| Provincia Hispania Tarraconensis | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of theRoman Empire | |||||||||||
| 27 BC–472 | |||||||||||
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| Capital | Tarraco | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||
• Established | 27 BC | ||||||||||
• Visigothic conquest | 472 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Spain Portugal | ||||||||||
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of threeRoman provinces inHispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modernSpain along with modernnorthern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now calledAndalusia, was the province ofHispania Baetica. On the Atlantic west lay the province ofLusitania, partially coincident with modern-dayPortugal.
ThePhoenicians andCarthaginians colonised theMediterranean coast of Iberia in the 8th to 6th centuries BC. The Greeks later also established colonies along the coast. The Romans arrived in the 2nd century BC during theSecond Punic War.
The province Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis was established in the reign ofAugustus as the direct successor of theRoman Republican province ofHispania Citerior ("nearer Hispania"), which had been ruled by apropraetor.[1] The roots of the Augustan reorganisation of Hispania are found inPompey the Great's division of Hispania between three of hislegates at the end of the Republic, immediately beforehis civil war withJulius Caesar. As a result of the agreements that led to the formation of theFirst Triumvirate in 60 BC, Pompey had received the governorship of the Iberian provinces. Given that he preferred to remain inRome, where he could oversee affairs in the capital, he delegated the government of Hispania to three legates:
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At the end of thecivil wars, Pompey's division was consolidated by Augustus in 27 BC, when he formally established the three provinces of Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis,Hispania Ulterior Lusitania (corresponding to modernPortugal, apart from the northern region of the modern country, plus SpanishExtremadura), andHispania Ulterior Baetica (corresponding to the southern part of Spain, i.e.Andalusia). Citerior and Lusitania wereImperial provinces, while Baetica was aSenatorial province.
The creation of these new provinces was achieved in order to facilitate the incorporation of the northwestern portion of the Iberian peninsula, inhabited by theGallaeci,Cantabri, andAstures, into the Roman empire. Tarraconensis thus served as a base for the annexation of these territories during theCantabrian Wars (27–19 BC). Augustus himself resided from 27 to 26 BC[2] at Segisama (modernSasamón,Burgos),[3][4] and at Tarraco,[5] where he received an embassy fromIndia. During this period he was accompanied by his nephew and heir,Marcellus,[6] and his stepson, the future emperorTiberius, both of whom served asmilitary tribunes in 25 BC in the conflict with the Cantabrians – the pair's first military commands.[7]
The name of the province derives from its capital,Colonia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco. The provincial borders were modified in 12 BC, in order to incorporate the Galician and Asturian territories which had previously belonged to Lusitania, and perhaps to an ephemeralTransduriana province before that,[8] as well as the mining area aroundCastulo that had previously been part of Baetica. This reorganisation meant that all Roman troops stationed in Hispania were henceforth under the command of a single Roman legate based at Tarraconensis and that the main mining regions, which supplied precious metals to the Imperial treasury (gold in theGalician Massif, silver inSierra Morena), were under the direct control of the Imperial administration, with easy access by sea toItalia and Rome, where the Imperial mints were located.
In addition to creating the province and setting its borders, Augustus followed the directions left by Julius Caesar in granting many communities in the province the privileged status ofcolonia[9] ormunicipium (Roman orLatin), especially along theLevante coast, the part of Baetica transferred to the province in 12 BC, and theEbro Valley, along with some foundations on theMeseta Central and in the northeast. He also regularised the status of the other political entities in the province, thecivitates stipendiaria (communities subject to tribute), whose affairs could be directly intervened in by the governor.
This policy was continued by Tiberius (AD 14–37), who increased the number ofmunicipia in the northern part of the Meseta Central.
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Between the reigns of Augustus andNero, imperial interventions led to the regularisation of the old pre-Roman roads and their conversion intoRoman roads, which formed a framework for the provincial territory which brought the provincials into contact with Roman culture (Latin rapidly became thecommon language of the province) and gave them access to highly developed economic networks and amonetary economy. Ceramics began to be imported in large quantities -Arretine ware from Italy under Augustus and Tiberius andSamian ware fromGaul between the reigns ofCaligula andVespasian.
