The Indigetes ( Latin : indigetes or indigetae or Indiketes , Iberian: untikesken ) were an ancient Iberian (Pre- Roman ) people of the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania ). They are believed to have spoken the Iberian language .
107-639: They occupied the far north east area of the Iberian Peninsula known as Hispania Tarraconensis , in the gulf of Empúries and Rhoda, stretching up into the Pyrenees though the regions of Empordà , Selva and perhaps as far as Gironès , where the Ausetani could be found who were related ethnically. They were divided into four tribes, and the main towns they centered on were: Indika ( Untika ) (only mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium , still unidentified, but he
214-513: A monetary economy . Ceramics began to be imported in large quantities - Arretine ware from Italy under Augustus and Tiberius and Samian ware from Gaul between the reigns of Caligula and Vespasian . The province was effectively at peace except for an attempt at rebellion by the Astures under Nero which was easily suppressed by a primus pilus of the Legio VI Victrix . As a result, it
321-651: A besieging force, Caesar continued to Spain with a small bodyguard and 900 German auxiliary cavalry. He arrived in June ;49 and at Ilerda he defeated a Pompeian army under legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius . Pompey's remaining legate in Spain, Marcus Terentius Varro surrendered shortly thereafter, putting all of Spain under Caesar's control. Concurrent to Caesar's invasion of Spain, he sent his lieutenant Curio to invade Sicily and Africa assisted by Gaius Caninius Rebilus , where his forces were decisively defeated in
428-507: A crisis in Asia persuaded Caesar to leave Egypt in the middle of 47 BC, at which time sources suggest Cleopatra was already pregnant. He left behind three legions under the command of a son of one of his freedmen to secure Cleopatra's rule. Cleopatra likely bore a child, which she called "Ptolemy Caesar" and which the Alexandrians called "Caesarion", in late June. Caesar believed that the child
535-461: A few weeks. Caesar's victory was so swift that in a letter to a friend in Rome, he quipped " Veni, vidi, vici " ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), a tag repeated on placards carried in his Pontic triumph; he also mocked Pompey for making his name fighting such weak enemies. At Rome, however, during these Egyptian and Pontic campaigns, politics continued. Publius Cornelius Dolabella was serving as one of
642-475: A force of ten legions (likely understrength like Caesar's legions) and large contingents of allied cavalry under King Juba I of Numidia , who also led some 120 war elephants. With the benefit of surprise, Caesar had the time needed to find and reorganise his scattered forces, also sending orders to Sicily to return with reinforcements. As the Pompeians had already acquired most of the available food supplies, Caesar
749-499: A highly volatile political environment. This led to Pompey's sole consulship in 52 BC in which he took sole control of the city without convening an electoral assembly. Political agitation to strip Caesar of his command and his legions had already started in the spring of 51 BC: M Claudius Marcellus argued in that year that the capture of Alesia and victory over Vercingetorix meant that Caesar's provincia (i.e., task) in Gaul
856-407: A meeting of the rump Senate on 1 April; the turnout was poor. There, Caesar repeated his grievances and requested senatorial envoys be sent to negotiate with Pompey; though the motion was passed, nobody volunteered. A meeting of the concilium plebis also was called; although Caesar promised every citizen a gift of 300 sestertii and a guarantee of the grain supply, the reception was muted. When one of
963-641: A plan. The decision to sell the confiscated properties at market price disappointed some of Caesar's allies, but also indicated his dire financial straits. Caesar ordered his men to gather in Lilybaeum on Sicily in late December. He placed a minor member of the Scipio family – one Scipio Salvito or Salutio – on this staff because of the myth that no Scipio could be defeated in Africa. He assembled six legions there and set out for Africa on 25 December 47 BC. The transit
1070-465: A post in Cilicia and thence to Pompey's camp. Caesar's most trusted lieutenant in Gaul, Titus Labienus also defected from Caesar to Pompey, possibly due to Caesar's hoarding of military glories or an earlier loyalty to Pompey. Caesar's timing was far-sighted: Italy was totally unprepared for an invasion. Caesar captured Ariminum (modern day Rimini ) without resistance, his men having already infiltrated
1177-454: A rearguard of two legions waiting for transport. While Caesar tried to block the harbour with earthworks and reopen negotiations, the earthworks were unsuccessful and Pompey refused to negotiate, escaping east with almost all of his men and all the ships in the region. Following this setback and taking advantage of Pompey's escape east, Caesar marched west to Hispania . While in Italy, he assembled
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#17328557679281284-489: A rebel". On both sides, the rank and file soldiers followed their leaders: "the Gallic legions obeyed their patron and benefactor [who] deserved well of the res publica ... others followed Pompey and the consuls [who] represented the res publica ". Caesar made sure to address his men: according to his own account, he spoke of injustices done to him by his political enemies, how Pompey had betrayed him, and focused mostly on how
1391-662: A reserve line of Caesar's troops, leading to the collapse of the Pompeian infantry against Caesar's veterans. Shortly after the battle and sometime in October, Caesar was named dictator for the second time, for an entire year. Pompey, despairing of the defeat, fled with his advisors overseas to Mytilene and thence to Cilicia where he held a council of war; at the same time, Cato's supporters regrouped at Corcyra and went thence to Libya. Others, including Marcus Junius Brutus sought Caesar's pardon, travelling over marshlands to Larissa where he
