II. CONQUEST AND ROMANIZATION OF THE ASTURES

A preliminary note: it is worth remembering that "Astur" and "Astures" (referring to the pre-Roman people who inhabited the present-day provinces of Asturias, León, and Zamora) are not the same as "Asturian(s)", which refers to the inhabitants of the current province and autonomous community of Asturias.

Astures. Map of Hugo Xabel Lavilla

Roman invasion and conquest of the Asturia

The Romans landed at Empúries in 218 BC, during the Second Punic War. Although it seemed that the Iberian Peninsula would only be another battleground in their wars against the Carthaginians, from the outset they demonstrated their ambition for conquest. But it was no easy task: they had to defeat the Iberians, Lusitanians, and Celtiberians, a process that took them decades. In 61 BC they finally subdued the Gallaeci, so that by the mid-1st century BC the only peninsular peoples who remained independent were the Astures and the Cantabri.

The Roman historian Lucius Annaeus Florus, who lived between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, was the author of a book entitled "Compendium of Roman History", where he described the situation as follows:

"In the West, almost all of Hispania was pacified, except for the part bathed by the Mediterranean Ocean and the part bordering the mountains at the end of the Pyrenees. Here, two very strong peoples still unsubdued were stirring: the Cantabrians and the Astures ."

Florus mentions the Pyrenees because during Antiquity and part of the Middle Ages, the Cantabrian Mountains were considered merely a western extension of the Pyrenees. Similarly, the historian Dio Cassius, writing his "Roman History" in the 3rd century AD, states that the Cantabrians and Astures inhabited "the most rugged part of the Pyrenees, facing Hispania, and the plain at its foot."

In any case, the territories of the Astures and Cantabri constituted an independent island facing the powerful Roman sea into which the Iberian Peninsula had been transformed. Clearly, this situation could not last long, especially after Octavian Augustus, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar who would become the founder of the Roman Empire in 27 BC, had taken the helm of the Roman Republic.

According to Florus, the main reason Octavian declared war on the Cantabrians and Astures was that both (or at least the Cantabrians) attacked peoples allied with Rome, such as the Vaccaei. But the Hispanic historian Paulus Orosius (late 4th-early 5th century AD) gives us another possible and more plausible cause for the war:

"In the year 726 from the founding of Rome, when Emperor Augustus was consul for the sixth time and Marcus Agrippa for the second time, understanding that what had been done in Hispania for two hundred years amounted to little if he allowed the Cantabrians and the Astures , the two strongest peoples of Hispania, to behave as they pleased, he opened the doors of the temple of Janus and went out in person with an army towards Hispania."

It was customary that when Rome began a war, the god Janus would be invoked and the doors of his temple in the capital would be opened, remaining closed until final victory. The text suggests that the main reason was to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula; in other words, Rome's pure and simple imperialism. If we add to this the great wealth of gold in the Astur territory (which had already reached Roman ears), and Octavian's need to gain military prestige before the Senate and the people, we have the complete equation that set in motion the formidable machine of the most powerful army of the time.

Despite the clear Roman military superiority, the Cantabrians and Astures did not make it easy for Octavian, and military operations had to be extended over ten years, from 29 to 19 BC. The Romans mobilized no fewer than six legions, including the Legio VI Victrix, in addition to numerous auxiliary troops, easily exceeding 50,000 men. For their part, the Cantabrians and Astures used guerrilla warfare tactics, which was the only possible option against a vastly superior invading army: taking advantage of their knowledge of the terrain, they struck unexpectedly with their ranged weapons and retreated with equal speed. From 29 to 27 BC, it seems that the Cantabrians were the main target. 

Faced with a lack of progress, Octavian himself took command of his troops in 27 BC, dividing them into three columns. The headaches caused by the enemy made him ill, and shortly afterward he had to retreat to Tarraco (Tarragona), leaving command in other hands. While the legions attacked by land, the Roman fleet harassed the Cantabrians from the sea, landing troops in the north. When Octavian returned to Rome, the Senate granted him the title of "Augustus" and proposed a triumph, but he declined because he knew the war was far from over.

From 25 to 24 BC, only the Astures remained, secretly preparing to attack the Roman camps located around the Astura River (Esla). However, they were betrayed and denounced by the Brigaecini, one of their own tribes traditionally located around Benavente, although it cannot be ruled out that they were the inhabitants of Brigantia (Braganza). The defeated Astures took refuge in their city of Lancia (Villasabariego , León), which was besieged and captured by the Romans. It was during this phase of the conflict that Tiberius, the stepson and son-in-law of Octavian Augustus, who would succeed him in 14 AD, had his first military experience. After these battles, Augustus ordered the doors of the Temple of Janus closed in that same year, 24 BC, although peace was still far off.