The province was effectively at peace except for an attempt at rebellion by the Astures underNero which was easily suppressed by aprimus pilus of theLegio VI Victrix. As a result, it was possible to progressively reduce the military garrison of the province. In AD 42-43,Claudius transferred theLegio IV Macedonica toGermania and in AD 63 Nero sent theLegio X Gemina toPannonia.
In AD 68,Galba, who had governed the province since AD 61, was invited byVindex to join his rebellion against Nero. When Galba received news that Nero had decided to have him killed, he accepted Vindex's offer, justifying the decision, according toSuetonius, by an oracle delivered by a young prophet two centuries earlier, which predicted that a new ruler of the world would arise inClunia.[10]
Therefore, Galba proclaimed himself emperor at Clunia. After receiving the support of the governor of Lusitania, the future emperorOtho, he expanded the military forces of the province,[11] which consisted of the Legio VI Victrix, two cavalryalae, and three infantrycohortes, by recruiting variousauxiliaries, at least three cohorts ofVascones, and theLegio VII Galbiana, and then he set out for Rome in order to seize power. After Galba was assassinated, the province was controlled in succession by partisans of Otho, thenVitelius, before finally coming under the control ofVespasian, the firstFlavian emperor.
Under Vespasian an edict seems to have been promulgated, perhaps in AD 74, which permitted many of the province's urban communities to becomemunicipia withLatin rights over the course of his reign and that of his successors,Titus andDomitian. Vespasian also decided to maintain a reduced military garrison in the province, consisting of theLegio VII Gemina Felix and its auxiliary units, which was focused mainly on supporting the work of the provincial governor, carrying out policing, and supervising mining work in the province.
Pliny the Elder served as procurator in Tarraconensis in AD 73.
UnderDiocletian, in 293, Hispania Tarraconensis was divided in three smaller provinces:Gallaecia,Carthaginensis and Tarraconensis. TheImperial province of Hispania Tarraconensis lasted until the invasions of the 5th century, beginning in 409, whenSuebi,Vandals andAlans crossed the Pyrenees, and ended with the establishment of aVisigothic kingdom.
The invasion resulted in widespread exploitation of metals, especiallygold,tin andsilver. The alluvialgold mines atLas Medulas show thatRoman engineers worked the deposits on a very large scale using several aqueducts up to 30 miles (48 km) long to tap water in the surrounding mountains. By running fast water streams on the soft rocks, they were able to extract large quantities of gold byhydraulic mining methods (Ruina montium). When the gold had been exhausted, they followed the auriferous seams underground by tunnels usingfire-setting to break up the much harder gold-bearing rocks.Pliny the Elder gives a good account of the methods used in Hispania, presumably based on his own observations.
At its greatest extent, the province Hispania Tarraconensis covered about two thirds of theIberian Peninsula. ThePyrenees mountains to the north formed the border withGaul. The border withLusitania to the southwest ran from the Cale (modernPorto, Portugal) along theDouro river and then theTormes river. The border withBaetica ran fromCastulo (modernLinares), through Acci (Guadix), to the bay ofAlmería.[12]
With a surface area of around 380,000 km2 and an estimated population of 3-3.5 million (giving an average population density of 8-9 people/km2), at the date of its creation, Tarraconensis was probably the largest province in the Roman empire.[13]
UnderAugustus' division of the provinces in 27 BC, Tarraconensis was anImperial province like Lusitania, while Baetica was aSenatorial province. Tarraconensis was ofconsular rank, while the other two werepraetorian.[14] The governor was entitledlegatus Augusti pro praetore, who was asenator of consular rank. The capital of the province was thecolonia ofTarraco. In the time of Augustus andTiberius, according toStrabo, the province was garrisoned by threelegions – subsequently reduced to two byCaligula, and to one byNero.[15]
Because of the scale of the province, at some point between the reigns of Tiberius andClaudius, the province was divided into sevenconventos iuridicos, 'assize districts', each managed by alegatus iuridicus appointed by the Emperor directly. These districts were:
In each of the conventus capitals there was anImperial cult centre, dedicated to theGenius Augusti and the deified emperors, with its own male and female priests, theflamen Augusti andflamenica Augusti, who were chosen by the elites of the privileged communities of the province (thecoloniae andmunicipia). Each year, they chose one of their number to be theflamen andflamenica (they were not required to be married to one another) of the Imperial cult for the whole province, discharging their functions in the provincial forum in Tarraco.
