Hispanie

The Hispanie ( Hispania ) is the name given by the R omains to the Iberian peninsula. Since the 15th century Hispanie is the host of the modern States Spanish and Portuguese.

(By convention, the dates indicated are before the Christian era)

Datations:

  • -501 to -202 (Carthaginian period)
  • - 202 to 408 (Roman period), s' completing with the arrival of the Vandals, Suèves and Alains.

Carthaginian period

At the beginning the Carthaginois install commercial counters on the coast, without pushing more deeply inside Hispanie. In 501, they seize Gadès (Cadiz), an old colony phenician. After the First Punic War, the Carthaginians extends quickly in the South, under the control of the Barcides. They there work gold mines and give again in Carthage its economic power and commercial. In 230, they found Carthagène, the news Carthage ( Cartago Nova ).

In 218, Hannibal forms a powerful army which includes/understands a quota of Ibères, and begins the Second Punic War by taking Sagonte, then while going towards Italy. The Romans cannot intercept it as a Gaulle, and direct a part as of the their forces on Hispanie, which becomes a theater of operation of this war. After various confrontations, Scipion the African takes Carthagène into 209, and in 207, Hasdrubal carries out the last Carthaginian forces of Hispanie towards Italy. In 202, the capitulation of Carthage delivers officially Hispanie Carthaginian to Rome.

Roman conquest

See also: Roman Conquest of Hispanie

Into 197, the Romans divide Hispanie into two Province S: Hispanie citérieure, giving on the later Mediterranean, and Hispanie (because more distant from Rome), including/understanding the South and round towards the ocean. The Roman conquest of the Iberian peninsula was long, for several reasons:

  • in the first part of IIe century, the Roman Sénat did not have expansionist vision, it was satisfied to preserve its territorial assets and to weaken the potential adversaries
  • the local people often opposed a baited resistance, and inflicted several defeats with the Roman armies.

The summarized chronology is the following one:

  • from 191 to 189, revolt of the Celtibères, tender of the interior of Hispanie
  • in 154, occupation of Lusitanie
  • from 147 to 139, the shepherd Lusitanian Viriathe organizes an effective resistance, and beats several Roman armies. The Romans could come to end only by making it assassinate by its partisans.
  • from 142 to 133, war against Numance between Ebre and Douro. In 137, the consul C. Hostilius Mancinus capitulates with his army to Numantins.
  • in 137, campaigns counter the Galèces (Galleacia)
  • in 134, arrives at the peninsula the consul Scipion Émilien accompanied by its state major, among which are the auxiliary numide Jugurtha, Caïus Gracchus like by the historian Polybe. Scipion attacks the natives and destroys their harvests to prevent which they help Numantins. It starts the head office of Numance by building imposing works of circumvallation.
  • in 133, the city is taken by Scipion and begin the campaigns against the Vascons (Basques)

The conquest of the peninsula follows a pause during one century, because the East constitutes a field of conquest much gravitational than Hispanie, while the Hispanic populations showed their capacity of resistance. The north-western part of Hispanie thus remains unsubdued.

  • from 80 to 72, revolt of Sertorius, in favor of Marius. He enlists many hispanes in his legions, gets along with the local elites and contributes to the romanisation of the country. Pompée manages to reduce this revolt.
  • in 61 and 60, Jules César is Propréteur in Hispanie later
  • into 49 and 45, campaigns flashes of Jules César against the pompéiens, overcome with the Bataille of Munda.
  • from 29 to 19, Auguste then Agrippa with 5 legions subjects with difficulty the mountain dwellers Asturiens and the Cantabres. Their chiefs subjected were relegated in a foundation to the north of the Pyrenees, Lugdunum Convenarum.

Hispanie Roman

See also: Romanisation of Hispanie

The Roman conquest of the peninsula is completed, Auguste divides it into three provinces: Hispanie later is divided into Bétique, old conquest well romanized which becomes a senatorial Province and Lusitanie. Hispanie citérieure becomes the Tarraconaise. Tarraconaise and Lusitanie are still occupied by legions (6 legions in year 6), and have the statute of imperial provinces.

Roman colonies are founded at the strategic places:

  • Bracara Augusta and Asturica Augusta, supervising Asturies
  • Augusta Emeritta (Merida) in Lusitanie
  • Caesaraugusta (Saragossa)

The Via Augusta comes from Gaulle Narbonnese by Perthus and crosses the country by Tarraco, Valentia, Corduba, Hispalis and Gades. The three provinces knew one long period of peace, and the number of the legions present was gradually tiny room to only one, the VIIe Gemina stationed with Leon (Spain).

Political integration in the Roman Empire

The Romans were often shown in the books of history to be at the origin of a " irradiation" Spanish and Portuguese culture indigenous. But by looking at all progress of these seven centuries under Roman domination one can wonder whether that did not make the culture Spanish and richer Portuguese, plural. The centuries of participation of Hispanie in the Roman Empire were marked by a “romanisation” in many fields.

The Romans did not only build the aqueducts, the bridges, the baths, the amphitheaters,… but they also equipped the nation with institutions, of a hierarchy. They established the social classes: aristocracy; the middle-class (gathering the bureaucrats, the intellectuals, the soldiers, the tradesmen, the industrialists and the small holders); the people which gathered the free men belonging to none of the two preceding categories, they were workers of the mines, farmers, soldiers, fishermen; and finally slaves without rights.

Even if the policy of Hispania were under the control of the government of Rome, of the elections took seat each year to indicate the government of the cities and the areas. Rome establishes laws and constitutions to organize the territory, founded many Roman colonies and granted more and more the Roman Citoyenneté to the autochtones; the emperor Vespasien generalized it at all the cities of the peninsula. By this romanisation, Spain was the native soil famous Roman writers (Martial, Quintilien, Sénèque, Lucain…) and several emperors (Trajan, Hadrian, Théodose Ier).

Cultural and religious contributions

The greatest cultural contribution is surely the Latin language which will give the speeches of the peninsula iberique

Notes and references of the article

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