The war continued until 19 BC, as both the Cantabrians and the Astures resisted subjugation. Unfortunately, most of the details of the military operations are unknown, although fragments of several battles have been preserved. For example, we know that the Astures tricked the Romans and murdered the soldiers tasked with harvesting their wheat, which provoked a harsh response from the legions, who ravaged their lands and cut off the hands of all the men they took prisoner. We also know that one of the last attempts at resistance took place on Mount Medullius, which has still not been located despite the Romans surrounding it with a ditch 15 miles in diameter. In these final moments, both the Astures and the Cantabrians displayed great determination, preferring suicide to surrender. To prevent their gold from falling into Roman hands, they sometimes hid their most valuable objects in secret places, some of which were not discovered until well into the 20th century, such as the fabulous Treasures of Arrabalde (Zamora).

Arrabalde's Treasure. Museum of Zamora

In 19 BC, the last major Cantabrian rebellion took place, and its suppression was considered the final episode of the Astur-Cantabrian Wars. Although Roman historians do not record it, there must also have been indigenous victories throughout the conflict, or so it seems to be deduced from the words of Octavian Augustus himself in his "Res Gestae" Divi Augustus : “Having completely defeated the enemy, I recovered from Hispania, Gaul, and Dalmatia many military standards lost by other leaders.” The only leaders who could have lost standards in Hispania during Augustus's reign were his generals in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars...

The rebellions and the Legio VII Gemina.

In any case, we know that uprisings occurred in Hispania in 16 BC, and it is most logical to assume that they were led by the Astures and/or Cantabrians, since the wounds inflicted by the war were still fresh. This was the case, for example, with another rebellion in 12 BC. This situation of instability must have lasted for a long time, although it was not reflected in written sources, or at least these have not survived. Augustus stationed several legions in Asturia to calm tensions, although these were reduced to four during the reign of his successor Tiberius (14-37 AD).

Of particular importance is the account of a rather late Asturian uprising , during the reign of Nero (54-68 AD). This information was not transmitted to us by any Greco-Roman historian, but rather by the laudatory inscription of Marcus Vettius Valens, a former centurion in command of Legio VI. This legion had participated in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars and was stationed at the site of present-day León from 10-5 BC until 70 AD. The inscription, found in Rimini, was published in volume XI of the CIL (Corpus Inscriptionum) . (Latinarum ) with the number 395, and among Marcus's other campaigns, the trophies and decorations awarded to him for his "deeds against the Astures " around 66 AD stand out. The scope of this revolt must not have been very large, but it is extremely illustrative due to the historical context in which it occurred, because only two years later, Governor Galba rebelled in Hispania against Nero. He took command of Legio VI, but as his forces were insufficient, he created a new legion with Hispanic soldiers, which was named Legio VII Galbiana . After various vicissitudes, this legion, renamed Legio VII Gemina, ended up returning to Hispania in 74 AD and that year settled in the same place where Legio VI had been, that is, on the site of the present-day city of León. This event will determine the future of this land, as Legio VII was the only Roman legion established on the Peninsula throughout the Empire, turning its camp into the military capital of Hispania for several centuries.

The choice of this location by both Legio VI and Legio VII was not accidental. On the one hand, we have seen that the Asturian territory was still not completely pacified, but furthermore, the Romans wanted to guarantee the extraction of gold from nearby deposits and its transport to Rome. The situation was highly strategic, taking advantage of the protection afforded by the confluence of the Torío and Bernesga rivers and the proximity of the city of Asturica Augusta (modern-day Astorga), which was the administrative capital of Asturia . The tandem formed by the cities of Asturica and Legio , separated by only a day's ride, would achieve immense historical importance until the end of the Middle Ages. Both were fortified very early on and became the main urban centers of the area, so it is no surprise that in time they became episcopal sees and bastions of what would become the most important kingdom in Hispania. 

Legio VII

Romanization.

Romanization refers to the process by which the Roman invaders imposed their culture on the conquered peoples from the very moment of contact. This process was so intense that, for example, we do not know the language spoken by the Astures, as Latin completely replaced it, and we only have a few pre-Roman words in the names of mountains and rivers. Although magistrates and officials would have mastered Classical Latin, the vast majority of soldiers and the general population would have used Vulgar Latin, which, influenced to some extent by the substratum of the Astur language, would eventually give rise to the Asturian-Leonese language.

The aforementioned Pact of the Zoelas also bears witness to this process of Romanization : although in the part concerning the renewal of the pact in 27 AD the names of the signatories are purely indigenous ( Arausa , Blecaeno , Turaio ...), in that of 152 AD they are already fully Latinized (Sempronio Pepertuo Orniaco , Antonio Arquio , Flavio Frontón...) 

Bronze or tablet of the Zoelas (Wikimedia)

Augustus ordered the mountain dwellers to descend to the plains so they could be more easily controlled. This may have led to the abandonment of the hill forts located in the higher areas and the relocation of their populations to the nearby valleys. It is certain that some hill forts were abandoned, but others remained, and some new ones even emerged for mining operations. Thanks to the so-called Bembibre Bronze (dated to 15 BC), we know that Augustus provisionally integrated Asturia into the Transdurian Province , which encompassed the Astures, Cantabri, and Gallaeci, and which would be a clear precursor to the future province of Gallaecia. Later, he added these territories to the Tarraconensis Province, which, with its capital in Tarraco (Tarragona), covered the entire northern third of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as most of the Mediterranean coast and central Hispania. 

