Le territoire celtibère : essai de définition

Abstract

The boundaries of Celtiberian territory are uncertain inasmuch as we do not know exactly which different peoples were considered Celtiberian. If we ignore the significance of the adjective «Celtiberian» as it is used by geographers, we find that the term «Celtiberian» does not encompass all Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, despite the fact that historians have tended to link the Celtiberians with the various celtici in the west of the Peninsula. Among those identified as Celtiberians we must clearly distinguish between the peoples of the East (Ebro and Jalón valleys), who were the first to come into contact with the Romans, and the Arevaci, Pelendones and Berones to the North-West - and among the latter the Numantines, who offered the longest and fiercest resistance. Evidence can be found on a linguistic level, but it is not always consistent: onomastic sources tend to show a far wider area of Celtiberian occupation that that strictly defined by Celtiberian inscriptions. We need to view the Celtiberian dimension afresh, as a variable entity defined by a more or less violent expansive movement outwards from a mountainous zone of refuge. The Celtiberians related to their neighbours as allies, as mercenaries or as invaders according to the circumstances. For the title of the third Botorrita bronze, an interpretation has been proposed based on the metaphor of the «swarm of bees» for migrant populations. Historians mention several examples of migrations, some spontaneous like a species of uer sacrum, and others organised by the Roman power. We believe that the two hundred names of persons refer to candidates for emigration; TarKuai could refer to the chosen destination.

Keywords

• Celtiberian language
• Celticness
• Epigraphy
• Migrations