Information about Iberians

The Iberians were an ancient Pre-Indo-European people who inhabited the east and southeast of the Iberian Peninsula in prehistoric and historic times. In modern times, an Iberian is also a native of the Iberian Peninsula. The Iberians should not be confused with ancient inhabitants of Caucasus, the Caucasian Iberians of the early Georgian Kingdom of Iberia.

History

The Iberians lived in isolated communities based on a tribal organization. They also had a knowledge of metalworking, including bronze, and agricultural techniques. In later years, the Iberians evolved into a more complex civilization with urbanized communities and social stratification. They traded metals with the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians.

Greek colonists made the first historical reference to the Iberians in the 6th century B.C. They also dubbed as Iberians another people, currently known as Caucasian Iberians. It is not known whether they had any connection or if it was just a coincidence of names. The Iberians most likely made contact with other cultures long before this, however. The Phoenicians established their first colony on the Iberian Peninsula in 1100 B.C. (Gadir, Gades, modern Cádiz) and probably made contact with Iberians then or shortly thereafter.

Origins

There are two theories concerning their origins:

• One theory suggests that they arrived in Spain sometime during the Neolithic period, with their arrival being dated as early as the fourth millennium BC. Most scholars adhering to this theory believe from archaeological, anthropological and genetic evidences that the Iberians came from a region farther east in the Mediterranean. Others have suggested that they may have originated in North Africa. The Iberians would then have initially settled along the eastern coast of Spain, and possibly spread throughout the rest of the Iberian Peninsula later on.
• An alternative theory states that they were part of the original inhabitants of Western Europe and the creators/heirs of the great megalithic culture in all this area. The Iberians would then be similar to the populations subdued by the supposedly Celts in Ireland, Britain and France.^[1][2][3][4]

External influences

The Celts arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in two waves in the early first millennium B.C. The Celtic culture dominated the Northern and Western Peninsula while the Iberians held the South. In the center, Celtic and Iberian culture mixed to give birth to the Celtiberians. This group, which fused both cultures, spread to the Eastern coast of what today is Spain.

The Iberians and the Celtiberians traded extensively with other Mediterranean cultures. Iberian pottery has been found in France, Italy, and North Africa. The Iberians also had extensive contact with Greek colonists who shared their cultural knowledge. The Iberians may have adopted some of the Greeks' artistic skill. Statues such as the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elx are thought to have been made by Iberians relatively well studied in art. One of the three original tribes of Sicily; the Sicanians are thought to have been of Iberian origin.^[5]

The Iberians and Celtiberians were placed under Carthaginian rule for a short time between the Second and Third Punic Wars. Both groups supplied troops to Hannibal's army. The Romans subsequently conquered the Iberian Peninsula and slowly repressed the local culture and language, but it was only until the reign of Emperor Augustus after the fall of the Roman Republic that the entire peninsula was conquered. The region was subsequently conquered by the Visigoths in the 5th century, and then annexed by the Arab Empire during the Muslim conquest of Hispania starting in the 8th century. The Moors then ruled parts of Iberia for the next eight centuries, with the area under their control slowly decreasing throughout the Reconquista, until being eventually driven out at the end of the 15th century.

Iberian culture

Iberian language

Main article: Iberian language

The Iberian language describes a linguistic group identified with the Iberian civilisation (7th century B.C. – 7th century B.C.), formed in the eastern and south-eastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. These indigenous languages became extinct by the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, after being gradually replaced by Latin.

Iberian seems to be a language isolate. It is certainly not an Indo-European language. Links with other languages have been claimed, but they have not been demonstrated. One such proposed link was with the Basque language (Basque-Iberism), but this theory is also disputed.

Iberian writing

Main article: Iberian scripts

It was assumed that the Iberians learned writing from the Phoenicians, developed a system for recording their own language, and later they incorporated elements of the Greek alphabet into their own writing system.

Gallery

Funerary vase from the necropolis of Lucentum (the Roman name for Alacant, València, Spain)[6].

Iberian lion of Bujalance, in Andalusia, Spain.

Iberian tomb in an ancient Iberian village, near Azaila, in Aragón, Spain.

See Also

Modern peoples of Iberian ancestry:

• Catalan people
• Portuguese people
• Spanish people

Ancient cultures of Iberia:

• Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
• Tartessos
• Celts
• Celtiberians
• Phoenicia
• Greeks
• Carthage
• Roman Empire
• Visigoths
• Moors
• Basques

Archeological sites:

• Lucentum

Related to Iberian culture:

• Iberian language
• Iberian scripts

References

External links

• Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC)