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65-550: Although local Socialist groups had been active since 1886, and many affiliated with the PSOE (being Biscay one of the strongholds of Spanish social democracy, along with Madrid and Asturias ), the PSE was actually established as a branch of the main party only in 1977, during the Spanish transition to democracy , initiated by King Juan Carlos I of Spain . During the violent years of the 1980s in

130-608: A detachment from the Frankish central authority on Charlemagne's death. The new emperor Louis the Pious reacted by removing him from his capacity, which stirred the Basques into rebellion. The king in turn sent his troops to the territory, obtaining their submission in two campaigns and killing the duke, while his family crossed the Pyrenees and continued to foment risings against Frankish power. In 824,

195-524: A few nearby villages. As the fascist army advanced westward from Navarre, defenses were planned and erected around Bilbao, called the Iron Belt. But the engineer in charge, José Goicoechea , defected to the Nationalists, causing the unfinished defenses to be of little value. In 1937, German airplanes under Franco's control destroyed the historic city of Gernika , after having bombed Durango with less severity

260-641: A few weeks before. Some months later, Bilbao fell to the fascists. The Basque army ( Eusko Gudarostea ) retreated to Santoña, beyond the limits of Biscay. There they surrendered to the Italian forces ( Santoña Agreement ), but the Italians yielded to Franco. Other Republican forces considered the surrender a betrayal by the Basques. Under the dictatorship of Franco, Biscay and Gipuzkoa (exclusively) were declared "traitor provinces" because of their opposition and stripped of any sort of self-rule. Only after Franco's death in 1975

325-399: A less important source of protein, as the people relied on sheep, goats and some bovine cattle. Metallic tools become more common but stone-made ones are also used. Pottery types shows great continuity (not decorated) until the bell beaker makes its appearance. The sites of this period now cover all the territory of Biscay, many being open air settlements, but the most important caves of

390-592: A more general geographical feature. Under Augustus ' Roman rule, from 27 BCE the province of Aquitania was further stretched to the north to the river Loire , thus including proper Gaul tribes along with old Aquitani south of the Garonne (cf. Novempopulania and Gascony ) within the same region. In 392, the Roman imperial provinces were restructured as Aquitania Prima (north-east), Aquitania Secunda (centre) and Aquitania Tertia , better known as Novempopulania in

455-777: A not preponderant but clearly significant Basque presence in the former too. Recorded evidence points to their deployment across Aquitaine in a military capacity as a mainstay of the Duke's forces. 'Romans' are cited as living in the cities of Aquitaine, as opposed to the Franks (mid 8th century). After the 843 Treaty of Verdun , the defeat of Pepin II and the death of Charles the Bald , the Kingdom of Aquitaine (subsumed in West Francia ) ceased to have any relevance and

520-656: A substantial monthly allowance from the Spanish state. It has local associations in Gipuzkoa , Biscay , and Álava . Before June 1982, it also included a Navarre branch - which formed the Socialist Party of Navarre , PSN (PSOE). Initially in a close alliance with the Basque Country Left (EE), a party connected with Basque nationalism , begun in 1991 with a move promoted by the respective secretaries - Ramón Jáuregui for

585-537: Is a historical region of Southwestern France and a former administrative region . Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine . It is situated in the southwest corner of metropolitan France , along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain ; for most of its written history Bordeaux has been a vital port and administrative centre. It

650-581: Is a Biscayan exclave located between Alava and Burgos provinces. The climate is oceanic , with high precipitation all year round and moderate temperatures, which allow the lush vegetation to grow. Temperatures are more extreme in the higher lands of inner Biscay, where snow is more common during winter. The average high temperatures in main city Bilbao is between 13 °C (55 °F) in January and 26 °C (79 °F) in August. The main geographical features of

715-528: Is a province of the Basque Autonomous Community , heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay , lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay . The capital and largest city is Bilbao . Biscay is one of the most renowned and prosperous provinces of Spain, historically a major trading hub in the Atlantic Ocean since medieval times and, later on, one of the largest industrial and financial centers of

