Hispania

Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula.

During the time of the Roman Republic, it was split into two main areas called provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. As the Roman Empire grew, these areas were reorganized. Hispania Ulterior was divided into Baetica and Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior became Hispania Tarraconensis.

Later, during the rule of Emperor Diocletian around AD 293, the land of Tarraconensis was split again. This created two new provinces called Carthaginensis and Gallaecia, which is where the name of modern Galicia comes from.

All the mainland provinces, along with the Balearic Islands and a nearby area in North Africa called Mauretania Tingitana, were grouped together under a region known as the Diocesis Hispaniarum.

Even after the Romans, the name Hispania was still used. The countries we know today as Spain and Hispaniola both got their names from this ancient term.

Etymology

The name Hispania is from ancient times. We do not know exactly where the name came from. The Romans used this name for the Iberian Peninsula, which is now Spain. Some think the name might come from the Phoenicians. They may have called the area "i-shphan-im", meaning "land of rabbits" or "land of metals." Roman coins from the time of Emperor Hadrian often showed rabbits, which supports this idea.

Over time, the name Hispania changed into the modern name Spain. During the Middle Ages, writers used both Hispania and España to talk about the lands of the Iberian Peninsula. Today, the name still links us to the history of this area.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Iberia

When Rome ruled Hispania, Latin was the official language and was used for many years. After Rome's power ended, new groups like the Visigoths and Suebi arrived. Most people still spoke Latin, but in a simpler form called Vulgar Latin. This led to changes that eventually created the modern languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula today.

History

Background

Main articles: Prehistoric Iberia and Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula has been home to people for a very long time. Early humans like Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis lived there, and later, Neanderthals arrived. When modern humans came during the last ice age, the Neanderthals went away. These early people hunted and gathered food, living in places like L'Arbreda Cave and the Côa Valley.

As time passed, people began to settle down, farm, and build villages. This was the start of the Neolithic period. New ideas and cultures spread, including from people who came from far away, like the Celts. Big cities like Tartessos grew, especially in the south, with help from traders from the Phoenician and Greek cultures.

Roman conquest

Further information: Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and Romanization of Hispania

The Romans came to the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC. They fought many battles to take control from local groups like the Iberians, Lusitanians, and Gallaecians. It wasn’t until 19 BC that the Roman emperor Augustus finished conquering the land. During this time, the Romans built cities, roads, and changed many things about daily life.

Roman rule

Further information: Hispanics in the Roman army

Under Roman rule, many changes happened. The Romans built new cities like Mérida and Valencia, and improved old ones like Lisbon and Tarragona. They brought new ways to farm and built systems to help water the land. The land produced lots of food, metals, and other goods that were sold across the Roman world.

Hispania was first split into two parts, then later into three. By the time of the Roman Empire, three emperors were born there: Trajan, Hadrian, and Theodosius. Christianity also began to spread and became very popular in the cities.

Germanic conquest

The end of Roman rule in Hispania began when several groups came into the area in the early 5th century. These included the Suevi, Vandals, and Alans. They set up their own kingdoms in different parts of the land. Later, the Visigoths took control and made Toledo their capital. They brought changes to how people lived and governed, mixing Roman traditions with their own.

Administrative divisions

In the early days of Roman rule, the Iberian Peninsula was divided into two parts. The part closer to Rome was called Citerior, and the farther part was called Ulterior. The line between them went from Cartago Nova (now Cartagena) to the Cantabrian Sea.

Later, the leader Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa split the land into three areas: Baetica, Lusitania, and Hispania Citerior. The emperor Augustus then organized these into provinces, including Hispania Baetica, Lusitania, and Tarraconensis. These divisions helped the Romans manage the lands they controlled.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Hispania

Before the Punic Wars, Hispania had many minerals and farmland. People mainly lived off the land, with only a few ports trading along the Mediterranean. When the Carthaginians and later the Romans took control, they wanted to use Hispania's rich silver deposits. This helped create a busy economy. Many useful items were made and sold across the Roman Empire. Hispania produced metals, olives, oil from Baetica, salted fish, garum, and wines. In the north-west, gold mining was very important. Places like Las Médulas in Spain and Casais in Ponte de Lima, Portugal, showed evidence of this work.

Climate

Precipitation levels in ancient Hispania were high during a time called the Iberian–Roman Humid Period. Roman Spain had different climate phases: a very wet time from 550 to 190 BC, a dry time from 190 BC to 150 AD, and then another wet period from 150 to 350 AD. In 134 BC, the army led by Scipio Aemilianus had to march at night because of extreme heat. Heavy rains in 181 BC once stopped the Celtiberians from helping people being sieged in Contrebia. Warm temperatures were common in the mountains along the north coast during the 2nd century AD, with some cooler periods between about 155 and 180 AD. After around 200 AD, temperatures changed often, generally becoming cooler.

Main article: Climate of Ancient Rome

Sources and references

This article uses information from public sources. Important books and documents include works by historians like Strabo and Ptolemy, as well as the notitia dignitatum, a list of Roman officials from around the year 400 AD.

Many modern books in Spanish and Portuguese talk about the history of the area called Hispania. These include works by historians such as Jorge Alarcão and Rafael Altamira y Crevea. The article also uses the Spanish-language Wikipedia for more details.