The Lusitanians were a group of people who spoke a language from the Indo-European family and lived in the western part of the Iberian Peninsula, which is now central Portugal and areas in Extremadura and Castilla y León in Spain. It is unclear if the Lusitanians were Celts or Iberians who had adopted some Celtic traditions, and they may have been related to the Lusones. After the Romans conquered their land, the region was later made into a Roman province called Lusitania, named after the Lusitanians.
History
Frontinus wrote that Viriathus, a Lusitanian leader, was the leader of the Celtiberians during their war against the Romans. The Lusitanians were also called Belitanians, according to the diviner Artemidorus. Strabo separated the Lusitanians from the Iberian tribes and believed they were once known as Oestriminis. However, archaeological evidence suggests that the Lusitanians and Vettones were mostly pre-Celtic Indo-European people who later adopted some Celtic cultural practices. Pliny the Elder and Pomponius Mela, in their writings, described the Lusitanians as distinct from neighboring Celtic tribes based on their geography.
The original Roman province of Lusitania briefly included the lands of the Astures and Gallaeci in the north. However, these areas were later transferred to the Provincia Tarraconensis, while the southern region remained part of Provincia Lusitania et Vettones. Later, Gallaecia became its own province. After this, Lusitania’s northern border was the Douro River, and its eastern border extended through Salmantica and Caesarobriga to the Anas (Guadiana) River.
Lusitanian soldiers fought for the Carthaginian Empire between 218 and 201 BCE during the Second Punic War against the Roman Republic in the Western Mediterranean. Silius Italicus, a Roman senator and orator, wrote in his 17-volume poem Punica that Lusitanians and Gallaeci formed a combined force led by a commander named Viriathus (not to be confused with another leader of the same name). Roman historian Titus Livius recorded that Lusitanian and Celtiberian cavalry attacked northern Italy whenever the rough terrain made it difficult for Hannibal’s Numidian cavalry to operate.
Starting in 193 BCE, the Lusitanians fought the Romans in Hispania. In 150 BCE, they were defeated by the Roman praetor Servius Galba, who tricked them into a trap, killing 9,000 Lusitanians and later selling 20,000 more as slaves in Gaul (modern-day France). This event deeply affected Viriathus, who became the Lusitanian leader in 147 BCE and weakened Roman control in Lusitania and beyond. In 139 BCE, Viriathus was betrayed and killed in his sleep by three of his companions—Audax, Ditalcus, and Minurus—who had been sent as envoys to the Romans. These men were bribed by Marcus Popillius Laenas and were not Lusitanians but from another group, likely the Turdetanians. When the three returned to claim their reward, the Roman consul Quintus Servilius Caepio ordered their execution, stating, “Rome does not pay traitors.”
After Viriathus’s death, the Lusitanians continued fighting under Tautalus. Over time, they gradually adopted Roman culture and language. Romanized Lusitanian cities, like those across the Iberian Peninsula, eventually gained the status of “Citizens of Rome.”
Culture
Scholars find it challenging to classify Lusitanian culture, including its language, because there is disagreement about its origins. Some believe it was mainly a pre-Celtic Iberian culture with many Celtic influences, while others think it was primarily a Celtic culture with significant influences from earlier local groups connected to the Bell Beaker culture.
Religion
The Lusitanians worshipped many gods in a diverse belief system called polytheism. They used animal sacrifices as part of their religious practices and created simple carvings to represent their gods and warriors.
Endovelicus was the most important god among the Lusitanians. Some scholars suggest his name may have come from the Basque language, but others, such as José Leite de Vasconcelos, believe it originally came from the Celtic language as "Andevellicos." Endovelicus is similar to names in Welsh and Breton, which mean "Very Good God," a title also used for the Irish god Dagda. The Romans honored him for his protective powers. His worship spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond into the Roman Empire, lasting until the fifth century. He was associated with public health and safety.
The goddess Ataegina was widely worshipped in southern regions. She was linked to rebirth, fertility, nature, and healing. During the Roman period, she was identified with the goddess Proserpina. Lusitanian mythology was strongly influenced by or connected to Celtic mythology.
Other deities frequently mentioned in inscriptions include Bandua, a variation of the god Borvo, often paired with a place name, such as Bandua Aetobrico. Another deity, Nabia, was a goddess of rivers and streams.
According to the ancient writer Strabo, the Lusitanians often performed sacrifices. They practiced divination by examining the organs of sacrificed animals. They also offered human sacrifices, such as prisoners of war, by striking them under blankets and observing the direction they fell. The right hands of captives were cut off and given to the gods as offerings.
Language
The Lusitanian language was an ancient language spoken in the Iberian Peninsula and is part of the larger Indo-European language family. Scholars are still trying to determine exactly how Lusitanian is related to other Indo-European languages. Some believe it is closely connected to Celtic languages, as many words, names of people, and names of places in Lusitanian resemble those found in Celtic languages. Another idea suggests that Lusitanian may be related to Italic languages, based on similarities in the names of gods and other grammar features.
A different theory proposes that Lusitanian could be a branch of the Italo-Celtic group, which would mean it split off from both Celtic and Italic languages early in their development. Another possibility is that Lusitanian is part of a group of ancient Indo-European languages called "Northwest Indo-European," which may have influenced the later development of Celtic, Italic, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic languages. Some scholars, like Ellis Evans, think that Lusitanian and another ancient language called Gallaecian were the same language, not separate ones. Recent studies of a newly discovered inscription suggest that Lusitanian is more similar to Italic languages and not related to Celtic.
Lujan argues that evidence shows Lusitanian separated from other western Indo-European languages before the Italic and Celtic language groups formed. This would mean Lusitanian is very old, predating both Celtic and Italic languages. Later contact with Celtic people who moved into the Iberian Peninsula may have caused some Celtic influences to appear in the Lusitanian language.
Tribes
The Lusitanians were a group of several tribes that lived between the Douro and Tagus rivers, in most of today’s Beira and Estremadura regions in central Portugal, and in some areas of the Extremadura region in Spain.
They formed a tribal group, not a single government. Each tribe had its own land and was independent, but they shared a common culture and a shared name.
Each tribe was led by its own ruling class and chief. Many leaders in the Lusitanian ruling class were warriors, as was common among other groups in the Iron Age before the Romans arrived.
The tribes only joined together when they faced a threat from outside, such as during the Roman conquest of their land. At that time, Viriathus became the leader of all the Lusitanian tribes. Before Viriathus, other leaders like Punicus, Caucenus, and Caesarus ruled parts of the Lusitanian tribes. These leaders helped the tribes resist the Romans’ attempts to take over their land and were successful for a time.
The known Lusitanian tribes included:
It is still unclear whether the Turduli Veteres, Turduli Oppidani, Turduli Bardili, and Turduli (coastal tribes) were Lusitanian, related to Celtic peoples, or connected to the Turdetani (Celtic, pre-Celtic Indo-European, or Iberian groups) from the south. The name Turduli Veteres, which refers to a tribe that lived in today’s Aveiro District, suggests they may have come from the north, not the south, as some maps suggest. Some Turduli groups may have been Callaeci tribes that originally lived in the north, then moved south along the coast, and later moved inland along the Tagus and Anas (Guadiana River) valleys.
If there were more Lusitanian tribes, their names are unknown.
Warfare
The Lusitanians were known by historians to be skilled in hit-and-run fighting. The strongest among them were chosen to protect people in mountain areas. They used iron-tipped javelins called saunions, along with swords and helmets similar to those of the Celtiberians. They threw their spears from a distance and often hit their enemies, causing serious injuries. These warriors were quick and active, chasing their enemies and cutting off their heads.
In one battle, 300 Lusitani fought 1,000 Romans. The result was 70 Lusitani and 320 Romans killed. After the battle, the victorious Lusitani left confidently. One soldier became separated and was surrounded by Roman cavalry. The lone warrior stabbed a horse with his spear and then cut off a Roman soldier’s head with his sword. This act frightened the other Romans, who left quickly.
— Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 5.4
During peaceful times, the Lusitanians had a special dance that required strong leg and thigh movements. In war, they marched together in rhythm until they were ready to attack the enemy.
Appian wrote that after the death of Viriathus, when Praetor Brutus attacked Lusitania, women fought bravely beside their men as warriors.
Contemporary meaning
While the Lusitanians did not speak a Romance language, the term Lusitanian is now often used to represent the Portuguese people. Similarly, the term Lusophone refers to people who speak Portuguese, both inside and outside of Portugal, Brazil, Macau, Timor-Leste, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea Bissau, and other areas that were once part of the Portuguese Empire.