The Iacetani or Jacetani (, or ) were a pre-Roman people who populated the area north of Aragon (Spain). They settled the Ebro valley, specifically in the area along the Pyrenees.
Origins
Their affiliation with the
Vascones is disputable, as they inhabited an area in the high
Aragon river valley (today's northwestern corner of
Aragon). Strabo mentions Iacetani in his
Sertorius chronicles as people independent from the Vascones, although another Greek historian,
Claudius Ptolemy identified them with the Vascones. According to some theories, they may have originated from the
Aquitanians who crossed the
Pyrenees and settled in the southern slopes of the mountains along with the Vascones (they could be related peoples or tribes with a common origin but not the same people).
These mountain people were bordered to the south by the Suessetani of the plains, who were often looted by the inhabitants of Iaca.
History
The Iacetani were defeated by the
Ancient Rome in 195 BC when Cato the Elder took their capital with the support of the
Suessetani, which distracted the Iacetanian army. Coins minted with the inscription "IACA" in northeastern Iberian script are coincident with their being mentioned by Strabo, dating between the 1st century BC and early in the 1st century AD.
Julius Caesar cited the Iacetani as one of the tribes that changed allegiances to him alongside the Ausetani and Illurgavones during his campaign extending the Roman frontier.
Romanization
In 19 BC their territory was incorporated into the Roman Empire, in the aftermath of the
Cantabrian Wars, as vassals of
Ancient Rome. This meant that they did not enjoyed the full Roman citizenship status, and their situation was precarious when compared to other peoples of the region, such as the
Sedetani.
-
VV. AA., Los Aragoneses, Madrid, Istmo (Fundamentos 57), 1977, pages 70–71. .
Bibliography
-
Ángel Montenegro et alii, Historia de España 2 - colonizaciones y formación de los pueblos prerromanos (1200-218 a.C), Editorial Gredos, Madrid (1989)
External links