1498-445: A second consulship and triumph, in which failure to do so would have jeopardised his political future. Moreover, war in 49 BC was advantageous for Caesar, who had continued military preparations while Pompey and the republicans had barely started preparing. Even in ancient times, the causes of the war were puzzling and perplexing, with specific motives "nowhere to be found". Various pretexts existed, such as Caesar's claim that he
1605-497: A siege. After Ahenobarbus received a letter from Pompey denying support, he claimed help was on the way but was caught planning a personal escape; in response, his men arrested him and sent envoys to surrender to Caesar after a short week-long siege. Among the surrendered were some fifty senators and equestrians, all of whom Caesar allowed to go free. When Corfinium's local magistrates handed over some six million sestertii that Ahenobarbus had brought to pay his men, Caesar returned it to
1712-554: Is disputed, perhaps falling shortly after his accession to power in AD 69 or in AD 74. The concession of this right was used by many tributary and subordinate communities in Tarraconensis to transform themselves into municipia , e.g. Nova Augusta ( Lara de los Infantes , Burgos ), Bergidum Flavium ( Torre del Bierzo , El Bierzo , León ), Segovia , Duratón ( Segovia ), and Aqua Flaviae ( Chaves , Portugal ). The main cities in
1819-404: Is one of the commonly recognised endpoints of Rome's republican government . Some scholars view the war as the proximate cause of the republic's fall, due to its polarising interruption of normal republican government. Caesar's comprehensive victory followed by his immediate death left a power vacuum; over the following years his heir Octavian was eventually able to take complete control, forming
1926-556: The Battle of Thapsus . Cato and Metellus Scipio killed themselves shortly thereafter. The following year, Caesar defeated the last of the Pompeians, at the Battle of Munda in Spain, who were led by his former lieutenant Labienus . Caesar was then made dictator perpetuo ("dictator in perpetuity" or "dictator for life") by the Roman senate in 44 BC. He was assassinated by a group of senators (including Brutus) shortly thereafter. The civil war
2033-647: The Battle of the Bagradas River in August 49 BC. Curio was killed in battle. Returning to Rome in December 49 BC, Caesar left Quintus Cassius Longinus in command of Spain and had praetor Marcus Aemilius Lepidus appoint him dictator . As dictator, he conducted elections for the consulship of 48 BC before using the dictatorial powers to pass laws recalling from exile those condemned by Pompey's courts in 52 BC, excepting Titus Annius Milo , and restoring
2140-583: The Douro river and then the Tormes river. The border with Baetica ran from Castulo (modern Linares ), through Acci ( Guadix ), to the bay of Almería . With a surface area of around 380,000 km2 and an estimated population of 3-3.5 million (giving an average population density of 8-9 people/km2), at the date of its creation, Tarraconensis was probably the largest province in the Roman empire. Under Augustus ' division of
2247-612: The Legio VI Vitrix , two cavalry alae , and three infantry cohortes . In order to reinforce these troops, a new legion was recruited, the future Legio VII Gemina and a number of similar auxiliary units, notably the Vascones cohortes , but all these units joined Galba when he invaded Italy to seize the Imperial throne. In AD 69, Vitellius ordered the Legio X Gemina to be dispatched to
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#17328557679282354-516: The Legio VII Galbiana , and then he set out for Rome in order to seize power. After Galba was assassinated, the province was controlled in succession by partisans of Otho, then Vitelius , before finally coming under the control of Vespasian , the first Flavian emperor. Under Vespasian an edict seems to have been promulgated, perhaps in AD 74, which permitted many of the province's urban communities to become municipia with Latin rights over
2461-478: The Roman Empire as Augustus . The main issue at hand in the lead-up to the war was how Caesar, who had been in Gaul for almost ten years before 49 BC, was to be re-integrated into the political fabric of Rome after accumulating immense power and wealth in Gaul. Starting from 58 BC, the year after his consulship in 59, Caesar had held the proconsulship of Cisalpine Gaul along with Illyricum under
2568-560: The Roman conquest of Hispania . In 195 BC they rebelled; the consul Marcus Porcius Cato quashed the rebellion. This article about an ethnic group in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Spanish history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania . It encompassed much of
2675-634: The Roman tribe of Galeria, except for Caesaraugusta, which was in that of Aniensis. All free men who served as municipal magistrates ( duoviri or aediles ) in municipia would obtain Roman citizenship, being assigned to the tribe Quirina. According to Pliny the Elder, the Emperor Vespasian extended Latin citizenship to all other inhabitants of Hispania, which meant that they were legally permitted to conduct business under Roman law ( ius commercii ) and marry Roman woman ( ius conubii ). The date of this grant
2782-836: The Tichis ( Ter ). This district in the Gulf of Empúrias was known as Juncaris Campus . The Indigetes minted their own coins which bore the inscription undikesken in northeastern Iberian script that is interpreted in Iberian language as a self-reference to the ethnic name of that people: from the Indigetes or from those of undika . The main archaeological sites related to the Indigetes are in Ullastret ( Baix Empordà ), Castell de la Fosca ( Palamós , Baix Empordà) and Puig Castellet ( Lloret de Mar , Selva). In 218 BC they were conquered by Rome during
2889-470: The civil wars , Pompey's division was consolidated by Augustus in 27 BC, when he formally established the three provinces of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis, Hispania Ulterior Lusitania (corresponding to modern Portugal , apart from the northern region of the modern country, plus Spanish Extremadura ), and Hispania Ulterior Baetica (corresponding to the southern part of Spain, i.e. Andalusia ). Citerior and Lusitania were Imperial provinces , while Baetica
