Humanization & Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula

Posted on Oct 19, 2024 in Geography

The Hominization Process in the Iberian Peninsula

Hominization is the long evolutionary process through which the human species acquired its present features. The first representatives of the genus Homo (ergaster) arrived in the Iberian Peninsula from Africa at the beginning of the Pleistocene epoch, 1.5 million years ago. Thanks to discoveries at Atapuerca, we know the evolutionary process of the European population followed these steps:

  1. Homo antecessor: the oldest remains from the Sima del Elefante pit.
  2. Homo heidelbergensis (500,000-300,000 years ago).
  3. Homo neanderthalensis
  4. Homo sapiens sapiens (Cro-Magnon) in Europe (100,000 years ago) and the Iberian Peninsula (40,000 years ago).

All of these, from H. ergaster to H. sapiens, share phylogenetic relationships. The importance of Atapuerca lies in its potential to hold the key to human evolution in Europe. Discoveries over the last 25 years in trenches like Gran Dolina (the oldest H. antecessor remains, found in Sima del Elefante in 2007, date back to approximately 1.2 million years ago), Gran Dolina (about 800,000 years ago), and Sima de los Huesos (H. heidelbergensis from around 300,000 years ago) have allowed us to learn about the first inhabitants of Europe and their Lower Paleolithic stone industry.

Pre-Roman Peoples and Colonizations

Before the arrival of the Romans (BC), the Iberian Peninsula was a mosaic of peoples grouped into two areas:

  1. Iberian peoples (Turdetani, Oretani, Edetani) in the south and east, influenced by Greeks and Phoenicians. Their economy was based on active trade and the use of currency. They spoke non-Indo-European languages and had an evolved social structure, divided into groups according to wealth and power. Their political systems followed the Greek model of the city-state or the Phoenician model with kings, assemblies, senates, and magistrates.
  2. Celtic peoples in the north, central, and west (Basques, Astures, Cantabrians, etc.) and Celtiberians in the central east (Arevaci, Pelendones). These indigenous cultures, some with Indo-European influences, had an economy based on agriculture (plains) and livestock (mountains), with limited trade and no currency. Their social structure was primitive, based on kinship groups (clans and lineages), and their political systems were based on councils of elders.

Colonizations (1st Millennium BC):

  • From the 8th century BC, the Phoenicians, a highly developed commercial people from modern-day Lebanon, established trading enclaves in the southern Mediterranean: Gadir (Cádiz), Malaka (Málaga), and Sexi (Almuñécar).
  • From the 7th century BC, the Greeks settled along the northern Mediterranean coast: Rhode (Rosas) and Emporion (Empúries).
  • From the 6th century BC, the Carthaginians from Carthage occupied the southeastern peninsular coast: Alicante, Cartagena, and Ebussus (Ibiza).

The Phoenicians and Greeks introduced the alphabet, luxury goods, and technologies related to iron. The Carthaginians integrated the Iberian Peninsula into international politics within the context of their struggle with Rome for control of the Iberian Peninsula and the western Mediterranean.

Roman Conquest and Romanization

Romanization is the historical process by which the indigenous population of the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania) assimilated Roman lifestyles and culture. This process had several facets: provincial administration, public works development, and economic and social structures. Rome granted Roman citizenship (3rd century BC) and left a legacy that still survives today: Greek culture, Latin language, law (legal organization) and its institutions, and religion (Christianity in the 4th century AD). Through Romanization, Hispania became integrated into the commercial and cultural power of the Mediterranean world. The process had mixed results, as the peoples of the west and north were less Romanized. The subjugation of all indigenous peoples (Iberians and Celts) took about 200 years. The conquest occurred in stages:

  1. Punic Wars (218-205 BC): Rome vs. Carthage
  2. Conquest of the interior (205-133 BC), slowed by Roman civil wars.
  3. Subjugation of the northern mountains (31-19 BC).

Romanization intensified from the 1st century AD, culminating in the Hispanic contribution to Latin culture, with two main centers:

  1. Andalusia: Seneca (Stoic philosopher), Lucan (poet), Mela (geographer), and Columella (writer on agriculture).
  2. Ebro Valley: Quintilian (rhetorician) and Martial (satirical poet).

Barbarian Invasions and the Visigothic Kingdom

Coinciding with the decline of the Roman Empire (4th century AD), various barbarian peoples entered Hispania (409 AD): Suebi (Gallaecia), Alans (Lusitania and Carthaginiensis), and Vandals (Baetica). The Visigoths, a Germanic people settled in Gaul (Toulouse, 416-507 AD), established a foedus with Rome to stop the invaders. Expelled from Gaul by the Franks (Battle of Vouillé, 507 AD), they moved their kingdom to Hispania. The Visigothic monarchy established its capital in Toledo and unified the peninsula through a process of:

  1. Military campaigns: Leovigild and his son Reccared I dominated the Basques, Cantabrians, and Asturians, expelled the Suebi (585 AD), and conquered Byzantine territories (572-628 AD) in the south, successfully containing the Franks in the north.
  2. Political consolidation: The monarchy became hereditary (Recceswinth, Reccared, and Witiza). The king was supported by institutions: the Aula Regia (advisory body) and the Councils of Toledo (civil and religious assembly).
  3. Religious and legal unification: Leovigild (572-586 AD) abolished the law prohibiting mixed marriages. While he practiced Arianism, his son Reccared I (586-601 AD) converted to Catholicism (589 AD). Recceswinth (653-672 AD) promulgated the Liber Judiciorum, a unified legal code.

Visigothic culture was marked by Roman influence. The most prominent figure was Saint Isidore of Seville (Etymologies), who disseminated classical culture and promoted the use of Latin. Architectural achievements include the churches of San Pedro de la Nave, Quintanilla de las Viñas, and San Juan de Baños, and the Guarrazar Treasure (goldsmith work).