The fiscal administration of Tarraconensis mostly fell to an Imperialprocurator (procurator Caesaris), appointed by the Emperor directly from among theequestrian order. This procurator was based in the provincial capital and managed the collection of taxes for the whole province. Nevertheless, from the late first century or early second century AD, the gold mines in the northwestern part of the province were managed by a separate procurator, theprocurator metallorum, who was usually and Imperialfreedman and was based atAsturica Augusta. These procurators reported directly to the emperor, not to the provincial governor, although in practice both had to collaborate with the provincial administration.
The lowest level of administration in the province were the cities (Latin:civitates), organised politically in the Roman manner (coloniae andmunicipia) or in a traditional mode retaining institutions that preceded the Roman conquest but operating under the direct supervision of the provincial governors. These communities - both Roman and indigenous - generally enjoyed a high level of autonomy, administering themselves without excessive intervention from the governors. Over time, the indigenous communities tended to adapt their institutions of self-government to match the model of the Romanmunicipia andcoloniae. The principal difference between the two types of community was the application ofRoman law to them. For citizens ofcoloniae andmuncipia it was obligatory, while for non-Romans it was optional, except in interactions with the Imperial authorities and with individualRoman citizens, in which case Roman law over-ruled local legal systems.
According to Strabo,Pliny the Elder (who served as procurator the province), andClaudius Ptolemy, there was a substantial number of cities in Tarraconensis, especially in the Ebro Valley and on the Mediterranean coast, but fewer in number in the north and northwest, along theCantabiran coast and inGalicia.[16]
Excepting the communities on theBalearic Islands, Pliny states that:[16]
Now, the whole province is divided into 7conventus: Carthaginiensis, Tarraconensis, Caesaraugustus, Clunienis, Asturus, Lucensis, and Bracarus... The province itself contains (aside from the 293 communities that are subordinate to others) 179 cities, among which there are 12coloniae, 13 cities of Roman citizens, 18 of oldLatins, 1 city offoederati, and 135 cities subject to tax.
— Pliny the Elder,Naturalis Historia 3.18
All free inhabitants of Romancoloniae held Roman citizenship. Thecoloniae in the province, established byJulius Caesar, theSecond Triumvirate, orAugustus, bothcoloniae andmunicipia belonged to theRoman tribe of Galeria, except for Caesaraugusta, which was in that of Aniensis. All free men who served as municipal magistrates (duoviri oraediles) inmunicipia would obtain Roman citizenship, being assigned to the tribe Quirina.
According to Pliny the Elder, the Emperor Vespasian extendedLatin citizenship to all other inhabitants of Hispania, which meant that they were legally permitted to conduct business under Roman law (ius commercii) and marry Roman woman (ius conubii). The date of this grant is disputed, perhaps falling shortly after his accession to power in AD 69 or in AD 74.[17] The concession of this right was used by many tributary and subordinate communities in Tarraconensis to transform themselves intomunicipia, e.g.Nova Augusta (Lara de los Infantes,Burgos),Bergidum Flavium (Torre del Bierzo,El Bierzo,León),Segovia,Duratón (Segovia), andAqua Flaviae (Chaves,Portugal).