2996-568: The 1st century AD at the latest, five auxiliary units of the Legio VII Gemina were stationed in the province: This arrangement endured from the 2nd century through to the fifth century AD, with the maximum garrison of Roman troops in Hispanis never exceeding a total of 7712 soldiers. 41°06′59″N 1°15′19″E / 41.1165°N 1.2552°E / 41.1165; 1.2552 Caesar%27s Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC)
3103-478: The 293 communities that are subordinate to others) 179 cities, among which there are 12 coloniae , 13 cities of Roman citizens, 18 of old Latins , 1 city of foederati , and 135 cities subject to tax. All free inhabitants of Roman coloniae held Roman citizenship. The coloniae in the province, established by Julius Caesar , the Second Triumvirate , or Augustus , both coloniae and municipia belonged to
3210-472: The Adriatic. Arriving at Brundisium, Caesar did not have enough transports to sail his entire force, meaning that multiple voyages across the Adriatic would be needed; this was complicated by a Pompeian fleet stationed on the eastern side of the Adriatic under the command of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus . Sailing on 4 January 48 BC – in reality, due to drift from the Roman calendar , late autumn – Caesar took
3317-828: The Elder (who served as procurator the province), and Claudius Ptolemy , there was a substantial number of cities in Tarraconensis, especially in the Ebro Valley and on the Mediterranean coast, but fewer in number in the north and northwest, along the Cantabiran coast and in Galicia . Excepting the communities on the Balearic Islands , Pliny states that: Now, the whole province is divided into 7 conventus : Carthaginiensis, Tarraconensis, Caesaraugustus, Clunienis, Asturus, Lucensis, and Bracarus... The province itself contains (aside from
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3424-661: The Iberian peninsula, accompanied by the Legio I Adiutrix . We do not know exactly where they were stationed; it may have been in Baetica and the southeastern part of Tarraconensis to prevent a possible invasion from North Africa, which was controlled by Lucius Clodius Macer . In any case, both legions and the Legio VI Victrix abandoned Vitellius and declared their support for Vespasian , who quickly sent them to Germania Inferior to suppress
3531-475: The Imperial administration, with easy access by sea to Italia and Rome, where the Imperial mints were located. In addition to creating the province and setting its borders, Augustus followed the directions left by Julius Caesar in granting many communities in the province the privileged status of colonia or municipium (Roman or Latin ), especially along the Levante coast , the part of Baetica transferred to
3638-515: The Imperial cult for the whole province, discharging their functions in the provincial forum in Tarraco. The fiscal administration of Tarraconensis mostly fell to an Imperial procurator ( procurator Caesaris ), appointed by the Emperor directly from among the equestrian order . This procurator was based in the provincial capital and managed the collection of taxes for the whole province. Nevertheless, from
3745-537: The Parthians; Caesar, for his part, had his proconsulship in Gaul renewed. After Crassus' departure from Rome at the end of 55 BC and following his death in battle in 53 BC, the alliance started to fracture more cleanly. With the death of Crassus, and that of Julia (Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife) in 54 BC, the balance of power between Pompey and Caesar collapsed and "a faceoff between [the two] may, therefore, have seemed inevitable". From 61 BC,
3852-424: The Pompeians by surprise, with Pompey's troops dispersed to winter quarters and Bibulus' fleet not ready. Bibulus' fleet, however, quickly sprung into action and captured some of Caesar's transports as they returned to Brundisium, leaving Caesar stranded with some seven legions and little food. Caesar then pushed to Apollonia with little local resistance, allowing him to secure a base and some food stores; seeing that
3959-502: The Romans arrived near the hilltop town of Zela, Pharnaces launched an all-out attack as the Romans were entrenching. The attack caused confusion among Caesar's forces but they quickly recovered and drove Pharnaces' forces down the hill. After a breakthrough on the Caesarian right, Pharnaces' army routed. He fled back to his kingdom but was promptly assassinated. The whole campaign had taken just
4066-583: The Senate by 370 in favour to 22 against on 1 December 50 BC, it was rejected by Pompey and the consul. The consul, C Claudius Marcellus then seized upon rumours that Caesar was preparing to invade Italy and charged Pompey with defending the city and the Republic. One of the reasons given as to why Caesar decided to go to war was that he would be prosecuted for legal irregularities during his consulship in 59 BC and violations of various laws passed by Pompey in
4173-472: The Senate ignored it and moved the senatus consultum ultimum , empowering the magistrates to take whatever actions were necessary to ensure the safety of the state. In response, a number of those pro-Caesarian tribunes, dramatising their plight, fled the city for Caesar's camp. On the 10th or 11 January, Caesar crossed the Rubicon , a small river marking the boundary between the province of Cisalpine Gaul to
4280-525: The beginning he had taken great pride in his clemency". Egypt by this time had been embroiled in repeated civil wars, also frequently arbitrated by Rome – helped in part due to the massive bribes Egyptian monarchs gave to Roman leaders – which eroded the realm's independence. While in Egypt, Caesar started to get involved in a dynastic dispute between Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra , who in the will (registered in Rome) of
