The Olcades were an ancient stock-raising pre-Roman people from Hispania, who lived to the west of the Turboletae in the southeastern fringe of the Iberian system mountains.
Related to both the Celtiberians and Carpetani, the Olcades appear to have been a mix of indigenous Iberians under the rule of an aristocracy of Gallic origin. It is believed that the latter sprang from the Volcae Tectosages of southern Gaul, who arrived in Iberia in the wake of the Celtic migrations of the 4th Century BC. [1] [2]
From the 4th century BC, they occupied most of the modern province of Cuenca, along with the southern tip of Guadalajara and the western fringe of Valencia, where their capital Cartala [3] (Los Villares, near Caudete de las Fuentes; Iberian-type mint: Kelin) – also designated Althea or Althia, [4] and Altaia by some Greek authors – was sited. Other Olcades' towns were Caesada (Hita – Guadalajara; Iberian-type mint: Kaiseza?), Ercavica (Cañaveruelas – Cuenca; Iberian-type mint: Erkauika), Ikalkusken (Arcas – Cuenca) and Laxta (Iniesta? – Cuenca).
Archeological evidence recovered from local cemeteries, such as Buenache and Olmedilla de Alarcón, indicates that the Olcades' culture was strongly influenced by contacts with southern Iberian, Phoenician, Etruscan and Greek traders; indeed, they are considered to have been responsible for the cultural ‘Iberianization’ of neighbouring Celtiberia and Carpetania during the 2nd Iron Age.
In 221 BC, under the leadership of their King Tagus (also known as Tago or Tagum), the Olcades entered into a defensive alliance with the Vaccaei and Carpetani to resist Carthaginian expansion into the Meseta, only to be defeated by Hannibal Barca at the battle on the Tagus in 220 BC. [5] [6] Submitted to Punic rule by Hannibal just prior to the Second Punic War, the Olcades were thence forced to contribute mercenary troops to his army, for the Greek historian Polybius lists them among the Iberian troops sent by him as reinforcements to Africa in 218 BC. [7] After Hannibal’s departure to Italy, however, they switched sides and fought as Roman allies for the remainder of the conflict. Despite being included in the province of Hispania Citerior in 156–154 BC by the Romans, the Olcades nonetheless seemed to have remained loyal allies of Rome, subsequently successfully fighting off the attacks of the Lusitani under Viriathus in the mid-2nd Century BC.
They kept themselves independent until the late 2nd or early 1st centuries BC when, for unclear reasons, they were dispossessed of their tribal lands by Rome. Not only did the Praetor of Hispania Citerior Gaius Valerius Flaccus founded the military colony of Valeria (Las Valeras – Cuenca) in 92 BC on Olcadian territory after obtaining a great victory over the Celtiberians in the previous year, [8] but he also divided it among Rome's own Edetani and Celtiberian allies, forcing the Olcades to merge with the latter.
The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors. These tribes spoke the Celtiberian language and wrote it by adapting the Iberian alphabet, in the form of the Celtiberian script. The numerous inscriptions that have been discovered, some of them extensive, have allowed scholars to classify the Celtiberian language as a Celtic language, one of the Hispano-Celtic languages that were spoken in pre-Roman and early Roman Iberia. Archaeologically, many elements link Celtiberians with Celts in Central Europe, but also show large differences with both the Hallstatt culture and La Tène culture.
The Cantabri or Ancient Cantabrians, were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. These peoples and their territories were incorporated into the Roman Province of Hispania Tarraconensis in 19 BC, following the Cantabrian Wars.
The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a pre-Roman Celtic people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania. Their capital was Intercatia in Paredes de Nava.
The Oretani or Oretanii were a pre-Roman ancient Iberian people of the Iberian Peninsula, that lived in northeastern Andalusia, in the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) river valley, eastern Marianus Mons, and the southern area of present-day La Mancha.
The Lusones were an ancient Celtiberian (Pre-Roman) people of the Iberian Peninsula, who lived in the high Tajuña River valley, northeast of Guadalajara. They were eliminated by the Romans as a significant threat in the end of the 2nd century BC.
The First Celtiberian War and Second Celtiberian War were two of the three major rebellions by the Celtiberians against the presence of the Romans in Hispania.
The First Celtiberian was the first of three major rebellions by the Celtiberians against the Roman presence in Hispania. The other two were the Second Celtiberian War and the Numantine War. Hispania was the name the Romans gave to the Iberian Peninsula. The peninsula was inhabited by various ethnic groups and numerous tribes. The Celtiberians were a confederation of five tribes, which lived in a large area of east central Hispania, to the west of Hispania Citerior. The eastern part of their territory shared a stretch of the border of this Roman province. The Celtiberian tribes were the Pellendones, the Arevaci, the Lusones, the Titti and the Belli.
The Carpetani were one of the Celtic pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, akin to the Celtiberians, dwelling in the central part of the meseta - the high central upland plain of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Arevaci or Aravaci, were a Celtic people who settled in the central Meseta of northern Hispania and dominated most of Celtiberia from the 4th to late 2nd centuries BC. The Vaccaei were their allies.
The Lobetani, were a small pre-Roman Iberian people of ancient Spain mentioned only once by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, situated around the mountainous Albarracín area of the southwest Province of Teruel.
The Turboletae or Turboleti were an obscure pre-Roman people from ancient Spain, which lived in the northwest Teruel province since the early 3rd Century BC.
The Berones were a pre-Roman Celtic people of ancient Spain, although they were not part of the Celtiberians, they lived north of the Celtiberians and close to the Cantabrian Conisci in the middle Ebro region between the Tirón and Alhama rivers.
The Pellendones were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic people living on the Iberian Peninsula. From the early 4th century BC they inhabited the region near the source of the river Duero in what today is north-central Spain. The area comprises the north of Soria, the southeast of Burgos and the southwest of La Rioja provinces.
The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC.
The Uraci or Duraci were a little-known Celtic people of pre-Roman Iberia who dwelt to the east of the Vaccaei and the Carpetani, occupying the southern Soria, northern Guadalajara and western Zaragoza provinces since the 4th century BC.
The Cratistii were an ancient pre-Roman, stock-raising people whose lands were situated along the upper Tagus valley, in the elevated plateau region of the western Cuenca and northeast Province of Teruel.
This section of the timeline of Hispania concerns Spanish and Portuguese history events from the Carthaginian conquests to before the barbarian invasions.
Segóbriga was an important Celtic and Roman city, and is today an impressive site located on a hill near the present town of Saelices. Research has revealed remains of important buildings, which have since been preserved and made visible in the Archaeological Park. It was declared a National Monument on June 3, 1931, and is now considered cultural heritage under the official denomination Bien de Interés Cultural which comes with extensive legal protections.
The Celtiberian confederacy was a tribal federation formed around the mid-3rd century BC, by the Arevaci, Lusones, Belli and Titii, with the Arevacian city of Numantia as the federal capital.
Mercenary life is recorded as a custom of Iron Age Spain, particularly in the central area of the Iberian peninsula. Departing from the native tribe and applying to serve in others was a way for economically disadvantaged youth to escape poverty and find an opportunity to use their fighting skills. Starting from 5th century BC, mercenary life would become a true social phenom in Hispania, with great numbers of fighters from distant lands coming to join the armies of Carthage, Rome, Sicily and even Greece, as well as other Hispanic peoples.