Bembibre Bronze (Wikimedia)

Hispania was divided into three large provinces (Tarraconensis, Baetica, and Lusitania). Each of these was subdivided into "conventus" or legal districts. The Astures had their own "Conventus Iuridicus Asturum”, with its capital at Asturica Augusta, and with diffuse boundaries, although it surely covered the area already mentioned when discussing its spatial distribution. Although they were included within the Tarraconenensis Province , the Astures and the Gallaeci had their own procurator (the “ procurator Asturiae et Callaeciae”, who resided in Asturica and who could also have been the legate or military commander of Legio VII, thus linking the capital and the camp. Indeed, throughout all of Hispania Tarraconensis, Pliny only recognizes Asturica as a single “ urbs ” (city).

 

Wikimedia

At the beginning of the 3rd century, Emperor Caracalla restructured the provincial division of Hispania, creating the "Provincia Nova Citerior Antoniniana Asturiae et Callaeciae", separating it from Tarraconensis, although the reform was abandoned after his death (217 AD). However, this province was revived in 298 AD with Diocletian's provincial reform, though under the name Gallaecia . Its demonym would be "gallaeciense". It has always been said that the capital of this province was Bracara Augusta (Braga), but there are also indications that it may have been Asturica- Legio , which served as the seat of the Procurator, the Prefect, and many other civil and military offices. 

Diocletian's provincial reform (From the author)

 The province of Gallaecia (Wikimedia)

This province of Gallaecia persisted throughout the remainder of the Roman Empire, and as we shall see, it endured into the Suebian period, even continuing to exist as a point of reference for much of the Middle Ages. Therefore, it is not surprising that the kingdoms of Asturias and León were known as Gallaecia in educated circles and in much of the world, since the territories of that Roman province formed the core of both kingdoms. 

Augustus was also very interested in connecting the new conquests with the rest of the cities of Hispania, so he created an entire road network, parts of which still survive today. The main roads were those that linked Asturia with the rest of the Empire, but there were also those that directly connected Asturica and Legio with Bracara , Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), and Augusta Emerita (Mérida). The latter is known as the Silver Route (Vía de la Plata), whose name, however, has nothing to do with the silver metal, but rather seems to derive from the Arabic "Balata," meaning "paved road." Officials, soldiers, merchants, and others would travel along these roads, but so too would the precious gold, since the Asturian mines were the most productive in the entire Empire until the conquest of Dacia.

The most intensely Romanized areas of Asturia were, logically, the urban centers, but also the gold mines and their surroundings. However, the rural world, that is, more than 90% of the population, was much less affected by Roman acculturation, except at the linguistic level, since Latin was imposed as the sole language throughout the territory.

Another way Romanization was promoted was through the incorporation of a large number of young Astures into the Roman army. Even before the Astur-Cantabrian Wars, we know of their participation as mercenaries in the civil wars between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Lucan, in his work "Pharsalia," says that Pompey's generals 

"in addition to Roman troops, had robust Astures , agile Vettones, and Celts who had migrated from an ancient people of the Gauls, who combined their name with that of the Iberians." 

In these wars, they would have observed the workings of the Roman army, which perhaps served them well years later in preparing their resistance at the beginning of the conquest.

It was common practice after the conquest of a new territory to carry out forced levies to create auxiliary corps. These troops were quickly sent to the front that had opened up at that time, so as early as 19 BC there were already troops of Astures being deployed to the border with the Germanic tribes. In total, we know of the existence of at least 5 wings and 10 cohorts called " Asturum " that were distributed across places as far-flung as Britain, Germania, Mauretania Tingitana, etc. In present-day Austria, one of these Asturian cohorts gave its name " Asturis " or " Astura " to a fort or camp that is often cited as the origin of the modern city of Klosterneuburg . 

Asturian population in imperial times.

We have already seen that the only data we have on the population of Asturia is that given to us by Pliny of 240,000 free men (“numerus omnis multitudinis ad CCXL liberorum capitum”). If we assume that women were not included in that figure, and that each of them had a wife and an average of three children (a merely indicative figure), the area would have had more than a million inhabitants in Pliny's time (1st century AD). If women were already included in that number, the figure would be significantly lower. Unfortunately, we cannot be certain, since sometimes they were included in the Roman censuses, but other times they were not. 

The population of Italic origin must have been a small minority, residing mainly in the cities and military camps. The urban population could not have exceeded the 9% that has been calculated for the entire Roman Empire, but since it was a predominantly rural area, that percentage was surely much lower. From the 3rd century onwards, the Roman Empire entered a period of crisis, which caused the population to decline, something that Asturia certainly experienced. In addition, people massively abandoned the cities and took refuge in the “ villae ,” which were rural residences that served as centers for agricultural and livestock farming.