4387-412: The city met with senatorial leaders with a more conciliatory message, with Caesar willing to give up Transalpine Gaul if he would be permitted to keep two legions and the right to stand for consul without giving up his imperium (and, thus, right to triumph), but these terms were rejected by Cato, who declared he would not agree to anything unless it was presented publicly before the Senate. The Senate
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4494-446: The city; he captured three more cities in quick succession. News of Caesar's incursion into Italy reached Rome around 17 January. In response Pompey "issued an edict in which he recognised a state of civil war, ordered all the senators to follow him, [and] declared that he would regard as a partisan of Caesar any one who remained behind". Pompey and his allies left the city along with many uncommitted senators, fearing bloody reprisals of
4601-721: The coast. The Romans arrived in the 2nd century BC during the Second Punic War . The province Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis was established in the reign of Augustus as the direct successor of the Roman Republican province of Hispania Citerior ("nearer Hispania"), which had been ruled by a propraetor . The roots of the Augustan reorganisation of Hispania are found in Pompey the Great 's division of Hispania between three of his legates at
4708-503: The conventus capitals there was an Imperial cult centre, dedicated to the Genius Augusti and the deified emperors, with its own male and female priests, the flamen Augusti and flamenica Augusti , who were chosen by the elites of the privileged communities of the province (the coloniae and municipia ). Each year, they chose one of their number to be the flamen and flamenica (they were not required to be married to one another) of
4815-552: The course of his reign and that of his successors, Titus and Domitian . Vespasian also decided to maintain a reduced military garrison in the province, consisting of the Legio VII Gemina Felix and its auxiliary units, which was focused mainly on supporting the work of the provincial governor, carrying out policing, and supervising mining work in the province. Pliny the Elder served as procurator in Tarraconensis in AD 73. Under Diocletian , in 293, Hispania Tarraconensis
4922-646: The decision, according to Suetonius , by an oracle delivered by a young prophet two centuries earlier, which predicted that a new ruler of the world would arise in Clunia . Therefore, Galba proclaimed himself emperor at Clunia. After receiving the support of the governor of Lusitania, the future emperor Otho , he expanded the military forces of the province, which consisted of the Legio VI Victrix, two cavalry alae , and three infantry cohortes , by recruiting various auxiliaries , at least three cohorts of Vascones , and
5029-404: The deck. Caesar pursued vigorously as Pompey's skill and client networks made him the largest threat; travelling first to Asia and then to Cyprus and Egypt, he arrived three days after Pompey's murder. There, he was presented with the head of Pompey, along with his signet ring; Caesar wept when he saw the ring and recoiled from the head: "his disgust and sorrow may well have been genuine, for from
5136-408: The deposits on a very large scale using several aqueducts up to 30 miles (48 km) long to tap water in the surrounding mountains. By running fast water streams on the soft rocks, they were able to extract large quantities of gold by hydraulic mining methods ( Ruina montium ). When the gold had been exhausted, they followed the auriferous seams underground by tunnels using fire-setting to break up
5243-481: The dispute by the Senate, a counter-offer that Caesar rejected as doing so would have put him at the mercy of hostile senators while giving up all the advantages of his surprise invasion. Caesar continued to advance. After encountering five cohorts under Quintus Minucius Thermus at Iguvium, Thermus' forces deserted. Caesar quickly overran Picenum, the area from which Pompey's family originated. While Caesar's troops skirmished once with local forces, fortunately for him,
5350-494: The dynastic dispute: the will's terms were clear and both would have to be co-rulers. Ptolemy XIII impressed, probably already aware of Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship. After some months of siege, Caesar's forces were relieved by forces under Mithridates of Pergamum from Syria, bringing the Egyptians to battle with Caesar's forces where the Egyptians were utterly routed. Ptolemy XIII fled but drowned when his boat capsized. After
5457-440: The eastern Mediterranean coast, moving directly for Pharnaces' invasion, seeking to protect his prestige, which would suffer substantially if a foreign invasion were to go unpunished. Pharnaces attempted to treat with Caesar, who rejected all negotiations, reminding him of his treatment of Roman prisoners. Caesar demanded him to withdraw immediately from all occupied territories, return their spoils, and release all prisoners. When
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#17328557679285564-508: The end of the Republic, immediately before his civil war with Julius Caesar . As a result of the agreements that led to the formation of the First Triumvirate in 60 BC, Pompey had received the governorship of the Iberian provinces. Given that he preferred to remain in Rome , where he could oversee affairs in the capital, he delegated the government of Hispania to three legates: At the end of
5671-561: The future historian Gaius Sallustius Crispus (also appointed praetor for 46 BC), to parley with the men, but Sallust was almost killed by a mob. Caesar then went in person to the troops, who were then nearing Rome under arms; he granted them immediate discharges, gave promises that they would receive their land and retirement bonuses, and addressed them as quirites (citizens). His men, shocked by their casual dismissal, begged Caesar to take them back into service; feigning reluctance, he allowed himself to be persuaded and made notes to put
