Lusitanians
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The Lusitanians).
History
Origins
Frontinus mentions Lusitanian leader Viriathus as the leader of the Celtiberians, in their war against the Romans.[2] The Greco-Roman historian Diodorus Siculus attributed them a name of another Celtic tribe: "Those who are called Lusitanians are the bravest of all similar to the Cimbri". The Lusitanians were also called Belitanians, according to the diviner Artemidorus.[3][4] Strabo differentiated the Lusitanians from the Iberian tribes and thought of them as being Celtiberians who had been known as Oestriminis in ancient times.[5][6][7] Lusitanians and Vettones however, based on archeological findings, seem to have been largely pre-Celtic indo-European populations that adopted Celtic cultural elements by proximity, thus why Strabo might have mistake them as Celtiberians.
On the other hand,
The original Roman province of Lusitania briefly included the territories of
Wars with Rome
Lusitanian
Since 193 BC, the Lusitanians had been fighting the Romans in Hispania. In 150 BC, they were defeated by Praetor Servius Galba: springing a treacherous trap, he killed 9,000 Lusitanians and later sold 20,000 more as slaves in
Romanization
After the death of Viriathus, the Lusitanians kept fighting under the leadership of
Culture
Categorising Lusitanian culture generally, including the language, is proving difficult and contentious. Some believe it was essentially a pre-Celtic Iberian culture with substantial Celtic influences, while others argue that it was an essentially
Religion
The Lusitanians worshiped various gods in a very diverse polytheism, using animal sacrifice. They represented their gods and warriors in rudimentary sculpture.
Endovelicus was the most important god for the Lusitanians. He is considered a possible Basque language loan god[13] by some, yet according to scholars like José Leite de Vasconcelos, the word Endovellicus was originally Celtic,[14] Andevellicos.
Endovelicus is compared with
The goddess Ataegina was especially popular in the south; as the goddess of rebirth (spring), fertility, nature, and cure, she was identified with Proserpina during the Roman era.
Lusitanian mythology was heavily influenced by or related to Celtic mythology.[15][16]
Also well attested in inscriptions are the names Bandua[17][18][19] (one of the variants of Borvo)[20] often with a second name linked to a locality such as Bandua Aetobrico, and Nabia,[21] a goddess of rivers and streams.[15][22]
According to Strabo the Lusitanians were given to offering sacrifices; they practiced divination on the sacrificial offering by inspecting its vitals and veins.
They also sacrificed human victims, prisoners of war, by striking them under coarse blankets and observing which way they fell. They cut off the right hands of their captives, which they offered to the gods.
Language
The Lusitanian language was a Paleohispanic language that clearly belongs to the Indo-European family. The precise affiliation of the Lusitanian language inside the Indo-European family is still in debate: there are those who endorse that it is a para-Celtic language with an obvious Celticity to most of the lexicon, over many anthroponyms and toponyms.[23] A second theory relates Lusitanian with the Italic languages;[24] based on the names of Lusitanian deities with other grammatical elements of the area.[25]
The Lusitanian language may in fact have been
Tribes
The Lusitanians were a people formed by several
They were a tribal confederation, not a single political entity; each tribe had its own territory and was independent, and was formed by smaller
Each tribe was ruled by its own tribal aristocracy and chief. Many members of the Lusitanian tribal aristocracy were
Only when an external threat occurred did the different tribes politically unite, as happened at the time of the Roman conquest of their territory when Viriathus became the single leader of the Lusitanian tribes. Punicus, Caucenus and Caesarus were other important Lusitanian chiefs before the Roman conquest. They ruled the Lusitanians (before Viriathus) for some time, leading the tribes in the resistance against Roman attempts of conquest, and were successful.
The known Lusitanian tribes were:
- Arabrigenses
- Araocelenses
- Aravi
- Coilarni/Colarni
- Interamnienses
- Lancienses
- Lancienses Oppidani
- Lancienses Transcudani
- Lancienses Ocelenses (may be the same as the Oppidani)
- Meidubrigenses
- Paesuri - Douro and Vouga (Portugal)
- Palanti (there is not agreement among scholars if they were Vettones or Lusitanian)[33]
- Calontienses
- Caluri
- Coerenses
- Petravioi
- Tangi
- Talures
- Veaminicori
- Vissaieici
It remains to be known if the
If there were more Lusitanian tribes, their names are unknown.