We tend to imagine that the soldiers of Legio VII were Roman, or at least Italian, but this was not the case. As we have already mentioned, this legion was recruited in Hispania by Galba, so its members were primarily indigenous. Furthermore, from the 2nd century AD onwards, the so-called "local conscription" was imposed, meaning that this legion must have been predominantly Astur and Hispanic.

When we talk about historical processes of conquest, it seems inevitable to think that the invaders arrived, conquered, and simply replaced the native population, but that is a completely distorted view of history. In reality, throughout history, the conquerors are a minority that militarily imposes itself on a majority of indigenous people. Most of the time, the aggressor group is content to control the centers of power (the cities) in order to dominate and exploit the territory's resources. Meanwhile, the natives continue living in their towns and villages, maintaining their customs and way of life, although many aspects of the dominant culture will gradually permeate their society.

The arrival of Christianity in Northwest Hispania.

The Roman conquerors respected the customs and religious beliefs of the Astures, even venerating the local gods, as revealed by numerous votive inscriptions. Christianity, for its part, arrived in Hispania and the Roman Empire during a time of spiritual crisis, in which religions from the East took particular root. One of the main breeding grounds for this belief was the army, since soldiers who risked their lives daily were more inclined to believe in an afterlife. This would explain the early arrival of Christianity in Asturia, which, as we have seen, housed the only Roman legion on the entire Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, at that time it was a predominantly urban religion, and therefore it would have been especially drawn to the most important centers, such as Asturica in the Northwest. 

Christianity had been a subversive religion for refusing to worship emperors as gods, and thus, throughout the Empire, there were several state-led persecutions. These persecutions resulted in the killing of thousands of Christians who preferred martyrdom to renouncing their faith. However, things would change radically in the 4th century, which could be called "the century of Christianity": in 313, Emperor Constantine promulgated the Edict of Milan, which permitted the free practice of Christianity, thus beginning its spectacular rise. Christianity spread from the cities, into the countryside and the villae ( villages ), and among the common people. This popularity was confirmed in 380, when the Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

In Asturia, this religion spread far and wide over the centuries, absorbing and assimilating indigenous cults in a variety of ways: building churches in places sacred to the Astures, replacing their gods and heroes with saints and virgins, adapting their festivals and ceremonies to the Christian calendar, and so on. Initially, the last places to be Christianized were the mountains, although historians differ on when this occurred: some even maintain that a large part of the Astures remained pagan well into the Middle Ages.

In any case, the first historical information we have about Christianity in all of Hispania is a letter from the year 254 written by Saint Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and which was sent to the communities of the Conventus Asturum and Augusta Emerita. First, he addresses Basilides , bishop of the see of Legio -Asturica, demonstrating that one of the oldest and most important Christian communities in Hispania resided there, and further confirming the shared prominence of both urban centers. His letter reveals that the Christian community of Legio did not live in the camp itself, but rather in the settlement of "Ad Legionem ," that is, in the civilian suburb that arose in what is now the Puente Castro neighborhood.

But Legio also had to play a major role in the persecutions of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, since Tertullian, one of the Church Fathers, says in his work “ad Scapulam ” that the “presidents” or governors of Legio and Mauretania persecuted the Christians, surely referring to the military leaders of Hispania.

At the end of the 3rd century, Marcellus, a Christian centurion of the Legio VII, was martyred and beheaded in Tangier for his faith. According to some traditions, his family was a family of saints, as he was married to Saint Nonia , with whom he had twelve children, all of whom attained sainthood through martyrdom. Among them, Facundus and Primitivo stand out, as a very important medieval monastery was built in their honor in Sahagún. However, many researchers dismiss the idea that they were sons of Saint Marcellus, suggesting instead that they were martyrs from the Cea region who died in the 2nd century 

At the beginning of the 4th century, the Council of Elvira took place, the first such council convened in the Iberian Peninsula. Nineteen bishops from across the Peninsula attended, but only the Bishop of Legio, Decentio, represented Gallaecia, indicating that it was the most Christianized settlement in the northwest. Archaeology also provides clues in this regard, with remains such as those of the basilica of Marialba de la Ribera (near Legio ) or the spectacular early Christian sarcophagus of San Justo de la Vega (right next to Asturica), which in the Middle Ages would house the remains of King Alfonso III. 

MAN

Once Christianized (fully or partially), Gallaecia took part in the theological disputes of the time. Priscillianism stands out for its importance, a doctrine advocating asceticism and Church reform championed by Priscillian, a 4th-century Hispanic bishop . After much debate, Priscillian was declared a heretic and beheaded, but his influence was felt in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. In fact, it has often been said that Priscillian was Galician, but historical sources only specify that he came from Gallaecia . Furthermore, this confusion between Gallaecia and Galicia has been very common throughout history, so it is quite likely that many figures have been labeled as Galician without realizing that Gallaecia also included Asturia. This also happened to Egeria, a famous 4th-century traveler who was also originally from Gallaecia .