5778-546: The governors. Over time, the indigenous communities tended to adapt their institutions of self-government to match the model of the Roman municipia and coloniae . The principal difference between the two types of community was the application of Roman law to them. For citizens of coloniae and muncipia it was obligatory, while for non-Romans it was optional, except in interactions with the Imperial authorities and with individual Roman citizens , in which case Roman law over-ruled local legal systems. According to Strabo, Pliny
5885-914: The lack of any magistrates with imperium present meant that nobody was able to enforce it; only after some time did Antony return, restoring order with serious loss of life, dealing a serious blow to his popularity. At the same time, Cato led his forces from Cyrenaica across the desert to Africa (modern day Tunisia), linking up with Metellus Scipio; they, along with Labienus, induced the defection of one of Caesar's governors in Hispania Ulterior . Caesar returned to Italy and Rome late in 47 BC, meeting and pardoning Cicero, who had given up hope in Pompeian victory after Pompey's death, at Brundisium. Upon his return, he made it clear that his confidence in Antony, but surprisingly not Dolabella, had been lost. Caesar elected suffect magistrates for 47 and magistrates for
5992-509: The last Egyptian king ( Ptolemy XII Auletes ) had been made co-rulers. By 48 BC, relations between the two co-rulers had broken down, with the two shadowing each other with armies on opposite sides of the Nile. Caesar demanded a ten million denarii payment of a large debt promised to him by the previous king; a demand almost certainly motivated by the "massive financial commitments" needed to pay his troops; he also declared that he would arbitrate
6099-413: The late 50s, the consequence of which would be ignominious exile. However, the prosecution theory emerging from Suetonious and Pollio is in "highly dubious territory" and "dubious in the extreme". There is no evidence from the period 50–49 BC that anyone was seriously planning on putting Caesar on trial. Caesar's choice to fight the civil war was motivated by his mostly stumbling in efforts to attain
6206-456: The late first century or early second century AD, the gold mines in the northwestern part of the province were managed by a separate procurator, the procurator metallorum , who was usually and Imperial freedman and was based at Asturica Augusta . These procurators reported directly to the emperor, not to the provincial governor, although in practice both had to collaborate with the provincial administration. The lowest level of administration in
6313-438: The main Pompeian supply base was at Dyrrachium, Caesar advanced on it but withdrew when Pompey arrived first with superior forces. After receiving the remainder of his army from Italy under Mark Antony on 10 April, Caesar advanced against Dyrrachium again, leading to the Battle of Dyrrachium . After attempting circumvallation of the Pompeian defenders, Caesar attempted to capture the vital Pompeian logistics hub of Dyrrachium but
6420-523: The main political fault-line in Rome was counterbalancing against the influence of Pompey, leading to his seeking allies outside the core senatorial aristocracy, i.e. Crassus and Caesar; but the rise of anarchic political violence from 55 to 52 BC finally forced the Senate to ally with Pompey to restore order. The breakdown of order in 53 and 52 BC was extremely disturbing: men like Publius Clodius Pulcher and Titus Annius Milo were "essentially independent agents" leading large violent street gangs in
6527-471: The men and asked them to take an oath of loyalty, which they did. Caesar's advance down the Adriatic coast was surprisingly clement and disciplined: his soldiers did not plunder the countryside as soldiers had during the Social War a few decades earlier. Nor did Caesar avenge himself on his political enemies as Sulla and Marius had. The policy of clemency was also highly practical: Caesar's pacificity prevented
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#17328557679286634-572: The mining area around Castulo that had previously been part of Baetica. This reorganisation meant that all Roman troops stationed in Hispania were henceforth under the command of a single Roman legate based at Tarraconensis and that the main mining regions, which supplied precious metals to the Imperial treasury (gold in the Galician Massif , silver in Sierra Morena ), were under the direct control of
6741-538: The much harder gold-bearing rocks. Pliny the Elder gives a good account of the methods used in Hispania, presumably based on his own observations. At its greatest extent, the province Hispania Tarraconensis covered about two thirds of the Iberian Peninsula . The Pyrenees mountains to the north formed the border with Gaul . The border with Lusitania to the southwest ran from the Cale (modern Oporto , Portugal ) along
6848-411: The mutiny's leaders in exposed and dangerous positions in the upcoming campaign. While in Italy, he also confiscated and sold at market price the property of Pompey and opponents now dead or still unpardoned, before also borrowing more funds. He handled Dolabella's proposed debt cancellation proposals by declining to take them up, arguing his large debts would have made him the chief beneficiary of such
6955-458: The new year (46 BC); he packed his men into the priestly colleges and the suffect magistracies, expanding the number of praetors from eight to ten, to reward them for their loyalty. For himself, he declined to continue the dictatorship, instead taking the consulship with Lepidus as his colleague. The mutineers in Campania were not calmed by Caesar's return. Caesar sent one of his lieutenants,
7062-520: The north and Italy proper to the south. Crossing the Rubicon , Suetonius claims Caesar exclaimed alea iacta est ("the die is cast"), though Plutarch maintains Caesar spoke in Greek quoting the poet Menander with anerriphtho kubos ("ἀνερρίφθω κύβος", "let the die be thrown"); Caesar's own commentaries do not mention the Rubicon at all. This marked a formal start to hostilities, with Caesar being "undoubtedly
