The Turduli Veteres, translated as "Ancient

Turduli The Turduli (Greek ''Tourduloi'') or Turtuli were an ancient pre-Roman people of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula. Location The Turduli tribes lived mainly in the south and centre of modern Portugal – in the east of the provinces of Beira Li ...

" or "Old Turduli" were an ancient pre-Roman tribe of present day Portugal, akin to the Calaicians or Gallaeci and

Lusitanians The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

Location

The Turduli Veteres territory was located south of the estuary of the river

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

, in the north of modern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, being neighbors of the Paesuri. Their capital was ''Langobriga'', or Longroiva (now Fiães, Santa Maria da Feira); other Turduli Veteres inhabited regions were ''Talabriga'' (situated either in the vicinity of

Branca Branca is a feminine given name. It means "white" in Portuguese (it is a Portuguese cognate of the name Blanche). People with the surname * Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara (1192–1240), Portuguese royal * Infanta Branca of Portugal (1259– ...

Albergaria-a-Velha Albergaria-a-Velha () is a town and a municipality in the Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,252, in an area of 158.83 km². It had 19,687 eligible voters in 2006. History In 1117, D. Teresa, Countess of Portucale, an ...

or Marnel, Lamas do Vouga – Águeda) possibly ''Oppidum Vacca'' ( Cabeço do Vouga – Águeda), and they also lived in the region of

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...

as evidenced by the two bronze plaques (''Tesserae Hospitales'') found in Monte Murado in Pedroso.

History

The Turduli Veteres appear to have originated as an off-shot of the

of ancient south-west Iberia. Alongside the

Celtici ] The Celtici (in Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish, and Galician languages, ) were a Celtic tribe or group of tribes of the Iberian peninsula, inhabiting three definite areas: in what today are the regions of Alentejo and the Algarve i ...

, the Turduli Veteres migrated northwards around the 5th century BC, before settling in a coastal region situated along the lower Douro and ''Vacca'' ( Vouga River, Vouga) river basins (i.e. north-western parts of present-day Beira Litoral). Unlike related and neighbouring peoples, the Turduli Veteres did not fall under Carthaginian rule during the later 3rd Century BC. Neither is there any evidence that they took part in the 2nd Punic War. It is still not clear if they played any significant role in 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 revo ...

s of the 2nd century BC. Moreover, the Turduli Veteres, unlike the Turduli Oppidani (located in coastal areas of modern Portugal), appear to have remained independent until the late 2nd century BC and to have resisted attempts by the

Lusitani The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

and

Gallaeci The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; grc, Καλλαϊκοί) were a Celtic tribal complex who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the Norte Region in northern Portugal, a ...

to incorporate them into their respective tribal federations.

Roman incursions, dominance & Romanization

Being relatively unaccustomed to interaction with and dominance by other peoples, the Turduli Veteres (like the Lusitani and Gallaeci), bore the brunt of the first Roman forays into north-west Iberia. According to Roman accounts, the Veteres assisted the Lusitani in attempting to resist the Romans; in retaliation, during 138-136 BC, the Roman ''

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 ...

'' Decimus Junius Brutus temporarily occupied the Veteres' stronghold of Talabriga and laid waste a significant proportion of the Veteres' lands. In 61-60 BC, the Veteres and the Oppidani were defeated and incorporated 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 ( ...

province by the ''

Propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

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, ...

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, ''Romaïké istoría'', 37, 52-55. In 27–13, the Veteres were aggregated into the Roman province of Lusitania during the reign of Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

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) * Jorge de Alarcão, ''O Domínio Romano em Portugal'', Publicações Europa-América, Lisboa (1988) * Jorge de Alarcão ''et alii'', ''De Ulisses a Viriato – O primeiro milénio a.C.'', Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Instituto Português de Museus, Lisboa (1996) * Luis Berrocal-Rangel, ''Los pueblos célticos del soroeste de la Península Ibérica'', Editorial Complutense, Madrid (1992)

External links