Gallaecia, originally called Callaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the northwest of Hispania, which is now roughly the areas of modern-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias, and León. This region later became the Suevic Kingdom and a medieval kingdom also named Gallaecia. Important Roman cities in the area included Auria (now Ourense), the port of Cale (now Porto), and the centers where leaders worked, such as Lucus Augusti (now Lugo), Bracara Augusta (now Braga), and Asturica Augusta (now Astorga). These cities were part of administrative areas known as Conventus Lucensis, Conventus Bracarensis, and Conventus Asturicensis, respectively.

Description

The Romans called the northwest part of Hispania, or the Iberian Peninsula, Callaecia. This name came from the Celtic people living there, known as the Callaeci or Callaecians.

The Gallaic people are mentioned in the first-century Roman poem Punica by Silius Italicus, which describes the First Punic War. A passage from the poem reads:

"Rich Callaecia sent its young men, skilled in reading signs from animal organs, feathers, and flames. These men now cried out in their native language, now stamped the ground in rhythmic dances until the earth echoed, and they played loud shields called caetrae."

A caetra was a small shield used in the region.

For the Romans, Callaecia was known both for the Callaeci’s hillforts, called castros, and for its gold mines. This culture covered parts of modern-day Galicia, northern Portugal, western Asturias, Bierzo, and Sanabria. Classical writers like Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder noted that this culture was different from the Lusitanian culture to the south.

History

Strabo, in his book Geography, lists the people living along the northwestern Atlantic coast of Iberia as follows: the Vettonians and the Vaccaeans, whose land includes the Durius River (modern Douro River), which flows near the city of Acutia, a Vaccaeans settlement. Finally, the Callaicans (also called Gallaicans) lived in a large mountainous area. Because they were difficult to defeat, the Callaicans earned the name of a Roman general, Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, who conquered the Lusitanians. Today, many Lusitanians are also called Callaicans.

After the Punic Wars, the Romans focused on conquering Hispania. In 137 BC, the Callaeci, a tribe with about 60,000 people, fought the Romans near the Durius River (modern Douro River) in a battle that ended in a major Roman victory. The Roman general Decimus Junius Brutus earned the nickname Callaicus ("conqueror of the Callaeci") for this success. His campaign followed the Atlantic coast to the Limia River but did not reach the Miño River. This campaign was partly a punishment for actions taken after the Lusitanian wars. The capital of the Callaici, Portus Cale, was not captured until 74 BC by Marcus Perpena.

Later, in 96–94 BC, Publius Licinius Crassus led a campaign in southern Callaecia. In 61 BC, during Julius Caesar’s time as consul, a naval campaign along the northern coast of Hispania led to a Roman victory near Brigantium, defeating the Callaeci. The final Roman conquest of Callaecia occurred during the Cantabrian Wars under Emperor Augustus (26–19 BC). Resistance was fierce, with some people choosing suicide over surrender, mothers killing their children before dying, and prisoners crucified while singing. Captives also rebelled, killing guards and returning to Gaul.

For the Romans, Callaecia was divided into two regions called conventus—Lucensis and Bracarensis—and was clearly separated from areas like Asturica. In the 3rd century AD, Emperor Diocletian created an administrative division that included Callaecia, Asturica, and possibly Cluniense. This region was named Callaecia because it was the most important and populous area. In 409 AD, as Roman control weakened, the Suebi conquered parts of Callaecia, later forming the Kingdom of Galicia. Over time, the name Callaecia changed to Gallaecia and then Gallicia.

On the night of December 31, 406 AD, Germanic tribes—the Vandals, Alans, and Suebi—crossed the Rhine into the Roman Empire. They moved south, attacked Gaul, and crossed the Pyrenees. They divided Roman provinces like Carthaginiensis, Tarraconensis, Gallaecia, and Baetica. The Suebi took control of parts of Gallaecia, later establishing a kingdom. After the Vandals and Alans left for Africa, the Suebi controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula. However, Visigoths later reclaimed much of this land and eventually took over Gallaecia.

After the Visigoths were defeated and the Moors conquered much of Hispania, some Visigothic states survived in northern mountains, including Gallaecia. By the time of Beatus of Liébana (died 798), Gallaecia referred to the Christian part of the Iberian Peninsula, while Hispania referred to the Muslim-controlled area. The Moors did not expand into these mountainous regions, which had been hard to control even for the Romans.

In Charlemagne’s time, bishops from Gallaecia attended the Council of Frankfurt in 794. During his time in Aachen, Charlemagne received envoys from Alfonso II of Gallaecia, as recorded in Frankish writings. In 1029, Sancho III of Navarre referred to Bermudo III of León as Imperator domus Vermudus in Gallaecia.