Iberians, Celts, And Visigoths Options

[Iberian Overlord]

If any one knows anything on the history of Iberia could you please post it here. I really want to learn about my ancestors. Starting with the Iberians, then the Celts, the Visigoths, Roman invasion, et cetera. Also about Gaul. I've tried to find out about Ancient Iberia, but I didn't get much. Thanks.

[Viggen]

dont forget the Suebic kingdom of Gallaecia, it only lastet 175 years or so, but it was a pretty stable time for that region, till they were overrun by the Visigoths...

some infos you can find here
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/GaliciaDNA/

cheers
viggen

[Ursus]

You might have to go to a well-stocked university library to find anything substantial.

In general, the first people in Spain were the Iberians who go back as far as 4000 BC. They had a knowledge of bronze work and traded metals with people all over the Mediterranean.

Celts from Gaul swept into Iberia and took over large parts of it. The Celts fused with the native Iberians to form the Celtiberians. The Celtiberians carried on the fine tradition of trade. They made nice pottery and metal work. They lived primarily in hill forts, and there doesn't seem to be much evidence of urbanization.

During the ascendency of Carthage, a string of trading colonies were founded in Iberia. This culminated in New Carthage. The Celtiberians fell under the shadow of Carthage. Celtiberians made up a lot of the foot soldiers of Carthage's forces against Rome.

Cathage lost the Second Punic War and Iberia was divided into two Roman provinces. However, the native peoples living in their hill forts fought a constant guerilla war against Rome. It wasn't until the age of Augustus that Spain became pacified. During this time frame towns were built from which spread Roman culture and Roman control. The primary Roman interest in Spain seems to have been the mines and metalworks of the natives.

The Visigothic invasions later ended Roman control of the province, though for a time the Byzantine empire held parts of Spain.


"The Ancient Celts" by Barry Cunliffe has a whole chapter on Celtiberians.

[Pantagathus]

If any one knows anything on the history of Iberia could you please post it here. I really want to learn about my ancestors. Starting with the Iberians, then the Celts, the Visigoths, Roman invasion, et cetera. Also about Gaul. I've tried to find out about Ancient Iberia, but I didn't get much. Thanks.

As Ursus has said, it takes some leg work. There are not many one stop shops on the web in regards to Pre-Roman Spain. What's especially hard to find are unbiased accounts...

Ursus has given a good reader's digest with a few acceptions. To start with, the Iberian legacy goes well beyond 4,000 BC as many of the Magdalenian Culture sites (~18,000-11,000 BC) are on the Spanish side of the Pyrennes. That this truely is part of the Iberian legacy deals has to do with genetics. I just posted the following in the Pelasgian thread and am posting here because it's pertinant:

Perfect example is Spain, the Phoenician/Punic colonial influence which is primarily representative in the modern population by the presence of Haplogroup J. The frequency of that Haplogroup in the modern population is less that 10% (or there abouts) and is clustered where you would expect. (Costa del Sol, Adalusia, etc..)

The dominant Y-Chromosome Haplogroup in Spain is M343(R1b) and is found at the astounding frequency of ~80% +/- of the modern population with the highest concentrations radiating out from the south slopes of the Pyrennes (i.e. Basque country). What I mean by astounding is that this genetic legacy goes back to when people carrying this very ancient genetic marker took up refuge in Iberia during the last glacial maximum. So the Romans, the Alans/Vandals & the Moors barely made a dent in the genetics of the indigenous population all the way into the modern age!

Furthermore, the biggest consequence from this data is that the whole presumption a 'Celtic' invasion of Iberia during the 1st Millennia BC is rubbish as is the presumtion that the Celtiberians were racially different from the southern Iberians & the Lusitanians. There may have been an encrouchment of Celtic culture into Iberia when the Iberians in the north possibly adopted a Celtic 'Lingua Franca' from their trading partners, but there was no mass movement of people that caused a north & south genetic divide in Spain during the 1st Millennia BC...

Along those lines I refer also to the following article (beware again - thick with jargon!) which deals with the matrilinear markers in geneography:
High-resolution mtDNA evidence for the late-glacial resettlement of Europe from an Iberian refugium

The Pre-Roman Iberians are a facinating people and don't believe any source that claims they were a bunch of uncivilized yokles before the Phoenicians arrived to trade with them...

[FLavius Valerius...]

Sorry but where is Iberia? Is it like ireland or something.

[Germanicus]

The Iberian peninsular - Spain

[Iberian Overlord]

Thanks for the info guys. I knew most of that stuff, but the genetics was interesting.

[Favonius Corneli...]

Hey wasn’t there a major Iberian (pre-Celt) nation on the east coast way back in the day? I think they traded with Greeks and Phoenicians, did good metal working and had some rich mines. Forgot the name though...I think it's past is shrouded in legend.

[Iberian Overlord]

Yeah you're talking about the Tartessians...

[Viggen]

The Iberian peninsular - Spain

....and Portugal...

cheers
viggen

[Iberian Overlord]

...and Andorra... and Gibraltar...

[Favonius Corneli...]

Yeah you're talking about the Tartessians...

Ah yes that is it! Can you profess to us about the Tartessians? I'd like to learn more.

[Guest_Iagorius Vidigalus_*]

hail all

Should I speak about the pre-celts,iberians and celts living in the actual Portuguese territory?

[Ursus]

That would be topical. Please feel free to chime in.

[LEG X EQ]

Ibernia (spain and portugal) were ruled by africans(phynicians). than the romans invaded iberia in the first of the punic wars, than hannibal conquered it back, and than the Imperial Romans invaded it again in the second Punic war.