Priscillian and Egeria

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-BINGHAM, Sandra. “The Praetorian Guard: A History of Rome's Elite Special Forces”. Londres,
2013.
-CAMPOMANES ALVAREDO, Emilio. “Guía del León romano”. León, 2016.
-CAÑAS NAVARRO, Pedro. Aspectos jurídicos del censo romano. EN “Revista de Derecho
UNED, nº4”. 2009. Págs. 103-138.
-GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, Sonia María. El pacto de los zoelae y su repercusión en el ordenamiento
social y territorial de los astures. EN “Argutorio. Año 2, n.º 3”. Astorga, 1999. Págs. 27-28.
-MAÑANES, Tomás. La implantación romana en el territorio leonés. EN “Lancia 1. Cántabros y
astures”. León, 1983.
-MATILLA VICENTE, Eduardo. La Legio VII y León. EN “Lancia 1. Cántabros y astures”. León,
1983. Págs. 263-272
-PALAO VICENTE, Juan José. “Legio VII (Pía) Félix. Estudio de una legión romana”. Salamanca,
2006.
-PASTOR MUÑOZ, Mauricio. Aspecto de la romanización de la Asturia transmontana:
prosopografía y sociedad. EN “Lancia 1. Cántabros y astures”. León, 1983. Págs. 199-220.
-PITILLAS SALAÑER, Eduardo. Función integradora del ejército romano de ocupación en tierras
del norte y del noroeste de Hispania duante la etapa de postconquista. EN “Hispania Antiqua, Nº
31”.Valladolid, 2007. Págs. 111-126
-ROLDÁN HERVÁS, José Manuel. “Historia de Roma”. Salamanca, 1995.
-ROLDÁN HERVÁS, José Manuel. La conquista del norte de Hispania y la participación de los
astures en el ejército imperial romano. EN “Lancia 1. Cántabros y astures”. León, 1983. Págs. 119-
138.
-VV.AA. “Legio VII Gémina”. León, 1970.
-SOUTHERN, Pat. “The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History”.Cheshire, 2007

I. ABOUT THE ASTURES

Generally, when discussing the history of the Kingdom of León, one usually begins in the year 910, when the capital of the then-Asturian kingdom was moved from Oviedo to the city of León. But no historical process arises from nothing, nor is it arbitrary, so it is always necessary to look for the roots that explain its beginnings. Why did this move occur? Why was the city of León considered important enough to house the royal court? 

The answer to this question must be sought much further back, in the time of the Roman Empire, when the military camp that would eventually become the present-day city of León was founded. This settlement was the true military capital of Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) for most of the Roman Empire: a decision that the Romans also did not make arbitrarily, and which was also the result of very specific historical processes.

In any case, we're already seeing that to understand the history of the Kingdom of León, we don't have to stop in the Middle Ages, but go back several centuries, almost a millennium. And although practically everyone knows that the Romans inhabited this corner of the Iberian Peninsula back then, most people don't know when they arrived or which people lived here before them. So, the first thing we're going to do is talk about those ancient inhabitants who suffered the invasion of one of the most powerful empires in history.

The Astura River.

The people who inhabited what would eventually become the core of the Kingdom of León were the Astures. This often causes some perplexity: “Astur” and “Astures” sound like Asturias, not León. And yet both the people of León and Zamora can claim that name, because the Astures received their name from the Ástura, the river that marked their eastern border and which today is called the Esla. This may seem doubly strange to us: if we look at a map, we will see that the Esla doesn't even flow through Asturias. Furthermore, how could a name like “Ástura” evolve to become “Esla”?

The answer to this last question is not simple, but it can be deduced through philology and by tracing historical documentation and chronicles. According to philologists who have studied this topic, the most probable phonetic evolution was the following: 

ASTŬRA > *Ástora > Ástura > *Éstura >Éstora > Éstola ~ Éstula > Estla > Esla 

Every step in this evolution are documented in writing, but those marked with an asterisk. 

In Visigothic times, the river continued to be called Ástura, as attested by Saint Isidore in his Etymologies (7th century AD): 

"The Astures, a nation of Hispania, so called because the river Ástura surrounds them, live protected by its lush forests and mountains." 

In the Albeldense Chronicle, from the end of the 9th century, it appears as "Éstora" on several occasions. In 10th century documents, names such as "Éstola", "Éstula" and "Éstule" are very common, which evolved into "Estla" in the 11th century, and from there to the current "Esla".

The territory of the Astures.

We don't have much information about the Astures because they didn't have a written language, so the little information we have has come through the filter of Greco-Roman geographers and historians. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) lived for a time in Hispania and had access to firsthand information, which he transmitted to us in his encyclopedic work "Natural History":

“Next are the twenty-two peoples of the Astures, divided into Augustani and Transmontani, with Asturica [Astorga], a magnificent city: among them are the Gigurri, the Pesici, the Lancienses and the Zoelas. The number of free men in all that population reaches two hundred and forty thousand.”

Two hundred and forty thousand “free men” is a considerable number, especially considering they were the survivors of the deaths caused by the Roman conquest. But the actual number of Astures could have been much higher, as we shall see later.