Warfare
The Lusitanians were considered by historians to be particularly adept at
"In a narrow pass 300 Lusitani faced 1000 Romans; as a result of the action 70 of the former and 320 of the latter died. When the victorious Lusitani retired and dispersed confidently, one of them on foot became separated, and was surrounded by a detachment of pursuing cavalry. The lone warrior pierced the horse of one of the riders with his spear, and with a blow of his sword cut off the Roman’s head, producing such terror among the others that they prudently retired under his arrogant and contemptuous gaze."
— Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 5.4
In times of peace, they had a particular style of dancing, which required great agility and nimbleness of the legs and thighs. In times of war, they marched in time, until they were ready to charge the enemy.[35]
Appian claims that when Praetor Brutus sacked Lusitania after Viriathus's death, the women fought valiantly next to their men as women warriors.[3]
Contemporary meaning
While the Lusitanians didn't speak a Romance languge, nowadays Lusitanian is often used as a
See also
- History of Portugal
- Timeline of Portuguese history
- Beira Alta
- Beira Baixa
- Ribatejo
- Alentejo
- Extremadura
- Emerita Augusta, capital of the Roman province of Lusitania (Lusitaniae et Vetoniae)
- Hispania
- Lusitania (Roman province)
- Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
- List of Celtic tribes
- List of Celtic place names in Portugal
- List of Ancient Peoples of Portugal
- National Archaeology Museum (Portugal)
- Roman Empire
Notes
- Latin: Lusitani, Portuguese: Lusitanos)
- ^ https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Frontinus/Strategemata/2*.html%7CSextus Julius Frontinus. Stratagems: Book II. V. On Ambushes
- ^ a b Luciano Pérez Vilatela. Lusitania: historia y etnología, p. 14, at Google Books (in Spanish). [S.l.]: Real Academia de la Historia, 2000. 33 p. vol. 6 of Bibliotheca archaeologica hispana, v. 6 of Publicaciones del Gabinete de Antigüedades.
- ^ André de Resende. As Antiguidades da Lusitânia, p. 94, at Google Books (in Portuguese). [S.l.]: Imprensa da Univ. de Coimbra. 94 p.
- ^ Risco, Manuel (1779). "Espana Sagrada. Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de Espana. Origen, divisiones, y limites de todas sus provincias. Antiguedad, traslaciones, y estado antiguo y presente de sus sillas en todos los dominios de Espana, y Portugal. Con varias dissertaciones criticas, para ilustrar la historia eclesiastica de Espana. ... Su autor el P.M. Fr. Henrique Florez, del orden de San Augustin ... Tomo 1.[-51!: Espana sagrada, tomo 32. La Vasconia. Tratado preliminar a las Santas Iglesias de calahorra, y de Pamplona: ... Su autor el P. FR. Manuel Risco del orden de San Augustin".
- ISBN 9781139952491.
- .
- ^ Among them the Praestamarci, Supertamarci, Nerii, Artabri, and in general all people living by the seashore except for the Grovi of southern Galicia and northern Portugal: 'Totam Celtici colunt, sed a Durio ad flexum Grovi, fluuntque per eos Avo, Celadus, Nebis, Minius et cui oblivionis cognomen est Limia. Flexus ipse Lambriacam urbem amplexus recipit fluvios Laeron et Ullam. Partem quae prominet Praesamarchi habitant, perque eos Tamaris et Sars flumina non longe orta decurrunt, Tamaris secundum Ebora portum, Sars iuxta turrem Augusti titulo memorabilem. Cetera super Tamarici Nerique incolunt in eo tractu ultimi. Hactenus enim ad occidentem versa litora pertinent. Deinde ad septentriones toto latere terra convertitur a Celtico promunturio ad Pyrenaeum usque. Perpetua eius ora, nisi ubi modici recessus ac parva promunturia sunt, ad Cantabros paene recta est. In ea primum Artabri sunt etiamnum Celticae gentis, deinde Astyres.', Pomponius Mela, Chorographia, III.7-9.
- ^ Silius Italicus, Punica, 3
- ISBN 978-11-345071-2-2.
- ^ Piggot 1965, p. 101.
- ^ cf. Wodtko 2010: 355–362
- ^ Encarnação, José d’ (2015). Divindades indígenas sob o domínio romano em Portugal [Indigenous deities under Roman rule in Portugal] (in Portuguese) (Second ed.). Coimbra: Universidade de Coimbra.
- ^ Celts myths and religion in the Iberian Peninsula and Great-Britain: a common origin?
- ^ a b Pedreño, Juan Carlos Olivares (2005). "Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula". Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Inventaire des divnités celtiques de l’Antiquité, L’Arbre Celtique
- ISBN 9788489512597.
- ^ CIL II, *00215.
- ISBN 9780486427652.
- ^ TY - CHAP AU - Lemos, Francisco PY - 2008/01/01 SP - 122 EP - 211 T1 - A Cultura Castreja no Minho. Espaço Nuclear dos grandes povoados do Noroeste peninsular. ER -
- ^ Thayer, Roman E. "Book III, Chapter 3". Strabo Geography. University of Chicago. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-84217-410-4.
- .
- .
- ^ Mallory 1999, pp. 108 f..
- ^ Mallory 1999, pp. 108, 244–250.
- ^ Anthony 2007, p. 360.
- ^ Haak 2015.
- Mallory, James P. (2013). "The Indo-Europeanization of Atlantic Europe". In Koch, J. T.; Cunliffe, B. (eds.). Celtic From the West 2: Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo–European in Atlantic Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books. pp. 17–40.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 9781851094400.
- ISSN 0874-2782. Archived from the original(PDF) on 26 November 2013.
- ^ "The Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus". Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ Hispaniae: Spain and the Development of Roman Imperialism, 218-82 BC, p. 100, at Google Books
References
- Ángel Montenegro et alii, Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C), Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989) ISBN 84-249-1386-8
- Alarcão, Jorge de, O Domínio Romano em Portugal, Publicações Europa-América, Lisboa (1988) ISBN 972-1-02627-1
- Alarcão, Jorge de et alii, De Ulisses a Viriato – O primeiro milénio a.C., Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Instituto Português de Museus, Lisboa (1996) ISBN 972-8137-39-7
- Amaral, João Ferreira do & Amaral, Augusto Ferreira do, Povos Antigos em Portugal – paleontologia do território hoje Português, Quetzal Editores, Lisboa (1997) ISBN 972-564-224-4
- Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World. Princeton University Press.
- Haak, Wolfgang (2015), "Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe", Nature, 522 (7555): 207–211, PMID 25731166
- ISBN 978-0-500-27616-7.
- Piggot, Stuart (1965). Ancient Europe from the Beginnings of Agriculture to Classical Antiquity: a Survey. Chicago: Aldine.
Further reading
- Amílcar Guerra, A propósito dos conceitos de "Lusitano" e "Lusitânia", Paleohispanica, 10, 81–98, Institución Fernando el Católico, Zaragoza (2010)
- Berrocal-Rangel, Luis, Los pueblos célticos del soroeste de la Península Ibérica, Editorial Complutense, Madrid (1992) ISBN 84-7491-447-7
- Burillo Mozota, Francisco, Los Celtíberos, etnias y estados, Crítica, Barcelona (1998, revised edition 2007) ISBN 84-7423-891-9
- Cardim Ribeiro, José (2009). "Terão certos teónimos paleohispânicos sido alvo de interpretações (pseudo-)etimológicas durante a romanidade passíveis de se reflectirem nos respectivos cultos?". Acta Paleohispanica X - Paleohispanica. 9: 247–270. ISSN 1578-5386.
- Encarnação, José d' (2010). "Divindades indígenas sob o domínio romano em Portugal, 35 anos depois". Palaeohispanica. 10: 525–535. ISSN 1578-5386..
- Lorrio Alvarado, Alberto José, Los Celtíberos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Murcia (1997) ISBN 84-7908-335-2
- Luján, Eugenio (2019). "Language and writing among the Lusitanians". Paleohispanic Languages and Epigraphies. ISBN 9780191833274.
External links
- Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)
- Unknown ancient author text (about Julius Caesar in Hispania) of De Bello Hispaniensi (Spanish War).
- Pliny the Elder text of Naturalis Historia(Natural History), books 3-6 (Geography and Ethnography).
- Strabo's text of De Geographica ('About Geography').