7169-501: The northern part of the Meseta Central. Between the reigns of Augustus and Nero , imperial interventions led to the regularisation of the old pre-Roman roads and their conversion into Roman roads , which formed a framework for the provincial territory which brought the provincials into contact with Roman culture ( Latin rapidly became the common language of the province) and gave them access to highly developed economic networks and
7276-569: The northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal . Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia , was the province of Hispania Baetica . On the Atlantic west lay the province of Lusitania , partially coincident with modern-day Portugal . The Phoenicians and Carthaginians colonised the Mediterranean coast of Iberia in the 8th to 6th centuries BC. The Greeks later also established colonies along
7383-510: The other at the onset of hostilities. For example, Gaius Claudius Marcellus, who as consul in 50 BC had charged Pompey with defending the city, chose neutrality. The then-young Marcus Junius Brutus , whose father had been treacherously killed by Pompey during Brutus' childhood, whose mother was Caesar's lover, and who had been raised in Cato the Younger 's house, chose to leave the city, setting off
7490-533: The other would back down or, failing that, offer acceptable terms. Trust had eroded between the two over the last few years and repeated cycles of brinksmanship harmed chances for compromise. On 1 January 49 BC, Caesar stated that he would be willing to resign if other commanders would also do so but, in Gruen's words, "would not endure any disparity in their [Caesar and Pompey's] forces", appearing to threaten war if his terms were not met. Caesar's representatives in
7597-497: The outbreak of civil war. Pompey and his allies induced the Senate to demand Caesar give up his provinces and armies in the opening days of 49 BC. Caesar refused and instead marched on Rome . The war was fought in Italy, Illyria , Greece , Egypt , Africa , and Hispania . The decisive events occurred in Greece in 48 BC: Pompey defeated Caesar at the Battle of Dyrrhachium , but
7704-521: The political rights of the children of victims of the Sullan proscriptions. Holding the dictatorship would have been the only way to avoid giving up his imperium , legions, provincia , and right to triumph while within the pomerium . Standing in the same elections he conducted, he won a second term as consul with Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus as his colleague. He resigned the dictatorship after eleven days. Caesar then renewed his pursuit of Pompey across
7811-409: The population of Italy from turning on him. At the same time, Pompey planned to escape east to Greece where he could raise a massive army from the eastern provinces. He therefore escaped to Brundisium (modern Brindisi ), requisitioning merchant vessels to travel the Adriatic. Caesar pursued Pompey to Brundisium, arriving on 9 March with six legions. By then, most of Pompey's forces had departed, with
7918-539: The population was not hostile: his troops were refraining from looting and his opponents had "little popular appeal". In February 49 BC, Caesar received reinforcements and captured Asculum when the local garrison deserted. Only when he reached Corfinium did he encounter serious opposition led by Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus , recently appointed governor of Gaul by the Senate. Pompey had urged Ahenobarbus to retreat south and join him, but Ahenobarbus had responded with requests for support; regardless, Caesar prepared for
8025-426: The previous civil wars; other senators simply left Rome for their country villas, hoping to keep a low profile. In late January, Caesar and Pompey were negotiating, with Caesar proposing that the two of them return to their provinces (which would have required Pompey to travel to Spain) and then disband their forces. Pompey accepted those terms provided that they withdraw from Italy at once and submit to arbitration of
8132-529: The province in 12 BC, and the Ebro Valley , along with some foundations on the Meseta Central and in the northeast. He also regularised the status of the other political entities in the province, the civitates stipendiaria (communities subject to tribute), whose affairs could be directly intervened in by the governor. This policy was continued by Tiberius (AD 14–37), who increased the number of municipia in
8239-413: The province was garrisoned by three legions – subsequently reduced to two by Caligula , and to one by Nero . Because of the scale of the province, at some point between the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius , the province was divided into seven conventus iuridici (assize districts), each managed by a legatus iuridicus , who was appointed by the Emperor directly. These districts were: In each of
8346-431: The province were the cities (Latin: civitates ), organised politically in the Roman manner ( coloniae and municipia ) or in a traditional mode retaining institutions that preceded the Roman conquest but operating under the direct supervision of the provincial governors. These communities - both Roman and indigenous - generally enjoyed a high level of autonomy, administering themselves without excessive intervention from
8453-627: The province were: In order to guarantee order and security in the province after the Cantabrian Wars (26 BC–19 BC), three legions were established in the province: These legions were supported by various auxiliary units, like the Ala Parthorum and the Cohors IV Gallorum , but it is very difficult to tell exactly where and when these units were garrisoned in the peninsula. In AD 68, according to Suetonius , Galba removed one legion,
8560-422: The provinces in 27 BC, Tarraconensis was an Imperial province like Lusitania, while Baetica was a Senatorial province . Tarraconensis was of consular rank , while the other two were praetorian . The governor was entitled legatus Augusti pro praetore , who was a senator of consular rank. The capital of the province was the colonia of Tarraco . In the time of Augustus and Tiberius , according to Strabo ,