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780-577: Is composed of the five departments of Dordogne , Lot-et-Garonne , Pyrénées-Atlantiques , Landes and Gironde . Gallia Aquitania was established by the Romans in ancient times and in the Middle Ages , Aquitaine was a kingdom and a duchy, whose boundaries fluctuated considerably. There are traces of human settlement by prehistoric peoples, especially in the Périgord , but the earliest attested inhabitants in

845-560: Is dominated in Biscay by the Azilian culture. Tools become smaller and more refined and, while hunting remains, fishing and seafood gathering become more important; there is evidence of consumption of wild fruits as well. Santimamiñe is one of the most important sites of this period. Others are Arenaza , Atxeta (not far from Santimamiñe), Lumentxa and nearby Urtiaga and Santa Catalina, together with Bolinkoba and neighbour Silibranka . While

910-520: Is recorded in 1070 in a donation act to the monastery of Bickaga , located on the ria of Mundaka. It is considered then, that Biscay was by this period controlled by the Kingdom of Navarre . It then became autonomous and finally a part of the Crown of Castile , as the Lordship of Biscay . In the modern age , the province became a major commercial and industrial area. Its prime harbour of Bilbao soon became

975-573: The 2nd Battle of Roncevaux took place, in which counts Aeblus and Aznar , Frankish vassals from the Duchy of Vasconia sent by the new King of Aquitaine, Pepin, were captured by the joint forces of Iñigo Arista and the Banu Qasi . Before Pepin's death, emperor Louis had appointed a new king in 832, his son Charles the Bald , while the Aquitanian lords elected Pepin II as king. This struggle for control of

1040-631: The Basque Country , mid- and high-ranking party officials held government positions in Spain and the region, as civil governors. The Basque nationalist left— Herri Batasuna and related groups—denounced during that period the collusion of the party with police abuses—especially pointing to the Guardia Civil—;and in early 1984 blamed directly the Socialists for the state terrorism of

1105-603: The Bay of Biscay and of the first unstable settlement by Europeans in Newfoundland . They signed separate treaties with other powers, particularly England. After the Napoleonic wars , Biscay, along with the other Basque provinces, were threatened to have their self-rule cut by the now Liberal Spanish Cortes . Together with opposing factions that supported different parties for the throne, this desire to maintain foral rights contributed to

1170-456: The GAL death squads (1984-1987). In the early 1990s, some of them were convicted for their participation in it. Ricardo Damborenea, head of the party in Biscay, even confessed in a press release to his involvement in the criminal pursuit in the early 1990s. All of them have been released from prison much earlier than their due term without apologising for their illegal actions; Damborenea currently gets

1235-565: The Iberian Peninsula . Since the extensive deindustrialization that took place throughout the 1970s, the economy has come to rely more on the services sector . It is accepted in linguistics ( Koldo Mitxelena , etc.) that Bizkaia is a cognate of bizkar (cf. Biscarrosse in Aquitaine ), with both place-name variants well attested in the whole Basque Country and out meaning 'low ridge' or 'prominence' ( Iheldo bizchaya attested in 1141 for

1300-677: The Poitevin-Saintongeais dialect of French. In 2005, 78,000 children were learning Occitan as a second language in state schools and 2,000 were enrolled in Occitan-medium private schools. Basque speakers number about 73,000, concentrated in the far south of the region: Bordeaux is the largest city in Aquitaine. It is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department . It is

1365-784: The Second Spanish Republic , the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) governed the province. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Biscay supported the Republican side against Francisco Franco 's army and ideology. Soon after, the Republic acknowledged a statute of autonomy for the Basque Country. Due to fascist control of large parts of it, the first short-lived Basque Autonomous Community had power only over Biscay and

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1430-579: The Wayback Machine . In the late Roman period, together with the rest of the Basque Country, Biscay seems to have revolted against Roman domination and the growing society organized by feudalism . In the Early Middle Ages , the history of Biscay cannot be separated from that of the Basque Country as a whole. The area was de facto independent although Visigoths and Franks attempted to assert their domination from time to time. Encounters between

1495-543: The 13th century until the French Revolution , Aquitaine was usually known as Guyenne . Aquitaine consists of 3,150,890 inhabitants, equivalent to 6% of the total French population. The region of Aquitaine forms the 6th most populated region in France. French is the official language of the region. Many residents also have some knowledge of Basque , of a variety of Occitan ( Gascon , Limousin , or Languedocien ), or of