The Astures inhabited a territory called "Asturia," encompassing most of the present-day provinces of Asturias and León, the western half of Zamora, the easternmost part of Galicia, and northeastern Portugal (Tierra de Miranda or Praíno Mirandés). They were divided into two main groups by the Cantabrian Mountains: the Transmontane Astures to the north and the Augustani to the south, but after the Roman invasion, both groups would have Asturica Augusta (modern-day Astorga) as their administrative capital.

One might think that, separated by the mountain range, the customs of the people of Trás-os-Montes and Asturias would be very different, but history has shown that mountains unite, they do not divide, and that what truly separates are the rivers. This remains true today: traditional culture continues to be practically the same in the border regions between León and Asturias, and even between Zamora and the Tierra de Miranda, although administrative divisions and the development of communication and transportation are altering this reality. The same occurs in other mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees, where the same traditions, language, and so on are shared on both sides, regardless of national borders.

On the other hand, accustomed as we are to traveling everywhere by car, we're not aware of how difficult it was to cross a river until a couple of centuries ago. Before the arrival of the Romans, there were practically no bridges, and those that existed were made of wood and so flimsy that they were swept away by floods, requiring them to be rebuilt every year.

Therefore, the most common way to cross was to use boats or rafts made of leather or wood. Even when the Romans brought their magnificent engineers, bridges were still a rare find, especially when it came to crossing large, fast-flowing rivers.

That's why in ancient times borders were defined more by large rivers than by mountains, and this situation lasted for several centuries. In the case of Asturias, it's easy to imagine the Esla River as a border, especially during the spring thaw, and considering that it carries more water than the Duero River itself, into which it flows.

Judging by the size of their settlements, it seems clear that the Astures Augustani had a much larger population than the Transmontani. The main population centers of the Transmontani were Noega (near Gijón) and Lucus Asturum (Lugo de Llanera), while the most notable among the Augustani were their capital, Asturica Augusta (Astorga), Lancia (Villasabariego, León), Bérgidum Flavium (in Cacabelos; this would eventually give its name to the entire El Bierzo region), and Bedunia(near La Bañeza). 

The astronomer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (100-170 AD) mentioned and located several of their cities in his work "Geography," the ancestor of modern atlases, which gives us a clue to their size extent of their territory. From this list it can be deduced that they maintained positions somewhat further east of the Astura River, because Ptolemy includes as Asturian settlements Gigia (the medieval Cegia, present-day Cea) and Maliaca, on the banks of the Cea River.

To the northeast, their neighbors were the Cantabrians, a sister people and ally with whom they shared customs and way of life. To the east, they bordered the Vaccaei, who inhabited the center of the northern plateau, and with whom they did not get along well. To the south were the Vettones, who resided in parts of the present-day provinces of Zamora, Salamanca, Cáceres, Ávila, and Toledo. We do not know what relations they maintained with the latter, but it seems that they at least had cultural exchanges: this would explain, for example, the presence of verracos (granite sculptures of pigs or bulls) in southern Asturias, in places like Braganza or Picote, despite these being typically Vettonian elements. Finally, to the west, they bordered the Gallaeci, the last people to have been subjugated by Rome before the Astur-Cantabrian Wars, and with whom they seem to have maintained an affinity and good relations.

Way of life.

How did these Astures live? Again, we are faced with a lack of information. From Greco-Roman texts and archaeological excavations, they had a subsistence economy based on livestock farming and rudimentary agriculture. They practiced hunting and fishing, both in rivers and at sea. Archaeological remains also suggest that they traded with other cultures.

During the 20th century, it was very fashionable to call the Astures and other peoples of the northwest peninsula "Celts," but Archaeology has qualified this statement: while recognizing that the Astures were linked to the Celts in some cultural and linguistic aspects, as well as probably in religion and the celebration of certain festivities, we should not go to the extreme of identifying them completely with this people.

The Greek geographer Strabo (63 BC–21 AD) dedicated the third book of his work "Geography" to the Iberian Peninsula, despite never having set foot there, compiling the accounts of earlier geographers. Strabo grouped the Astures, along with the Cantabrians, Gallaecians, and Vascones, into what he called "the Northern Peoples" or "Mountain Peoples," distinguishing them from the Celts, and described them as follows:

“All the mountain people are austere, they usually drink water, sleep on the ground, and let their hair grow very long, like women, but they fight wearing a headband. They eat mainly goats, and they sacrifice a goat, war captives, and horses to Ares. (...) They also hold gymnastic competitions, for warriors on horseback, with boxing, running, skirmishing, and combat in formation. (...) They eat sitting on benches against the wall and sit in order of age and rank. The food is passed around, and at drinking time they dance in a circle to the sound of flute and trumpet, but also jumping and crouching. (...) All the men dress in black, mostly in woolen cloaks, which they also wear to sleep on straw mattresses. They use wooden cups, just like the Celts. The women wear dresses and flowered costumes. (...) For the rising sea levels And the marshlanders used leather boats until the time of Brutus, but nowadays even those carved from a single log are rare. (...) The uncultured and savage character of those peoples is explained not only by their warlike life, but also by their isolated location. (...) This lack of culture must also have increased the territory of some, with its poverty and its mountains.”