8667-519: The revolt of Gaius Julius Civilis . Subsequently, in AD 74, Vespasian ordered the Legio VII Gemina to be garrisoned in Leon at the site of the old camp of the Legio VI Victrix . The Legio VII Gemina continued to garrison the province until the beginning of the 5th century AD. The Legio VII Gemina dispatched vexillationes to the following parts of the provinces in Hispania: By the last quarter of
8774-447: The rights of tribunes had been trampled by the Senate's ignoring tribunician vetoes, parading the tribunes who had fled the city before the troops in their disguises. On the senatus consultum ultimum , Caesar argued it was unnecessary and should be confined only to circumstances in which Rome was under direct threat. For most Romans, the choice of what side to pick was difficult. Only a small number of people were committed to one side or
8881-487: The subsequent larger Battle of Pharsalus was won by Caesar and Pompey's army disintegrated. Many prominent supporters of Pompey (termed Pompeians) surrendered after the battle, such as Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero . Others fought on, including Cato the Younger and Metellus Scipio . Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated upon arrival. Caesar led a military expedition to Asia Minor before attacking North Africa, where he defeated Metellus Scipio in 46 BC at
8988-496: The succession dispute between Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra. In response, Pothinus (Ptolemy XIII's eunuch regent), apparently summoned an army to the city and besieged Caesar's occupation of the royal quarter; Caesar summoned reinforcements from Roman Asia. While under siege in Alexandria , Caesar met Cleopatra and became her lover when she secreted herself into the royal quarter. Around this time, Caesar also produced his decision on
9095-450: The summer of 50, "positions had been hardened and events progressed irreversibly toward cataclysm", with Pompey now rejecting Caesar's standing for a second consulship until he gave up his army and provinces. The Senate as a whole was relatively pacific, strongly supporting a proposal by Caesar's ally C Scribonius Curio , who was then tribune of the plebs , that both Pompey and Caesar give up their armies and commands. The proposal passed in
9202-425: The terms of the lex Vatinia and Transalpine Gaul at the assignment of the Senate. Caesar had allied himself with Crassus and Pompey in the so-called First Triumvirate during his consulship. The alliance of three men "induced a sharp restructuring of alliances and alignments" with temporary benefit to them but harm in the long-run with aristocratic groups coalescing in opposition. The short-term benefits to
9309-465: The three emerged from their own purposes: ratification of Pompey's eastern settlement , agrarian measures involving Pompey and Crassus. The political alliance between the three began to fray in the mid 50s BC, but was put on hold with a renegotiation and the joint consulship of Pompey and Crassus in 55 BC. Their joint consulship assigned new provincial commands to the consuls, with Pompey receiving Hispania while Crassus went to Syria to fight
9416-485: The tribunes for 47 BC. During his term, he proposed the abolition of all debts and a rent holiday. This led to Antony, who was serving as Caesar's magister equitum in the dictatorship, to intervene against the proposals. When Antony had left for Campania to deal with a mutiny in Caesar's Ninth and Tenth legions, domestic violence again flared up in Rome, leading to the Senate to invoke the senatus consultum ultimum but
9523-420: The tribunes, Lucius Caecilius Metellus interposed his veto against Caesar's attempt to raid the state treasury , Caesar threatened Metellus' life until he gave way. Some scholars view the episode as showing the disingenuousness of Caesar's championing of tribunician rights at the start of the civil war. The raid captured some 15 thousand gold bars, 30 thousand silver bars, and 30 million sestertii. The episode
9630-491: The victory, Caesar gave the Roman province of Cyprus to Egypt, likely secured payment of his financial demand, and invested Cleopatra (along with a new co-ruler Ptolemy XIV Philopator , Cleopatra's younger brother) with rule of Egypt. While Caesar's Alexandrian War implies he left Egypt forthwith, he actually stayed for some three months cruising with Cleopatra along the Nile, mostly to rest and perhaps also partly to make clear Rome's support for Cleopatra's new regime. News of
9737-444: The war to extend his command, Pompey sought to engage Caesar in a decisive battle. After meeting up with Scipio Nasica's Syrian reinforcements, Pompey led his forces after Caesar in early August, seeking favourable ground for a battle. After several days of cavalry skirmishes, Caesar was able to lure Pompey off of a hill and force battle on the plain of Pharsalus . During the battle, a flanking manoeuvre led by Labienus failed against
9844-589: Was a Senatorial province . The creation of these new provinces was achieved in order to facilitate the incorporation of the northwestern portion of the Iberian peninsula, inhabited by the Gallaeci , Cantabri , and Astures , into the Roman empire. Tarraconensis thus served as a base for the annexation of these territories during the Cantabrian Wars (27–19 BC). Augustus himself resided from 27 to 26 BC at Segisama (modern Sasamón , Burgos ), and at Tarraco, where he received an embassy from India . During this period he
9951-561: Was a civil war during the late Roman Republic between two factions led by Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), respectively. The main cause of the war was political tensions relating to Caesar's place in the republic on his expected return to Rome on the expiration of his governorship in Gaul . Before the war, Caesar had led an invasion of Gaul for almost ten years. A build-up of tensions starting in late 50 BC, with both Caesar and Pompey refusing to back down, led to
10058-653: Was accompanied by his nephew and heir, Marcellus , and his stepson, the future emperor Tiberius , both of whom served as military tribunes in 25 BC in the conflict with the Cantabrians – the pair's first military commands. The name of the province derives from its capital, Colonia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco . The provincial borders were modified in 12 BC, in order to incorporate the Galician and Asturian territories which had previously belonged to Lusitania, and perhaps to an ephemeral Transduriana province before that, as well as