The main cities in the province were:
| Conventus Tarraconensis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Tarraco | Tarragona | Colonia | Julius Caesar and Augustus |
| Barcino | Barcelona | Colonia | Julius Caesar and Augustus |
| Iesso | Guissona, Lleida | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Aeso | Isona i Conca Dellà,Lleida | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Iulia Libica | Llívia, Girona | Municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Ausa | Vic,Barcelona | Municipium | Augustus |
| Baetulo | Badalona, Barcelona | Municipium | Augustus |
| Iluro | Mataró, Barcelona | municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Emporiae | Empúries,Girona | Colonia | Julius Caesar |
| Gerunda | Girona | Municipium | Augustus |
| Dertosa | Tortosa,Tarragona | Municipium | Augustus |
| Valentia | Valencia | Municipium | Augustus |
| Saguntum | Sagunt, Valencia | municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Edeta | Llíria, Valencia | Municipium | Augustus |
| Conventus Caesaraugustanus | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Ilerda | Lleida | Muncipium | Augustus |
| Osca | Huesca | Muncipium | Augustus |
| Iaca | Jaca, Huesca | Municipium? | |
| Labitolosa | La Puebla de Castro, Huesca | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Caesar Augusta | Zaragoza | Colonia | Augustus |
| Augusta Bilbilis | Calatayud,Zaragoza | Municipium | Augustus |
| Turiaso | Tarazona, Zaragoza | Municipium | Augustus |
| Celsa | Velilla de Ebro, Zaragoza | Colonia | Second Triumvirate |
| Bursau | Borja, Zaragoza | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Arcobriga | Monreal de Ariza, Zaragoza | ||
| Osicerda | La Puebla de Híjar,Teruel | Municipium | Augustus |
| Segontia | Sigüenza,Guadalajara | Municipium | Flavian dynasty[18] |
| Pompaelo | Pamplona,Navarra | Municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Cara | Santacara,Navarra | ||
| Andelos | Mendigorría,Navarra | ||
| Vareia | Logroño,La Rioja | Municipium | Augustus |
| Tritium Magallum | Tricio, La Rioja | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Libia | Herramélluri, La Rioja | Municipium? | Flavian dynasty? |
| Graccurris | Alfaro, La Rioja | Municipium | Augustus |
| Cascantum | Cascante, Navarra | Municipium | Augustus |
| Calagurris | Calahorra, La Rioja | Municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Oiasso | Irún,Guipúzcoa | Municipium? | |
| Veleia | Iruña de Oca,Province of Álava | Municipium | Augustus |
| Ercavica | Cañaveruelas, Cuenca | Municipium | Augustus |
| Complutum | Alcalá de Henares,Province of Madrid | Municipium | Augustus |
| Conventus Carthaginensis | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Carthago Nova | Cartagena,Murcia | Colonia | Julius Caesar |
| Saetabi | Xàtiva,Valencia | Municipium | Augustus |
| Illici | Elche,Alicante | Colonia | Augustus |
| Dianum | Denia,Alicante | Municipium | Augustus |
| Lucentum | Alicante | Municipium | Augustus |
| Toletum | Toledo | Municipium | Augustus |
| Begastri | Cehegín,Murcia | Municipium? | Flavian dynasty? |
| Libisosa | Lezuza,Albacete | Colonia | Augustus |
| Salaria | Úbeda,Jaén | Colonia | Augustus |
| Sisapo | Almodóvar del Campo,Ciudad Real | Municipium | Augustus |
| Ilugo | Venta de San Andrés,Santisteban del Puerto, Jaén | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Castulo | Linares, Jaén | Municipium | Julius Caesar |
| Acci | Guadix,Granada | Colonia | Augustus |
| Valeria | Valeria,Cuenca | Municipium | Augustus |
| Titulciam | Titulcia,Madrid | Municipium | Flavian dynasty |
| Segobriga | Saelices,Cuenca | Municipium | Augustus |
| Conventus Cluniensis | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Flaviobriga | Castro-Urdiales,Cantabria | Colonia | Vespasian |
| Portus Victoriae Iuliobrigensium | Santander oSantoña (Cantabria) | Municipium? | Flavian |
| Portus Blendium | Suances, Cantabria | Municipium? | |
| Juliobriga | Retortillo, nearReinosa, Cantabria | Municipium | Flavian |
| Clunia | Peñalba de Castro,Burgos | Municipium; Colonia | Tiberius; Vespasian |
| Occilis | Medinaceli,Soria | Municipium? | Flavian |
| Numantia | Numancia,Soria | Municipium? | Flavian |
| Termentia | Montejo de Tiermes, Soria | Municipium | Tiberius |
| Uxama Argaela | El Burgo de Osma, Soria | Municipium | Tiberius |