A harsh and austere life, as can be seen. In any case, it must be remembered that Greco-Roman writers were very interested in emphasizing the savagery and backwardness of the peoples they encountered, in order to contrast them with an idealized Rome, the exporter of civilization through its conquests. In other words, by accentuating these characteristics, they were engaging in political and ideological propaganda.

In this same sense, they also emphasized that the Astures were a warrior people by nature, who in times of famine did not hesitate to attack the Vaccaei, who were already Romanized and had better lands and harvests.

The Astures, like the other northern peoples, lived in fortified villages or settlements with walls, always located in strategic places. These settlements are called "castros," and literally hundreds of them are known throughout Asturias. Many present-day towns are located near a castro, and this can be traced through place names, such as "El Castro," "El Castrillo" (or "Castriello" in Leonese), "Castrillín," or similar names, or "La Corona" and derivatives, which refer to the shape the site takes due to the remains of the ditch and the wall. There were three types of castros: mountain castros (small and identical to those in Galicia), mid-altitude castros (located on hills), and plain castros (typical of the Meseta Central, larger and more populated). They used to be quite close to each other, or at least close enough to be visible, perhaps to communicate by smoke signals during the day and with torches or bonfires at night.

The hill forts were self-sufficient villages, so they were located near pastures for livestock and/or farmland, and in places where water was easily accessible, that is, near a river, well, or stream. In some cases, they collected rainwater in cisterns carved into the rock.

The houses generally had rounded shapes, both in the mountains and on the plains, and were home to both humans and animals. The building materials depended on what was available in the area: stone was used in the mountains, and adobe and wood on the plains. The conical roofs were covered with thatch or "teito," giving them a resemblance to the thatched houses, the pallozas, and the traditional Galician houses known as "pallozas," which are still preserved in Galicia, Asturias, and parts of León.

The few excavations of Asturian hill forts that have been carried out show no significant differences between dwellings, suggesting that it was an economically egalitarian society, without wealthy individuals constructing ostentatious buildings. Magnificent Asturian treasures have been found, consisting of jewelry and ornaments of all kinds in gold and silver, which probably belonged to the warrior elite. These leading warriors would have ruled the society in conjunction with the elders. We could learn much more about their society by analyzing Asturian tombs, but unfortunately, none have yet been found.

Strabo and other ancient authors describe the societies of the northern Iberian Peninsula as matriarchal, meaning that inheritance and succession were done through the maternal line, not the paternal line. It seems undeniable that women played a significant role among the Astures, but we cannot say for certain the extent of their importance in a predominantly warrior society. For example, many Asturian inscriptions (from the Roman period) only include male names. In any case, the Romans imposed their patrilineal system, although customs persisted among the local population that possibly reveal a matrilineal past. One of these customs, already described by Strabo, was couvade, in which the man took the woman's place in bed as soon as she gave birth, receiving the care normally given to the mother, while she resumed her daily tasks. There is evidence that this practice continued in regions such as Maragatería (in the heart of Asturias) early 20th century.

It is very likely that land ownership was collective or communal, as this was (and is) the most common practice in societies with a subsistence economy. Private property, or at least the concept of it, arrived with the Romans and their law, which they extended throughout their empire. Communal property required the existence of an assembly or "concilium" in each village to organize agricultural and livestock work. These assemblies were presided over by the elders ("councils of elders," as Strabo calls them), and perhaps by military leaders, although the participation of other inhabitants of the village cannot be ruled out, which would give us the earliest precedent for modern-day councils and neighborhood associations.

In addition to these local councils, the Roman historian Lucius Annaeus Florus (1st-2nd centuries AD) tells us about a general council that was probably located on the site of the future Asturica Augusta:

 “There was a people’s council there, and that town received the honors of a capital. This decision was favored by the nature of the surrounding region, rich in gold, malachite, minium and abundant in other products.”

The different tribes could enter into hospitality pacts with one another, meaning they were obligated to receive members of the signatory communities as guests. An example of this is the so-called "Pact of the Zoelas," established at an unknown date ("an ancient pact of hospitality," the inscription states), but renewed in 27 AD and 152 AD. The last renovation was precisely in Asturica Augusta.

As one might expect, their diet was closely linked to agriculture, livestock farming, hunting, and fishing. Acorns from holm oaks (in the south) and oak trees (in the north), and their respective flours, were a staple food for the Astures for most of the year. In later periods, they played a role similar to that of chestnuts in some areas, as chestnut trees were introduced by the Romans. Agriculture was all the more important the further south the settlement was located: the Astures cultivated and consumed barley, rye, and spelt, as well as various fruits, peas, and broad beans. They also knew wheat, although there is debate as to whether they cultivated it or only obtained it by plundering the Vaccaei. The flax of the Zoelae (Miranda region and western Zamora) is mentioned by Pliny in his Natural History, where he states that it was taken to Italy and widely used in the making of fishing nets hunt.