1560-570: The 1850s extensive prime quality iron resources were discovered in Biscay. This brought much foreign investment mainly from England and France. Development of these resources led to greater industrialization, which made Biscay one of Spain's richest provinces. Together with the industrialisation , important bourgeois families, such as Ybarra, Chávarri and Lezama-Leguizamón , developed from the new sources of wealth. The great industrial ( Iberdrola , Altos Hornos de Vizcaya ) and financial ( Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria - BBVA) groups were created. During

1625-458: The 2010 INE census, Biscay had a population of 1,155,772 and a population density of 519.9 inhabitants/km , only surpassed by the one of Madrid and Barcelona . In 1981 Biscay was the fifth Spanish province in population, and despite the strong demographic crisis the province has been living since the Transition it is today the ninth province in population. A 2021 survey found that 30.6% of

1690-570: The Caristian territory, with an exception of the areas that have lost the old language. There is no indication to resistance to Roman occupation in all the Basque area (excepting Aquitaine ) until the late feudalizing period. Roman sources mention several towns in the area, Flaviobriga and Portus Amanus, though they have not been located. The site of Forua , near Gernika , has yielded archaeological evidence of Roman presence [1] Archived 12 March 2007 at

1755-553: The Crown of Castile. It was conditioned on the lord swearing to defend and maintain the fuero (Biscayan laws, derived from Navarrese and Basque customary rights), which affirmed that the possessors of the sovereignty of the lordship were the Biscayans and that, at least in theory, they could refute the lord. The lords and later the kings, came to swear the Statutes to the oak of Gernika , where

1820-639: The Frankish Charles Martel in exchange for help against the advancing Arab forces. Basque-Aquitanian self-rule temporarily came to a halt, definitely in 768 after the assassination of Waifer . In 781, Charlemagne decided to proclaim his son Louis King of Aquitaine within the Carolingian Empire , ruling over a realm comprising the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Vasconia . He suppressed various Basque ( Gascon ) uprisings, even venturing into

1885-461: The Garonne. A united Basque-Aquitanian realm reached its heyday under Odo the Great 's rule. In 721, the Aquitanian duke fended Umayyad troops ( Sarracens ) off at Toulouse , but in 732 (or 733, according to Roger Collins ), an Umayyad expedition commanded by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi defeated Odo next to Bordeaux, and went on to loot its way up to Poitiers . Odo was required to pledge allegiance to

1950-623: The Monte Igueldo in San Sebastián ). Bizkaia is the official name, and it is used on official documents and national media. It is also the name used in the Basque version of the Spanish constitution , and of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country . Bizkaia is the only official name in Spanish or Basque approved for the historical territory by the General Council of the province and

2015-519: The PSE and Mario Onaindia for the EE. It aimed to become the major Basque force in the 1993 election . The fusion of the two groups was made possible by the split of Basque Left from EE: prepared by the leadership of Nicolás Redondo Terreros (1998–2002), it was confirmed with the mandate of Patxi López in 2002. During the 2012 elections to the parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community,

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2080-621: The PSE-EE came up third in number of MPs (16), lagging behind the Basque Nationalist Party and EH Bildu . Throughout its recent history, it fluctuated between second and third, depending on the success of the People's Party or the Abertzale Left ). Biscay Biscay ( / ˈ b ɪ s k eɪ , ˈ b ɪ s k i / BISK -ay, BISK -ee ; Basque : Bizkaia [bis̻kai.a] ; Spanish: Vizcaya [biθˈkaʝa] ) or Bizkaia ,

2145-517: The Paleolithic are still in use as well. Few sites have been identified for this period. Caves are abandoned for the most part but they still reveal some remains. The main caves of prehistory (Arenaza, Santimamiñe, Lumentxa) were still inhabited. Roman geographers identified two tribes in the territory now known as Biscay: the Caristii and Autrigones . The Caristii dwelt in nuclear Biscay, east of