10165-426: Was completed and therefore his command had lapsed. He also argued that Caesar's expected desire to stand for a second consulship in absentia was no longer justified after his victory. Regardless, the Senate rejected Marcellus' motion, as well as his later motion to declare Caesar's term in Gaul to end on 1 March 50 BC. At this time, Pompey was also instrumental in rejecting the proposed motions. Subsequent to
10272-465: Was defending the rights of tribunes after they fled the city, which was "too obvious a sham". Caesar's own explanation was that he would protect his personal dignitas ; both Caesar and Pompey were impelled by pride, with Caesar refusing to "yield submissively to the blusterings of the conservatives, much less to the bullying of Pompey" in Gruen's words, and Pompey similarly refusing to accept Caesar's proposals, delivered as if they were directives. There
10379-424: Was disrupted by a storm and strong winds; only around 3,500 legionaries and 150 cavalry landed with him near the enemy port of Hadrumentum . Apocryphally, when landing, Caesar fell onto the beach but was able to successfully laugh the bad omen off when he grabbed two handfuls of sand, declaring "I have hold of you, Africa!". At the start of the campaign, Caesar's forces were greatly outnumbered: Metellus Scipio led
10486-551: Was divided in three smaller provinces: Gallaecia , Carthaginensis and Tarraconensis. The Imperial province of Hispania Tarraconensis lasted until the invasions of the 5th century, beginning in 409, when Suebi , Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees, and ended with the establishment of a Visigothic kingdom . The invasion resulted in widespread exploitation of metals, especially gold , tin and silver . The alluvial gold mines at Las Medulas show that Roman engineers worked
10593-405: Was forced to move quickly. He bypassed Hadrumentum after it refused to surrender and established bases at Ruspina, where he led a large foraging party which then engaged in an encounter battle forces under Labienus. Caesar's inexperienced troops wavered under attack from Numidian skirmisher cavalry for most of the day before retreating after a counterattack, resulting in a strategic defeat, as Caesar
10700-652: Was his, as he allowed use of the name. Aware of the civil war, Pharnaces II desired to reclaim his father's lands lost during the Third Mithridatic War and promptly invaded large parts of Cappadocia, Armenia, eastern Pontus, and Lesser Colchis. Roman sources paint him cruelly, ordering the castration of any captured Romans; these attacks were uncontested after Pompey stripped the east for troops until Caesar's legate Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus fought him unsuccessfully near Nicopolis in December 48 BC with an inexperienced force. Caesar moved from Egypt north along
10807-458: Was little conscious desire for war until the last weeks of 50 BC, but "the boni had entrapped themselves... in a political vise from which they could not emerge with dignity except by aggressive self-assertion" while Caesar could not "permit [his status and reputation] to collapse through submission". For the months leading up to January 49 BC, both Caesar and the anti-Caesarians composed of Pompey, Cato, and others seemed to believe that
10914-401: Was persuaded on the eve of war (7 January 49 BC) – while Pompey and Caesar continued to muster troops – to demand Caesar give up his post or be judged an enemy of the state. A few days later, the Senate then also stripped Caesar of his permission to stand for election in absentia and appointed a successor to Caesar's proconsulship in Gaul; while pro-Caesarian tribunes vetoed these proposals,
11021-502: Was possible to progressively reduce the military garrison of the province. In AD 42-43, Claudius transferred the Legio IV Macedonica to Germania and in AD 63 Nero sent the Legio X Gemina to Pannonia . In AD 68, Galba , who had governed the province since AD 61, was invited by Vindex to join his rebellion against Nero. When Galba received news that Nero had decided to have him killed, he accepted Vindex's offer, justifying
11128-502: Was possibly referring to Empúries or Ullastret ), Empodrae (Empúries, where there was an extremely important Greek, Phocaean and Massaliotan colony, which had their corresponding commercial "emporio"), Rhoda ( Roses ), Juncaria ( La Jonquera ), Cinniana ( Cervià ) and Deciana (close to La Jonquera). This land was watered by the Clodianus ( Fluvià ), the Sambrocas ( Muga ) and
11235-429: Was sufficiently embarrassing that it was omitted from Caesar's Commentaries on the civil war. Leaving Mark Antony in charge of Italy and the praetor Lepidus in Rome, Caesar set out west for Spain resentful for the embarrassing episodes before the senate and Metellus. En route, he started a siege of Massilia when the city barred him entry and came under the command of the aforementioned Domitius Ahenobarbus. Leaving
11342-466: Was then welcomed graciously by Caesar in his camp. Pompey's council of war decided to flee to Egypt, which had in the previous year supplied him with military aid. When Pompey arrived in Egypt , he was greeted by a welcoming delegation made up of several Egyptians and two Roman officers who had served with him years before. Shortly after boarding their boat, he was murdered in sight of his wife and friends on
11449-534: Was unsuccessful after Pompey occupied it and the surrounding heights. In response, Caesar besieged Pompey's camp and constructed a circumvallation thereof, until, after months of skirmishes, Pompey was able to break through Caesar's fortified lines and force Caesar into a strategic withdrawal for Thessaly. After the victory, seeking to spare Italy from invasion, prevent Caesar from defeating in detail Scipio Nasica 's forces arriving from Syria, and under pressure from his overconfident allies who accused him of prolonging
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