TheAstures orAsturs, also namedAstyrs,[1][2] were theHispano-Celtic[3][4] inhabitants of the northwest area ofHispania that now comprises almost the entire modernautonomous community of thePrincipality of Asturias, the modern province ofLeón, and the northern part of the modern province ofZamora (all in Spain), and easternTrás os Montes in Portugal. They were a horse-riding highland cattle-raising people who lived in circular huts of stone drywall construction.[5] TheAlbiones were a major tribe from westernAsturias.[6]Isidore of Seville[7] gave an etymology as coming from ariver Astura, identified by David Magie as theÓrbigo River in the plain of León, and by others as the modernEsla River.
The Asturian homeland encompassed the modern autonomous community ofAsturias and theLeón, easternLugo,Orense, and northernZamora provinces, along with the northeastern tip of the Portuguese region ofTrás-os-Montes. Here they held the towns ofLancia (Villasabariego – León),Asturica (Astorga – León),Mons Medullius (Las Medulas? – León),Bergidum (Cacabelos, nearVillafranca del Bierzo – León),Bedunia (Castro de Cebrones – León),Aliga (Alixa? – León),Curunda (Castro de Avelãs, Trás-os-Montes),Lucus Asturum (Lugo de Llanera – Asturias),Brigaetium (Benavente – Zamora), andNemetobriga (A Pobra de Trives – Ourense), which was the religious center.
The Astures may have been part of the earlyHallstatt expansion that left the Bavarian-Bohemian homeland and migrated into Gaul, some continuing over the mountains into Spain and Portugal.[5] By the 6th century BC, they occupied castros (hillforts), such as Coanna and Mohias near Navia on the coast of the Bay of Biscay.[5] From the Roman point-of-view, expressed in the brief remarks of the historiansFlorus, epitomisingLivy, andOrosius[citation needed], the Astures were divided into two factions, following the natural division made by the alpinekarst mountains of thePicos de Europa range: theTransmontani (located in the modernAsturias, "beyond"— that is, north of— thePicos de Europa) andCismontani (located on the "near" side, in the modern area ofLeón). The Transmontani, placed between theNavia River and the centralmassif of the Picos de Europa, comprised theIburri,Luggones,Paesici,Paenii,Saelini,Vinciani,Viromenici andBaedunienses; the Cismontani included theAmaci [es],Cabruagenigi,Lancienses,Lougei,Tiburi,Brigaecini,Orniaci,Superatii,Gigurri,Zoelae andSusarri (which dwelled aroundAsturica Augusta, in theAstura river valley, and was the main Astur town in Roman times). Prior to the Roman conquest in the late 1st century BC, they were united into a tribal federation with the mountain-top citadel ofAsturica (Astorga) as their capital.
Recentepigraphic studies suggest that they spoke a ‘Q-Celtic’ language akin to the neighbouringGallaeciLucenses andBraccarenses (seeGallaecia).[8] Although the Celtic language was lost during theRoman era, it still endures in many names of villages and geographical features, mostly associated to Celtic deities: the parish ofTaranes and the villages of Tereñes, Táranu, Tarañu and Torañu related to the godTaranis, the parish ofLugones related to the godLugus or the parish ofBeleño related to the godBelenus, just to name a few.
According to classic authors, their family structure wasmatrilineal, whereby the woman inherits the ownership of property. The Astures lived inhill forts, established in strategic areas and built with round walls in today'sAsturias and the mountainous areas ofLeón, and with rectangular walls in flatter areas, similarly to their fellowGalicians. Their warrior class consisted of men and women and both sexes were considered fierce fighters.[5]
Most of their tribes, like theLugones, worshipped the Celtic godLugh, and references to otherCeltic deities likeTaranis orBelenos still remain in thetoponomy of the places inhabited by the Astures. They may have venerated the deity Busgosu.[5]
_01.jpg)
The Astures were vigoroushunter-gatherer highlanders who raided Roman outposts in the lowlands; a reputation enhanced by ancient authors, such asFlorus ("Duae validissmae gentes, Cantabriae et Astures, immunes imperii agitabant")[9] andPaulus Orosius ("duas fortissimas Hispaniae gentes"),[10] but archeological evidence confirms that they also engaged in stock-raising in mountain pastures, complemented by subsistence farming on the slopes and in the lower valleys. They mostly reared sheep, goats, a few oxen and a local breed of mountain horse famed in Antiquity, theAsturcon, which still exists today. According toPliny the Elder,[11] these were small-stature saddle horses, slightly larger than ponies, of graceful walk and very fast, being trained for both hunting and mountain warfare.
