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Bastetani/Bastuli - The biggest Iberian tribal confederation in area, they dwelt in a territory that included large areas of the mediterranean coast and the Sierra Nevada, in what are today parts of the modern provinces of Murcia, Albacete, Jaén, Almería, Granada and Málaga. Basti (today's Baza) was their main centre.
Cessetani - in the Tarraco region (roughly in today's central and east Tarragona province), in the mediterranean coastal region. Kese (Tarraco in Roman times, that would become the Hispania Tarraconensis capital), was their main centre.
Elisyces - a tribe that dwelt in the region of Narbo (Narbonne) and modern northern Roussillon. May have been either Iberian or Ligurian or a Ligurian-Iberian tribe.
Ilercavones - in the low Iberus (Ebro) river basin to the Millars river along the mediterranean coast and to the inland towards the Sierra de Gúdar, in Ilercavonia. One of the biggest iberian tribes or tribal confederations. Hibera (Roman time Dertusa or Dertosa, modern time Tortosa) was their main centre. North of the Edetani, south of the Ilergetes, east of the Sedetani and west of the Cessetani.
Ilergetes/Ilergetae - in the plains area of the middle and low Segre and Cinca rivers towards the Iberus (Ebro) river margins. One of the biggest Iberian tribes or tribal confederations. Iltrida (Ilerda in Roman times, today's Lérida/Lleida) was their main centre.
Laietani - in the low Llobregat river basin, along a part of the Mediterranean coast roughly in what is today a part of the Barcelona province and Barcelona city. Laieta (Barcino in Roman times and Barcelona in modern times) was their main centre.
Hispano-Celts/Celts of Hispania - They lived in large parts of the Iberian Peninsula, in the Northern, Central and Western regions (more than half of the peninsula's territory).
Conii – according to some scholars, Conii and Cynetes were two different peoples or tribes and the names were not two different names of the same people or tribe; in this case, the Conii possibly dwelt along the northern banks of the middle Anas (Guadiana) river, in today's western Extremadura region of Spain, and were a Celtici tribe wrongly confused with the Cynetes of Cyneticum (Algarve) that dwelt from the west banks of the Low Anas (Guadiana) river further to the south (the celticization of the Cynetes by the Celtici confused the distinction between the two peoples or tribes).
Vaccaei – North Central Iberian meseta (Spain), middle Duero river basin. A tribal confederation. Ptolemy mentions 20 vaccaean Civitates (that also had the meaning of tribes).
Suessetani - Far North Western Aragon and Far South Eastern Navarra (Spain), between the Gallicus (Gállego) and Low Aragon rivers and between the Ebro river and Sierra de Santo Domingo Mountains. Alba (Arba) river basin (a tributary of the Ebro) was in the centre of their territory that also included the Bardenas Reales. Corbio was their capital. They were North of the Celtiberians, South of the Iacetani and the Vascones, West of the Galli (tribe). They were later conquered by the Vascones in the 2nd century BC. that were allies of the Romans. Could have been related to the Suessiones (a tribe of the Belgae).
Volciani – might have been a tribe related to the Volcae and not to the Hispano-Celts/Iberian Celts (i.e. the Celts of the Iberian Peninsula). They have been located north of the Iberus (Ebro) river but not very precisely.
Gauls (Galli) – Some Gaulish tribes might have migrated southwards and crossed the Pyrenees (by the north, the central or the south areas of the mountains) in a second or a third Celtic wave to the Iberian Peninsula. These tribes were different from the Hispano-Celtic/Iberian Celtic tribes.
Galli (tribe) – along Gallicus (Gállego) river banks, see place names (toponyms) like Forum Gallorum, Gallur, a different tribe from the Suessetani; might have been a tribe related to the Galli (Gauls) and not to the Hispano-Celts/Iberian Celts.
Lusitanians (Lusitani/Bellitani) – Portugal south of the Douro River and north of Tagus River, and northwestern Extremadura (Spain). They spoke Lusitanian that is a clearly Indo-European language but the filiation as a Celtic language is not surely proven (although many tribal names and place names, toponyms, are Celtic). Attempts to classify the language have also pointed at an Italic origin. Hence Lusitanian language may have been a Para-Celtic Indo-European branch like Ligurian (i.e. an Indo-European language branch not Celtic but more closely related to Celtic). The Lusitanians have also been identified as being a pre-Celtic Indo-European speaking culture of the Iberian Peninsula closely related to the neighbouring Vettones tribal confederation. However, under their controversial theory of Celtic originating in Iberia, John T Koch and Barry Cunliffe have proposed a para-Celtic identity for the Lusitanian language and culture or that they spoke an archaic Proto-Celtic language and were Proto-Celtic in ethnicity.
Vettones – Ávila, Salamanca (Spain), and most of Cáceres (Spain) possibly a pre-Celtic Indo-European people, closely related to the Lusitani. If their language was not Celtic it might have been Para-Celtic like Ligurian (i.e. an Indo-European language branch not Celtic but more closely related to Celtic). A tribal confederation.
Turdetani – Today's Western Andalucia (Hispania Baetica), Baetis (Guadalquivir) River valley and basin, Marianus Mons (Sierra Morena), some consider them Celtic., possibly a pre-Celtic Indo-European people as the Lusitani and Vettones. If their language was not Celtic it might have been Para-Celtic like Ligurian (i.e. an Indo-European language branch not Celtic but more closely related to Celtic). They might otherwise have been a non-Indo-European people related to the Iberians, but not the same people), (tribal confederation but with a much more centralized power, and had formed an early Kingdom or a Proto-civilisation, see Tartessos)
^ Jorge de Alarcão, “Novas perspectivas sobre os Lusitanos (e outros mundos)”, in Revista portuguesa de Arqueologia, vol. IV, n° 2, 2001, p. 312 e segs.
Ptolemy, Geographia, II, 5, 6
Mountain, Harry. (1997). The Celtic Encyclopedia p. 225 ISBN1-58112-890-8 (v. 1)
Indoeuropeos y no Indoeuropeos en la Hispania Prerromana, Salamanca: Universidad, 2000
Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia (illustrated ed.). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 198–200. ISBN1-85109-440-7, ISBN978-1-85109-440-0. ^ Jump up to: a b Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia (illustrated ed.). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 224–225. ISBN1-85109-440-7, ISBN978-1-85109-440-0.
Guerra, Amilcar. (2005). Povos, cultura e língua no Ocidente Peninsular: uma perspectiva, a partir da toponomástica. Palaeohispánica: Revista sobre lenguas y culturas de la Hispania antigua, ISSN1578-5386, Nº. 5, 2005 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Actas del IX coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas paleohispánicas (Barcelona, 20-24 de octubre de 2004)), pp. 793–822.
Kruta, Venceslas. (2000). Les Celtes, Histoire et Dictionnaire. Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, coll. « Bouquins ». ISBN2-7028-6261-6.
Luján Martinez, Eugenio R. (2006) "The Language(s) of the Callaeci," e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies: Vol. 6, Article 16. pp. 715–748. Available at: The Language(s) of the Callaeci
Further reading
ALARCÃO, Jorge de (1992). “Etnogeografia da fachada atlântica ocidental da Península Ibérica”. In: ALMAGRO-GORBEA, M. e RUIZ ZAPATERO, G. (coords.). Paleoetnologia de la Peninsula Ibérica, 2–3, Madrid, Universidad Complutense: 339–345. (in Portuguese)
The Madeira, Azores, and Canary Islands were not occupied by the Romans. The Madeira and Azores islands were unoccupied until the Portuguese in the 15th century; the Canary islands, the Guanches occupied the territory until the Castilians.
