The Turmodigi were a pre- Roman ancient

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 ...

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 ...

, ''Geographica'', III, 4, 12. people of northern

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 ...

who occupied the area within the Arlanzón and Arlanza river valleys in the 2nd

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 ...

Origins

The ancestors of the Turmodigi arrived at 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 the wake of the earlier Autrigones-

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

migration at the 4th century BC, which settled in the area between the Arlanzón and Arlanza rivers. The neighbouring tribes surrounding the Turmodigi are mentioned by classic sources as being

, as attested by the personal name 'Tormogus' in some local epigraphic sources. Designated ''Turmodigi'' by the Roman geographer

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, they are also mentioned in other Roman texts under the names ''Turmogi'' or ''Curgoni'', and in the

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 ...

ones as ''Murbogoioi'' or ''Mourbogoi'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Μούρβογοι).

Culture

Archeology has related them with the early

" Bernorio- Miraveche" cultural group of northern

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

and

Palencia Palencia () 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 Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

provinces. Moreover, recent studies carried out at their most famed cemetery of Miraveche and as well as other 2nd

sites in the region indicates that their culture was heavily celtiberianized, demonstrating also strong affinities with the ‘ Duero Culture’ of the Vaccei. In the 2nd century BC they established a state with ''Segisama'', also named ''Segisamone'' or ''Segisamum'' ( Sasamón –

; Celtiberian mint: ''Sekisamos'') as its capital, along with the towns of ''Sisaraca/Pisoraca'' ( Herrera de Pisuerga –

), ''Deobrigula/Teobrigula'' ( Tardajos –

), ''Ambisna'' ( Pampliega?–

), ''Bravum/Bravon'' ( Huermeces, Ubierna or La Nuez de Abajo, in the Santibañez valley –

), and ''Mancellus'' (near Lerma, in the Arlanza river valley). The attribution of ''Pisoraca'' to the Turmodigi is under discussion, being attributed to the Cantabri peoples in the latest studies.

History

Initially a client tribe of the Autrigones, the Turmodigi threw off their yoke with the help of the Vaccei around the early 3rd century BC, seizing most of the former's lands corresponding today to the central and western

province and the eastern

province. Like their Autrigones and Vaccei neighbours, the Turmodigi retained a separated identity until the later 1st century BC, when they were first conquered and included in

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

and

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 ...

in 73 BC. However, the Turmodigi were not subdued until 56 BC, after a joint uprising with the Vaccei and other peoples was defeated by the

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

of Citerior Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos Iunior. Subjected to Cantabri and Astures raids, they allied themselves with

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, ...

during the Astur-Cantabrian wars in the late 1st century BC, even allowing 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 A ...

to establish its own headquarters at their capital Segisama, thus turning Turmodigia into a rear base for the conquest of both

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

and

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

. In the midst of Augustus' administrative reform in 27 BC, the Turmodigi were incorporated into the Conventus Cluniensis, part of the new

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 North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

province.

, ''Historia Naturalis'', III, 26.

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) * Francisco Burillo Mozota, ''Los Celtíberos, etnias y estados'', Crítica, Grijalbo Mondadori, S.A., Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) *

External links