During a large part of the year they usedacorns as a staple food source, drying and powdering them and using the flour for a type of easily preserved bread; from their few sown fields that they had during the pre-Roman period, they harvestedbarley from which they produced beer (Zythos),[12] as well as wheat andflax. Due to the scarcity of their agricultural production, as well as their strong war-like character, they made frequent incursions into the lands of theVaccaei, who had a much more developed agriculture.Lucan calls them "Pale seekers after gold" ("Asturii scrutator pallidus auri").[13]
The Astures entered the historical record in the late 3rd century BC, being listed amongst the Iberian Peninsula mercenaries ofHasdrubal Barca's army at thebattle of Metaurus River in 207 BC.[14][15]Silius Italicus also mentions an Astur mercenary contingent inHannibal's army, led by a chieftain named Cydnus.[16] After the2nd Punic War, their history is less clear. Rarely mentioned in the sources regarding theLusitanian,Celtiberian orSertorian Wars, the Astures re-emerged only at the later 1st Century BC,[17] when they provided auxiliary troops to the Pompeian army led by the generals'Lucius Afranius andMarcus Petreius that facedJulius Caesar at thebattle of Ilerda (Lérida) in 49 BC, during the2nd Roman Civil War.[18]
Led byGausón, a former mercenary commander, the Astures joined forces with theCantabri to resist EmperorAugustus's conquest of the whole of the Iberian northwest, even backing an unsuccessfulVaccaei revolt in 29 BC.[9][19][20] The campaign against the Astures and Cantabri tribes proved so difficult that it required the presence of the emperor himself to bolster the seven legions and one naval squadron involved.[5] The first Roman campaign against the Astures (theBellum Asturicum), which commenced in the spring of 26 BC, was successfully concluded in 25 BC with the ceremonial surrender of Mons Medullus to Augustus in person, allowing the latter to return to Rome and ostentatiously close the gates of the temple ofJanus that same year.[21] The reduction of the remaining Asture holdouts was entrusted toPublius Carisius, thelegate ofLusitania, who, after managing to trap Gauson and the remnants of his troops at thehillfort of Lancia, subsequently forced them to surrender when he threatened to set fire to the town.[22] The Astures were subdued by the Romans but were never fully conquered, and their tribal way of life changed very little.[5]
As far as the official Roman history was concerned, the fall of this last redoubt marked the conclusion of the conquest of the Asturian lands, which henceforth were included alongsideGallaecia andCantabria into the newTransduriana Province under thesuffect consulLucius Sestius Albanianus Quirinalis.[23] This was followed by the establishment of military garrisons atCastrumLegio VII Gemina (León) andPetavonium (Rosinos de Vidriales –Zamora), along with colonies atAsturica Augusta (Astorga) andLucus Asturum (Lugo de Llanera –Asturias).
In spite of the harsh pacification policies implemented by Augustus, the Asturian country remained an unstable region subjected to sporadic revolts – often carried out in collusion with the Cantabri – and persistent guerrilla activity that kept the Roman occupation forces busy until the mid-1st century AD. New risings occurred in 24–22 BC (the 2nd Astur-Cantabrian War), in 20–18 BC (3rd Astur-Cantabrian 'War') – sparked off by runaway Cantabrian slaves returning fromGaul[24] – both of which were brutally quashed by GeneralMarcus Vipsanius Agrippa[25] and again in 16–13 BC when Augustus crushed the last joint Astur-Cantabrian rebellion.
Incorporated into theRoman province ofHispania Tarraconensis, the assimilation of the Asturian region into the Roman world was a slow and hazardous process, with its partially romanized people retaining theCeltic language, religion and much of their ancient culture throughout the Roman Imperial period. This included their martial traditions, which enabled them to provide the Roman Army with several auxiliary cavalry and infantry units (Ala I Asturum,Ala II Asturum,Cohors I Asturum,Cohors II Asturum,Cohors V Asturum,Cohors VI Asturum,Cohors I Asturum et Callaecorum) that participated in EmperorClaudius'sinvasion of Britain in AD 43–60, and which continued to serve into the late Empire.[26] However, epigraphic evidence in the form of an inscribed votivestele dedicated by aPrimipilusCenturion ofLegio VI Victrix decorated for bravery in action[27] confirms that the Astures staged a revolt in AD 54, prompting another vicious guerrilla war – unrecorded by surviving ancient sources – that lasted for fourteen years but the situation was finally calm around AD 68.
During theGermanic invasions, the Astures resistedSuevi andVisigoth raids throughout the 5th century AD, only to be ultimately defeated and absorbed into theVisigothic Kingdom by the Visigothic KingSisebut in the early 6th century AD. However, the Astures continued to rebel, with KingWamba sending an expedition to the Asturian lands only twenty years before the Muslim invasion of the peninsula and the fall of the Visigothic kingdom. The Astures chosePelagius of Asturias as their leader and in due course formed the Kingdom of Asturias.
At a later date, in the beginning of theReconquista period in the early Middle Ages, their name was preserved in the medievalKingdom of Asturias and in the modern town ofAstorga, León, whose designation still reflects its early Roman name of Asturica Augusta, the "Augustan settlement of the Astures".