2210-466: The Pyrenees. As of 660, the foundations for an independent Aquitaine/Vasconia polity were established by the duke Felix of Aquitaine , a magnate ( potente(m) ) from Toulouse, probably of Gallo-Roman stock. Despite its nominal submission to the Merovingians, the ethnic make-up of the new Aquitanian realm was not Frankish, but Gallo-Roman north of the Garonne and in main towns and Basque, especially south of

2275-488: The Romans, and which are currently easily readable as Basque. Whether this Aquitanian language ( Proto-Basque ) was a remnant of a Vasconic language group that once extended much farther, or it was generally limited to the Aquitaine/Basque region, is not known. One reason the language of Aquitaine is important is because Basque is the last surviving non-Indo-European language in western Europe and it has had some effect on

2340-717: The Spanish laws. Vizcaya is the hispanized modulation for the given name, used in non-official documents, as recommended by the Royal Spanish Academy . It is also the co-official name used in the Spanish version of the Constitution, and of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country. Biscay has been inhabited since the Middle Paleolithic , as attested by the archaeological remains and cave paintings found in its many caves. The Roman presence had little impact in

2405-572: The Visigoths and Basques usually led to defeat for the latter. The Visigoths established an outlying post at the later city of Vitoria to counter incursions and the migration of Basques from the coastal regions to the north. In 905, Leonese chronicles define for the first time the Kingdom of Pamplona as including all the western Basque provinces , as well as the Rioja region. The territories that would later constitute Biscay were included in that state. In

2470-498: The advances adopted seem limited initially to sheep, domestic goats and very scarce pottery . Together with Neolithic technologies, Megalithism also arrives. It will be the most common form of burial (simple dolmen ) until c.  1500 BCE . While open-air settlement started to become common as the population grew, they still used caves and natural shelters in Biscay in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age . Hunting game became

2535-630: The assembly of the Lordship sits. In the modern ages commerce took on great importance, specially for the Port of Bilbao , to which the kings granted privileges in 1511 for trade with the ports of the Spanish Empire . Bilbao was already the main Castilian harbour, from where wool was shipped to Flanders , and other goods were imported. In 1628, the separate territory of Durango was incorporated to Biscay. In

2600-450: The capital of Aquitaine, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Bordeaux is famous for its wine industry. Apart from Bordeaux, there are also other important cities in Aquitaine. The region is home to many successful sports teams. In particular worth mentioning are: Football Rugby union is particularly popular in the region. Clubs include: Basketball Bull-fighting

2665-453: The city of Urduina . It is unclear when this happened, but tradition says that Iñigo López was the first Lord of Biscay in 1043. The title to the lordship was inherited by Iñigo López's descendants until, by inheritance, in 1370 it passed to John I of Castile . It became one of the titles of the king of Castile. Since then it remained connected to the crown, first to that of Castile and then, from Charles I , to that of Spain , as ruler of

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2730-538: The conflicts that the newly sovereign Kingdom of Castile and Pamplona/Navarre had in the 11th and 12th century, the Castilians were supported by many landowners from La Rioja, who sought to consolidate their holdings under Castilian feudal law. These pro-Castilian lords were led by the house of Haro , who were eventually granted the rule of newly created Biscay, initially made up of the valleys of Uribe , Busturia , Markina , Zornotza and Arratia , plus several towns and

2795-427: The first evidences of Neolithic contact in the Basque Country can be dated to the 4th millennium BCE, it was not until the beginning of the 3rd that the area accepted, gradually and without radical changes, the advances of agricultural cultivation and domestication of sheep. Biscay was not particularly affected by this change and only three sites can be mentioned for this period: Arenaza, Santimamiñe and Kobeaga (Ea) and

2860-441: The firth of Bilbao, extending also into Northern Araba and some areas of Gipuzkoa , up to the river Deba. The Autrigones dwelt in the westernmost part of Biscay and Araba, extending also into the provinces of Cantabria , Burgos and La Rioja . Based in toponymy, historical and archaeological evidence, it is thought that these tribes spoke the Basque language . The borders of the Biscayan dialect of Basque seem to be those of

