga (river), Spain * Muga River (Ethiopia) The Muga is a river in Catalonia, Spain, that rises in the Alberes mountains of the eastern ...

) and the ''Tichis'' (

Ter Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno o ...

). This district in the Gulf of Empúrias was known as ''Juncaris Campus''. The Indigetes minted their own coins which bore the inscription ''undikesken'' in

northeastern Iberian script The northeastern Iberian script, also known as Levantine Iberian or Iberian, was the main means of written expression of the Iberian language. The language is also expressed by the southeastern Iberian script and the Greco-Iberian alphabet ...

that is interpreted in

as a self-reference to the ethnic name of that people: from the Indigetes or from those of ''undika''. In 218 BC they were conquered by

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the

Roman conquest of Hispania The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was a process by which the Roman Republic seized territories in the Iberian Peninsula that were previously under the control of native Celtic, Iberian, Celtiberian and Aquitanian tribes and the Car ...

. In 195 BC they rebelled; the

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 ...

Marcus Porcius Cato quashed the rebellion. The main archaeological sites for the Indigetes are in Ullastret (

Baix Empordà Baix Empordà in Catalan (; en, Lower Empordà, italic=yes) or Bajo Ampurdán in Spanish () is a ''comarca'' (county) in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the two ''comarca'' into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal ...

Castell de la Fosca Castell de la Fosca or Punta del Castell is an ancient Iberian settlement or oppidum sited on a rocky promontory at the north end of the beach called Platja de Castell, about ENE of Palamós (Baix Empordà), on the Costa Brava. The settlemen ...

( Palamós, Baix Empordà) and Puig Castellet (

Lloret de Mar Lloret de Mar (; ) is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia, Spain. It is south of Girona and northeast of Barcelona. With a population of 38,402 in 2021, it is the second largest town in the Selva comarca of Catalonia. Lloret de Mar ...

, Selva).

Gallery

File:Lloret, Puig de Castellet, Mauerreste.JPG, Wall foundations in Puig Castellet near Lloret File:Bronce ibero.jpg, Inscribed lead plate from the Ullastret Iberian archaeological site File:CisternaUllastret.JPG,

Cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...

at the Ullastret site

Notes

References

External links

Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula History of Catalonia Ancient peoples of Spain Tribes conquered by Rome {{Spain-hist-stub

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links