| Augustobriga | Muro de Ágreda, Soria | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Palantia | Palencia | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Pintia | Padilla de Duero,Valladolid | Municipium? | |
| Intercatia | Montealegre de Campos, Valladolid | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Albocela | Villalazán,Zamora | Municipium? | Augustus? |
| Septimanca | Simancas, Valladolid | ||
| Rauda | Roa, Burgos | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Deobrigula | Tardajos,Burgos | Municipium | Flavian? |
| Virovesca | Briviesca, Burgos | Municipium? | |
| Deobriga | Miranda de Ebro, Burgos | Municipium? | Augustus? |
| Segisama Iulia | Sasamón, Burgos | Municipium | Flavian |
| Nova Augusta | Lara de los Infantes, Burgos | Municipium | Flavian |
| Cauca | Coca,Segovia | Municipium | Flavian |
| Confluenta | Duratón, Segovia | Municipium | Flavian |
| Segovia | Segovia | Municipium | Flavian |
| Brigeco | Dehesa de Morales de las Cuevas,Castrogonzalo,Zamora | Municipium | Flavian |
| Conventus Asturicensis | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Gigia | Gijón,Asturias | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Lucus Asturum | Lugo de Llanera, Asturias | ||
| Flavionavia | Pravia, Asturias? | Municipium? | Flavian? |
| Asturica Augusta | Astorga,León | Municipium? | Augustus? |
| León | cannaba ofLegio VI Victrix and thenLegio VII Gemina | ||
| Lancia | Villasabariego,León | Municipium | Flavian |
| Bedunia | San Martín de Torres,León | ||
| Bergidum Flavium | Cacabelos,León | Municipium | Flavian |
| Interamnium Flavium | Bembibre,León | Municipium | Flavian |
| Petavonium | Rosinos de Vidriales,Zamora | cannaba ofLegio X Gemina and ofAla II Flavia Hispanorum, later Municipium? | |
| Conventus Lucensis | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Ardobicum Coronium | A Coruña | Municipium | Flavian |
| Flavium Brigantium | Betanzos,A Coruña? | Municipium | Flavian |
| Iria Flavia | Padrón,A Coruña | Municipium | Flavian |
| Vico Spacorum | Vigo,Pontevedra | Municipium | Flavian |
| Lucus Augusti | Lugo | Municipium? | Augustus? |
| Conventus Bracaraugustanorum | |||
| Name | Modern name | Status | Established by |
| Municipium Limicorum | Xinzo de Limia,Ourense | Municipium | Flavian |
| Bracara Augusta | Braga,Portugal | Municipium? | Augustus? |
| Aquae Flaviae | Chaves, Portugal | Municipium | Flavian |
| Cale and Portum Cale | Porto, Portugal | Municipium? | |
In order to guarantee order and security in the province after theCantabrian Wars (26 BC–19 BC), threelegions were established in the province:
These legions were supported by variousauxiliary units, like theAla Parthorum and theCohors IV Gallorum, but it is very difficult to tell exactly where and when these units were garrisoned in the peninsula.
In AD 68, according toSuetonius,[19]Galba removed one legion, theLegio VI Vitrix, twocavalryalae, and threeinfantrycohortes. In order to reinforce these troops, a new legion was recruited, the futureLegio VII Gemina and a number of similar auxiliary units, notably theVasconescohortes, but all these units joined Galba when he invaded Italy to seize the Imperial throne.
In AD 69,Vitellius ordered theLegio X Gemina to be dispatched to the Iberian peninsula,[20] accompanied by theLegio I Adiutrix. We do not know exactly where they were stationed; it may have been in Baetica and the southeastern part of Tarraconensis to prevent a possible invasion from North Africa, which was controlled byLucius Clodius Macer. In any case, both legions and theLegio VI Victrix abandoned Vitellius and declared their support forVespasian, who quickly sent them toGermania Inferior to suppress the revolt ofGaius Julius Civilis.
Subsequently, in AD 74, Vespasian ordered theLegio VII Gemina to be garrisoned in Leon at the site of the old camp of theLegio VI Victrix. TheLegio VII Gemina continued to garrison the province until the beginning of the 5th century AD.
TheLegio VII Gemina dispatchedvexillationes to the following parts of the provinces in Hispania:
By the last quarter of the 1st century AD at the latest, five auxiliary units of theLegio VII Gemina were stationed in the province:
This arrangement endured from the 2nd century through to the fifth century AD, with the maximum garrison of Roman troops in Hispanis never exceeding a total of 7712 soldiers.
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