The Cynetes or Conii were one of the

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 tribe ...

, living in today's

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

and Lower

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

regions of southern

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 ...

, and the southern part 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 the northwestern portions of Córdoba and

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 ...

provinces in Spain before the 6th century BC (in what part of this become the southern part of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

). According to

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

's epitome, the mythical Gargoris and Habis were their founding kings.

Etymology

The name ''Cynetes'' (Latin ''Conii'') probably stems from

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

''*kwon'' ('dog') connected with

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

''kyοn'', κύων, dog.

Origins and location

They are often mentioned in the ancient sources under various designations, mostly Greek or Latin derivatives of their two tribal names: ‘Cynetas’/’Cynetum’; ‘Kunetes’, ‘Kunetas’, and ‘Kunesioi' or ‘Cuneus’, followed by ‘Konioi’, ‘Kouneon’ and ‘Kouneous’/‘Kouneoi’. The Conii occupied since the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

most of the present-day Lower

, the southern part of

and the northwestern portions of Córdoba and

provinces, giving the Algarve its pre-Roman name, the Cyneticum. Prior to the Celtic- Turduli migrations of the 5th to 4th centuries BC, the original Conii territories also included upper Alentejo and the Portuguese coastal Estremadura region stretching up to the ''Munda'' ( Mondego) river valley.

Genetics

It has been suggested that the haplotypes HLA- A25- B18- DR15 and HLA-A26- B38- DR13, which are unique genetic markers found in Portugal, may be from the Conii (or Oestrimni).

Culture

Their presence in these regions is attested archeologically by the elaborated cremation burial-mounds of their ruling elite, whose rich grave-goods and the inscribed slabs in ‘Tartessian alphabet’ – also referred to as ‘ Southwest script’ – that mark the graves, evidence contact with North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean since the 9th century BC. Scholars like Schulten, consider the Conii a

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

n tribe (related to the

Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...

of North-western Italy/South-eastern France) and believe that the «Ligurians are the original people of the Iberian Peninsula». The Conii would have left their mark not only in Portugal but also in Spain and European regions where the Ligurians established themselves. They appear to be related to the

Aquitanians The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BC. The Romans dubbed this region ''Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors such a ...

and the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

. Inscriptions in the

Tartessian language Tartessian is an extinct Paleo-Hispanic languages, Paleo-Hispanic language found in the Southwest Paleohispanic script, Southwestern inscriptions of the Iberian Peninsula, mainly located in the south of Portugal (Algarve and southern Alentejo), ...

have been found in the area, in a variety often referred to as Southwest Paleohispanic script. The name ''Conii'', found in

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, seems to have been identical with the ''Cynesii'', who were mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

as the westernmost dwellers of Europe and distinguished by him from the Celts.

Towns

The capital of the ''Conii'' was '' Conistorgis'', according to Strabo, who considered the region

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 Foot ...

. In the local language ''Conistorgis'' probably means "City of the Conii". Its precise location has not been determined. Some authors suggest that '' Pax Julia'' might have been founded over the ruins of Conistorgis. Other Conii towns (''Oppida'') included ''Ipses'' ( Alvor), ''Cilpe'' ( Cerro da Rocha Branca – Silves), ''Ossonoba'' (near Faro; Iberian-type mint: ''Osunba''), ''Balsa'' (Quinta da Torre de Aires, Santa Luzia – Tavira), ''Baesuris'' (

Castro Marim Castro Marim (), officially the Town of Castro Marim (), is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,747, in an area of 300.84 km2. The current mayor is Francisco Amaral, elected ...

; Iberian-type mint: ''Baesuri'') and ''Myrtilis'' ( Mértola; Iberian-type mint: ''Mrtlis Saidie''). According to

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

the population of these ''parva oppida'' did not surpass 6,000 inhabitants. A powerful urban aristocracy of

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n and

Turdetani The Turdetani were an ancient pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula, living in the valley of the Guadalquivir (the river that the Turdetani called by two names: ''Kertis'' and ''Rérkēs'' (Ῥέ� ...

an or Turduli colonists dominated all the trade, fishing, and shipbuilding in these same coastal settlements since the 4th century BC, until the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

occupied the Cyneticum and founded the Punic colonies of ''Portus Hannibalis'' (near Portimão?) and ''Portus Magonis'' (

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

) at the late 3rd century BC.

History

The Conii seemed to have played no significant role in the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

and subsequent conflicts, even though they were constantly under the pressure from the northernly Celtic tribes throughout the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, which may explain their willingness to place themselves under the protection of foreign powers such as

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

and later

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Around the 3rd century BC, the Celtici reached the western Algarve, establishing a colony at ''Laccobriga'' ( Monte Molião, near

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

) and in 153 BC, during the Lusitanian Wars against Rome, Conistorgis fell to the

Lusitani The Lusitanians were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and Extremadura and Castilla y Leon of Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians ...

and their

Vettones The Vettones (Greek language, Greek: ''Ouettones'') were an Prehistoric Iberia#Iron Age, Iron Age pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula. Origins Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly Hispano-Celtic lan ...

' allies. The Conii were thence forced to switch their allegiance from the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

to the Lusitani, being subjected in 141-140 BC to Consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus’ reprisal campaigns in the Iberian southwest. In 138-137 BC the Cyneticum was aggregated into

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 ...

province, only to become again a battleground during the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war in the Roman Republic fought from 80 to 72 BC between two Roman factions, one led by Quintus Sertorius and another led by the senate as constituted in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war. The war was fough ...

s, when

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

seized Conistorgis and Consul

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius ( – 63 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. His father Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, Metellus Numidicus was banished from Rome through the machinations of Gaius Marius. He, because ...

devastated the region in retaliation.

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

, ''Excerptae de Historiis'', 1, 112-113.

Romanization

In 27-13 BC the romanized Conii were incorporated into

province.

Notes

References

* * * * * Mattoso, José (dir.), ''História de Portugal. Primeiro Volume: Antes de Portugal'', Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 1992. (in Portuguese) *

Primary

, Geographika
III, 2, 2

External links

{{Pre-Roman peoples in Iberia Tribes of Lusitania History of the Algarve Ancient peoples of Portugal History of Alentejo Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula