The Iberians (Latin: Hibērī, from Greek: Ἴβηρες, Iberes) were ancient people who lived on the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. Greek and Roman writers, including Hecataeus of Miletus, Avienius, Herodotus, and Strabo, described them. Roman sources also used the term "Hispani" to refer to the Iberians.

The word "Iberian," as used by ancient writers, had two meanings. One meaning was broad, referring to all people living on the Iberian Peninsula, regardless of their ethnic background, such as Pre-Indo-Europeans, Celts, and non-Celtic Indo-Europeans. The other meaning was more specific and refers to the people living on the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. By the 6th century BC, these people had been influenced by cultures from the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks. This group spoke the Iberian language from the 7th century BC until at least the 1st century BC. Other parts of the peninsula, in the northern, central, and northwestern areas, were home to groups such as the Vascones, Celts, Celtiberians, and possibly the Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic Indo-Europeans like the Lusitanians, Vettones, and Turdetani.

Starting in the 5th century BC, Iberian soldiers were often sent to fight in battles in Italy, Greece, and especially Sicily because of their strong military skills.

History

The Iberians were ancient people who lived on the Iberian Peninsula. Their culture began around the 6th century BC, and some evidence suggests it started as early as the fifth to third millennium BC along the eastern and southern coasts of the peninsula. The Iberians lived in villages and in oppida, which were fortified settlements. Their communities were organized into tribes. In the Spanish Levant region, the Iberians were more urbanized than those in central and northwestern parts of the peninsula. People in central and northwest regions mostly spoke Celtic dialects, practiced semi-pastoral lifestyles, and lived in scattered villages. Some had fortified towns, like Numantia. They knew how to write, work with metals like bronze, and use agricultural techniques.

Before the Carthaginian and Roman conquests, Iberian settlements became more complex. Evidence shows social classes and cities began to form. This change may have been helped by trade with the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians. By the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC, important changes led to the rise of an aristocracy and a system where people followed leaders. This system caused cities and towns to form around these leaders, a process called territorial nucleation. In this context, oppida became central places in the landscape and political spaces.

Castellet de Banyoles in Tivissa was an important ancient Iberian settlement in the northeastern part of the peninsula. It was discovered in 1912. The "Treasure of Tivissa," a collection of silver votive offerings, was found there in 1927. Lucentum and Castelldefels Castle were also ancient Iberian settlements. The Mausoleum of Pozo Moro near Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in Castile-La Mancha may mark the location of another large settlement. Sagunto was the site of an ancient Iberian city called Saguntum, which later became a Roman city. A large fortress was built there in the 5th century BC.

Greek colonists first mentioned the Iberians in the 6th century BC. They described Iberians as non-Celtic people living south of the Ebro River. The Greeks also called people in the Caucasus region "Iberians," but these groups are not connected. The Iberians traded with other Mediterranean cultures. Iberian pottery and metalwork have been found in France, Italy, and North Africa. They had contact with Greek colonies like Emporion, Rhode, and Hemeroskopeion. Some Iberian statues, such as the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elche, show knowledge of Greek art. Thucydides wrote that the Sicani, one of Sicily’s original tribes, may have been of Iberian origin, though "Iberian" at the time could have included people we now call Gauls.

The Iberians also traded with the Phoenicians, who had colonies in southern Andalucia. Their first colony on the Iberian Peninsula was Gadir, later renamed Gades by the Romans (modern-day Cádiz). Other Phoenician colonies included Malaka (Málaga), Sexi, and Abdera. According to Arrian, the Iberians sent emissaries to Alexander the Great in 324 BC, along with representatives from Carthage, Italics, and Gauls, to ask for his friendship.

After the First Punic War, Carthage’s war debt led it to expand into the Iberian Peninsula. Hamilcar Barca began this conquest from Cádiz, taking control of the rich silver region along the Guadalquivir River. His son-in-law, Hasdrubal the Fair, continued the effort, founding the colony of Qart Hadasht (modern Cartagena) and reaching the southern bank of the Ebro River. After Hasdrubal’s death in 221 BC, Hannibal took command. He conquered Iberian tribes south of the Ebro, including the Olcades, Vaccaei, and Carpetani, and laid siege to Saguntum, starting the Second Punic War. Many Iberian and Celtiberian warriors fought for both Rome and Carthage, though most supported Carthage.

Rome sent Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio to conquer Iberia from Carthage. Gnaeus defeated the Ilergetes tribe, captured the Iberian oppidum of Tarraco, and defeated the Carthaginian fleet. Publius Scipio later fortified Tarraco and, by 211 BC, had conquered Carthaginian forces south of the Ebro. However, Publius died in battle, and Gnaeus died during a retreat. The tide changed when Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus arrived in 210 BC. He conquered Carthago Nova and defeated Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Baecula (209–208). The Battle of Ilipa (modern Alcalá del Río) was a major Roman victory. The Carthaginians retreated to Gades, and Publius Scipio gained control of southern Spain. After this, the Ilergetes and other Iberian tribes rebelled, but the Romans eventually conquered the rest of Carthaginian territories in southern Spain.

After Carthage’s defeat, the Iberian territories were divided into two provinces: Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior. In 197 BC, Iberian tribes in Hispania Citerior rebelled again. Rome then invaded and conquered Lusitania and Celtiberia. The conquest of Lusitania was long and difficult. Fighting in northern regions continued until 16 BC, when the last rebellions were crushed during the Cantabrian Wars.

Iberian culture

Iberian society was divided into different groups, including kings or chieftains (Latin: "regulus"), nobles, priests, artisans, and slaves. The Iberian aristocracy, sometimes called a "senate" by ancient writers, met in a council of nobles. Kings or chieftains used a system of duties or vassalage, called "fides" by the Romans, to support their military forces.

The Iberians adopted wine and olives from the Greeks. Horse breeding was especially important to the Iberians and their nobility. Mining was also vital to their economy, with silver mines near Gader and Cartago Nova, iron mines in the Ebro valley, and deposits of tin and copper. They made fine metalwork and high-quality iron weapons, such as the falcata.

The Iberians created sculptures in stone and bronze, which were influenced by Greek, Carthaginian, and Phoenician cultures, as well as Assyrian, Hittite, and Egyptian styles. Iberian sculptures are grouped by region into Levantine, Central, Southern, and Western styles, with the Levantine group showing the most Greek influence. Iberian pottery and painting were also widespread and distinct, often decorated with geometric red patterns and sometimes with figurative images in areas like Murcia and southern Catalonia.

The Iberians practiced a polytheistic religion influenced by Greek, Carthaginian, and Phoenician traditions. Their sculptures show figures like the man-bull Bicha of Balazote, which may have been a fertility god, and depictions of sphinxes and lions, which resemble creatures from the eastern Mediterranean. Statues such as the Lady of Elche and Lady of Guardamar reflect Hellenistic styles. Iberians worshipped deities like Tanit, Baal, Melqart, Artemis, Demeter, and Asclepius. Few native Iberian gods are known, but one, Betatun, is mentioned in a Latin inscription. A female deity associated with earth and renewal, linked to birds, flowers, and wheat, is shown in statues like the Lady of Baza. Horses were also important in religious practices, with a sanctuary dedicated to them found in Mula, Murcia. Depictions of a "horse taming god" or "lord of the horses" (despotes hippon) and the goddess Ataegina appear in inscriptions.

Iberians performed religious rituals in open spaces and at holy places like groves, springs, and caves. Archaeological findings and writings by Silius Italicus mention priests in the region of Tartessos, who served at a temple of Melqart. Pottery provides clues about Iberian myths and rituals, such as a celebratory dance described by Strabo and seen in a relief from Fuerte del Rey called the "Bastetania dance," as well as scenes of the deceased facing a wolf. Animal sacrifices were also common in their religious practices.

In Iberian beliefs about death, the journey after death was seen as a crossing of the sea, land, or sky, guided by supernatural beings like the Sphinx or a wolf, or even a deity. Iberians burned their dead, placed the ashes in ceremonial urns, and then buried the remains in stone tombs.

Iberian soldiers were often hired by Carthage and Rome as mercenaries and auxiliary troops. Many Carthaginian forces during the Punic Wars included Iberians and Celtiberians. Iberian warfare involved frequent raids between tribes. In battles, Iberians would charge, retreat, throw javelins, and shout at enemies without engaging in close combat. This style of fighting was called "concursare" by the Romans. Iberians also used ambushes and guerrilla tactics.

Ancient sources describe two main types of Iberian infantry: scutati and caetrati. Scutati wore heavy armor and carried large shields called scutum. Caetrati used smaller shields called caetra. Iberian weapons included the Gladius Hispaniensis, a curved sword known as the falcata, straight swords, spears, javelins, and an iron spear called the Soliferrum. Iberian cavalry was also important, especially in Carthaginian armies, because Spain had many strong wild horses.

The Iberians lived along the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, which is the northwestern part of the Mediterranean Sea. This area includes parts of modern-day Catalonia, Eastern and Northeastern Aragon, the Valencian Community, Murcia, Eastern Andalucia, and the Balearic Islands in Spain, as well as regions in France like Roussillon and Languedoc. The name "Iberian Peninsula" comes from the ancient Greeks, Romans, and other Mediterranean peoples who first encountered Iberian tribes. However, most people in the northern, central, and western parts of the peninsula were not Iberian in ethnicity or language, only in geography.

The Iberian tribes and confederacies included:

The Iberian language, like other paleohispanic languages except Basque, disappeared by the 1st to 2nd centuries AD after being replaced by Latin. It is an unclassified non-Indo-European language. Some studies suggest similarities between Iberian and the Messapic language, as well as connections to Basque, Etruscan, and Minoan Linear A.

There are different theories about the origin of the Iberian language. One theory suggests it began in northern Catalonia and spread north and south.

The Iberians used three scripts to write their language:

The northeastern and southeastern Iberian scripts share a common feature: they use syllabic signs for certain consonants and monophonemic signs for others. These writing systems are neither alphabets nor syllabaries but mixed scripts called semi-syllabaries. Researchers disagree about their origins, with some linking them to the Phoenician alphabet and others suggesting Greek influence.