2925-465: The following: Paleolithic art is also present. The Benta Laperra cave has the oldest paintings, maybe from the Aurignacian or Solutrean period. Bison and bear are the animals depicted, together with abstract signs. The murals of Arenaza (Galdames) and Santimamiñe were created in later periods (Magdalenian). In Arenaza female deer are the dominant motif; Santimamiñe features bison, horses, goats and deer. This period (also called Mesolithic sometimes)

2990-427: The foral law was amended to extend it to the towns and the city of Urduina, which had previously always used the general Spanish Civil law . Biscay is bordered by the community of Cantabria and the province of Burgos (in the Castile and León community) to the west, the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa to the east, and Álava to the south, and by the Cantabrian Sea ( Bay of Biscay ) to the north. Orduña ( Urduña )

3055-471: The forms Bizkai and Bizcai ) is in the Chronicle of Alfonso III in the late 9th century, which tells of the regions repopulated under orders of Alfonso I , and how some territories "owned by their own", among them Biscay, were not affected by these repopulations. Biscay is mentioned again in the 10th-century Códice de Roda , which narrates the wedding between Velazquita, daughter of Sancho I of Pamplona , to Munio Velaz , Count of Álava , in Biscay. It

3120-434: The fringes of Septimania), Toulouse, and Provence and Lower Rhone (the last two not in Aquitaine). After the death of the king Dagobert I , the Merovingian tenure south of the Loire became largely nominal, with the actual power being in the hands of autonomous regional leaders and counts. The Franks may have become largely assimilated to the preponderant Gallo-Roman culture by the 8th century, but their names were well in use by

3185-527: The kingdom led to a constant period of war between Charles, loyal to his father and the Carolingian power, and Pepin II, who relied more on the support of Basque and Aquitanian lords. Despite the early conquest of southern Gaul by the Franks after the Battle of Vouillé in 507, the Frankish element was feeble south of the Loire, where Gothic and Gallo-Roman Law prevailed and a small Frankish settlement took place. However scarce, some Frankish population and nobles settled down in regions like Albigeois, Carcassonne (on

3250-461: The lands of Pamplona past the Pyrenees after ravaging Gascony , with a view to imposing his authority also in the Vasconia to south of Pyrenees. According to his biography, he achieved everything he wanted and after staying overnight in Pamplona, on his way back his army was attacked in Roncevaux in 812 , but narrowly escaped an engagement at the Pyrenean passes. Seguin (Sihiminus), count of Bordeaux and Duke of Vasconia , seemed to have attempted

3315-417: The languages around it, including Spanish and, to a lesser extent, French. The original Aquitania (named after the inhabitants) at the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul included the area bounded by the river Garonne , the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean. The name may stem from Latin 'aqua', maybe derived from the town "Aquae Augustae", "Aquae Tarbellicae" or just "Aquis" (Dax, Akize in modern Basque ) or as

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3380-524: The main Castilian gateway to Europe. Later, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the abundance of prime quality iron ore and the lack of feudal castes favored rapid industrialization. The first evidence of human dwellings ( Neanderthal people) in Biscay happens in this period of prehistory. Mousterian artifacts have been found in three sites in Biscay: Benta Laperra (Karrantza), Kurtzia (Getxo) and Murua (Durangoaldea). The most important settlements by anotomically modern humans ( H. sapiens ) can be considered

3445-778: The population spoke the Basque language . The government and foral institutions of Biscay, as a historical territory of the Basque Country are the Juntas Generales de Vizcaya and the Foral Diputation of Biscay. The Juntas Generales of Biscay are a unicameral assembly that has normative authority in the province. Its members, called apoderados , are elected by universal suffrage . The elections are held every four years. Aquitaine Aquitaine ( UK : / ˌ æ k w ɪ ˈ t eɪ n / , US : / ˈ æ k w ɪ t eɪ n / ; French: [akitɛn] ; Occitan : Aquitània [akiˈtanjɔ] ; Basque : Akitania ; Poitevin-Saintongeais : Aguiéne ), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( Occitan : Guiana ),

3510-439: The province are: Historically, Biscay was divided into merindades (called eskualdeak in Basque ), which were two, the Constituent ones and the ones incorporated later. The constituent ones were ( the number indicates their position on the map ): Incorporated later: Currently, Biscay is divided into seven comarcas or regions, each one with its own capital city, subdivisions and municipalities. These are: According to

