Baeturia, Beturia, or Turdetania was an extensive ancient territory in the southern part of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

(in modern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) situated between the middle and lower courses of the

Guadiana The Guadiana River ( , , , ) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the e ...

and the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

rivers. From the Second

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, it was inhabited by two distinct ethnic groups: 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 in ...

, who were Celtic Indo-Europeans in the west, and the Turduli, related to the Turdetans, in the east. The territory was annexed by Rome in the early 2nd century BC and became part of the province of

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a Roman province located in Hispania (on the Iberian Peninsula) during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of moder ...

History

In 27 B.C.,

Emperor Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

reorganized the provincial boundaries, incorporating the entirety of Beturia into the senatorial province of

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

. This integration involved different administrative-judicial dependencies: the Celtici area was affiliated with the juridical conventus of Hispalis (modern-day Seville), while the Turduli territory was governed from the conventus of Corduba (modern-day Córdoba). According to research by Alicia M. Canto, initially proposed in 1991 and further detailed in 1995 and 1997, the division of the territory of Beturia between the Celtici and the Turduli was influenced by their respective mining expertise. The Celtici specialized in iron extraction, while the Turduli were skilled in the mining of silver and lead. In Arab times both territories continued to exist in a distinctive form, the Celts survived in the kûra of Firrís, and the Turduli in that of Fahs al-Ballut (Canto, ERBC 1997, p. 46. In the present day, Celtic Beturia is primarily located in the southwest of the province of

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

and extends into

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

as far as

Serpa Serpa (), officially the Municipality of Serpa (), is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the Districts of Portugal, district of Beja District, Beja in Alentejo region, southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of ...

and the Guadiana River, which marked its ancient western boundary. A smaller portion lies in the north of the province of

Huelva Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...

. The Beturia Association of Municipalities serves to commemorate this historical nomenclature. Meanwhile, Beturia Turdula encompasses the southeast of the province of Badajoz, the northern part of the province of Cordoba, and the southwest of the province of

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

References

{{coord missing, Spain Regions of Spain Geography of Spain History of Andalusia History of Extremadura

History

See also

References