Celtiberians facts for kids

Ethnology of the Iberian Peninsula c. 200 BC, based on the map by Portuguese archeologist Luís Fraga da Silva [Wikidata]

The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting the central-eastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BC.

These tribes spoke the Celtiberian language and wrote it by adapting the Iberian alphabet. 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 (also known as Iberian Celtic) languages that were spoken in pre-Roman and early Roman Iberia.

In 195 BC, part of Celtiberia was conquered by the Romans, and by 72 BC the entire region had become part of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior. The Celtiberians waged a long struggle against the Roman conquerors, staging uprisings in 195–193, 181–179, 153–151, and 143–133.

In 105 BC, Celtiberian warriors drove the Germanic Cimbri from Spain in the Cimbrian War (113–101 BC) and also played an important role in the Sertorian War (80–72 BC).

Images for kids

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  Territory of the Celtiberi with possible location of tribes

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  Bronze Celtiberian fibula representing a warrior (3rd–2nd century BC)

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  Celtiberian biglobular daggers

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  Celtiberian antennas swords

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  Engraving of the Siege of Numantia

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  Botorrita plaque: one of four bronze plates with inscriptions.

See also

In Spanish: Celtíberos para niños