3575-420: The region, and the Basque language and traditions have survived to this day. According to Anton Erkoreka, the Vikings had a commercial base there from which they were expelled by 825. Mundaka is likely a Viking name, and the ria of Mundaka is the easiest route to the river Ebro and at the end of it, the Mediterranean Sea and trade. The first time Biscay is mentioned with that name (in Latin in

3640-440: The ruling class, like Odo. Still, in the Battle of Toulouse , the Aquitanian duke Odo was said to be leading an army of Aquitanians and Franks. On the other hand, the Franks did not mix with the Basques, keeping separate paths. In the periods before and after the Muslim thrust, the Basques are often cited in several accounts stirring against Frankish attempts to subdue Aquitaine (stretching up to Toulouse) and Vasconia, pointing to

3705-432: The same century the so-called chartered municipalities west of Biscay were also incorporated in different dates, becoming another subdivision of Biscay: Encartaciones (Enkarterriak). The coastal towns had a sizable fleet of their own, mostly dedicated to fishing and trade. Along with other Basque towns of Gipuzkoa and Labourd , they were largely responsible for the partial extinction of North Atlantic right whales in

3770-470: The south-west were the Aquitani , who were not considered Celtic people, but more akin to the Iberians (see Gallia Aquitania ). Although a number of different languages and dialects were in use in the area during ancient times, it is most likely that the prevailing language of Aquitaine during the late pre-historic to Roman period was an early form of the Basque language . This has been demonstrated by various Aquitanian names and words that were recorded by

3835-406: The south-west. Accounts of Aquitania during the Early Middle Ages are imprecise, but there was much unrest. The Visigoths were called into Gaul as foederati , legalizing their status within the Empire. Eventually they established themselves as the de facto rulers in south-west Gaul as central Roman rule collapsed. Visigoths established their capital in Toulouse , but their tenure on Aquitaine

3900-417: The successive Carlist Wars . The Biscayan government and other Basque provinces supported Carlos V , who represented an autocratic monarch who would preserve tradition. Many of the towns though, notably Bilbao, were aligned with the Liberal government of Madrid . In the end, with victory by anti-Carlists, the wars resulted in successive cuts of the wide autonomy held by Biscay and the other provinces. In

3965-401: The title of King of Aquitaine took on a nominal value. In 1058, the Duchy of Vasconia (Gascony) and Aquitaine merged under the rule of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine . The title "Duke of Aquitaine" was held by the counts of Poitiers from the 10th to the 12th century. Aquitaine passed to France in 1137 when the duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine married Louis VII of France , but their marriage

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4030-400: Was democracy restored in Spain . The 1978 constitution accepted the particular Basque laws ( fueros ) and in 1979 the Statute of Guernica was approved whereupon Biscay, Araba and Gipuzkoa formed the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country with its own parliament. During this recent democratic period, Basque Nationalist Party candidates have consistently won elections in Biscay. Recently

4095-586: Was annulled in 1152. When Eleanor's new husband became King Henry II of England in 1154, the area became an English possession, and a cornerstone of the Angevin Empire . Aquitaine remained English until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, when it was annexed by France. During the three hundred years that the region was ruled by the Kings of England , links between Aquitaine and England strengthened, with large quantities of wine produced in southwestern France being exported to London, Southampton , and other English ports. In fact, so much wine and other produce

4160-451: Was being exported to London and sold that by the start of the Hundred Years' War the profits from Aquitaine were the principal source of the English King's income per annum. The region served as a stronghold for the Protestant Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries, who suffered persecution at the hands of the French Catholics. The Huguenots called upon the English crown for assistance against forces led by Cardinal Richelieu . From

4225-518: Was feeble. In 507, they were expelled south to Hispania after their defeat in the Battle of Vouillé by the Franks, who became the new rulers in the area to the south of the Loire . The Roman Aquitania Tertia remained in place as Novempopulania , where a duke was appointed to hold a grip over the Basques ( Vascones/Wascones , rendered Gascons in English). These dukes were quite detached from central Frankish overlordship, sometimes governing as independent rulers with strong ties to their kinsmen south of

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