They obtained most of the meat in their diet from livestock: cows, pigs, horses, lambs, sheep, and goats. Livestock farming was especially important in the hill forts of the mountainous areas, where agriculture was much more difficult. One interesting fact is that the Asturian pig was related to the so-called "Asturcelta pig" that still exists in Asturian lands, although it is endangered. The same is true of the Xalda sheep, with its black wool, from which the black tunics mentioned by Strabo were made. This wool was highly valued throughout the Empire, as Diocletian's Edict of 301 AD set its price at ten denarii per pound (a pound is just under half a kilo), making it the third most valuable wool in the known world. 

The Astures were also renowned for breeding Asturcón ponies, a native breed of horse that was famous throughout the ancient world. Pliny said of them that 

“they are small in size; they do not have a normal gait; their step is comfortable and is due to the simultaneous movement of the legs of asame side. The natives teach the horses to walk this way.” 

The poet Marcus Valerius Martial (40-104 AD) describes it as “this small Asturian horse, whose light gait follows a rhythm, comes from lands rich in gold.” Nero himself owned an Asturcón as a symbol of prestige, according to the historian Suetonius.

Although it is an endangered breed, several specimens are still preserved in the Asturian mountains, although in Antiquity its range must have been much greater to the south. Pliny also mentions the Thieldones, but it is still debated whether this was another, larger breed of horse, or simply another name for the Asturcón.

Game meat was plentiful, coming from wild boar, deer, mountain goats, and wild horses; indeed, the presence of these and other wild animals was much greater in antiquity than it is today. We are often unaware that our natural environment has been brutally altered and "humanized" by centuries of agriculture, which expanded at the cost of destroying the vast forests that once covered this corner of the Iberian Peninsula.

Meanwhile, on the coast, the Astures of Transmontane fed on fish and shellfish and mollusks of all kinds (mussels, clams, oysters...).

Despite what Strabo says, the Astures practiced small-scale trade, or at least that seems to be indicated by the fact that Galician and Celtiberian ceramics appear in their villages.

The Asturian religion.

We know almost nothing about the religious beliefs and practices of the Astures, except for some vague descriptions by Strabo, who mentions that the northern peoples worshipped an unnamed god, in whose honor they danced on nights of the full moon. He also mentions that they made sacrifices to a war god similar to the Greek Ares or the Roman Mars, but he gives us no further information about it, nor whether this applied to the Astures as well as to the Gallaeci, Cantabrians, and Vascones. It seems clear that they practiced a form of animism, worshipping natural elements such as the moon, forests, rivers, springs, etc., without building temples in their honor.

We know the theonyms, or names, of some Asturian gods thanks to their mention in Latin inscriptions, since Rome practiced a kind of religious syncretism, adopting and adapting the gods of conquered peoples. Because these inscriptions are not very descriptive, in many cases we don't know not only what kind of god was mentioned (whether it was a mountain deity, a river deity, a forest deity, etc.) but even its sex (whether it was a god or a goddess). Furthermore, many of these names are Latinized, so we don't know their original form. In any case, these theonyms and some place names seem to reflect that the Asturian language had Celtic roots, although this is very difficult to investigate, given the scarcity of inscriptions with this type of word. Several of these gods were not purely Asturian, but were shared with the surrounding peoples.

Let's look at some examples of Asturian god names: Bodus or Bodo, Bandua, Cossuo, Crarus, Degantia, Vagodonnaegus, Nabia or Navia, Mars Tillenus (Mars Tileno)... The last two are clearly related to the toponymy of the area where they were mentioned in inscriptions: Navia with the Navea River (Ourense) and Tillenus with Mount Teleno (2188 m), which was a very important geographical and religious landmark for the inhabitants of Asturias. We know that this mountain was worshipped thanks to two inscriptions: one on an altar that reads "Quintus Tullius Tyro willingly fulfilled his vow to Teleno," and another on a small plaque that says "Marti Tileno." The Latin historian Justin seems to refer to it when he says that in the area of the Galicians and Asturians said, 

“There is a sacred mountain, and it is impious to excavate it with any iron tool, although when the earth is struck by lightning (…) it is permitted to collect the gold that surfaces, as a gift from the god.”

Today, Teleno is still struck by lightning, but even more so by artillery shells, since its slopes are a military firing range.

But there is still much we don't know about Asturian religious practices: with the near absence of archaeological excavations, we don't even know if the Astures buried their dead or cremated them. Many anthropologists and ethnographers link pre-Roman rites to many of our traditional village festivals, such as the carnivals and May celebrations, as well as Candlemas, the bonfires of Saint John, etc., which would thus be authentic relics from Asturian times, although profoundly transformed by the influence of Christianity.

Asturian gold

The whole of Asturia was very rich in minerals, but it stood out especially in gold deposits. This gold was so legendary among the Romans that even poets mentioned it in their works:

"The ambitious Asturian sinks into the deep bowels of the torn earth and turns the same color as the extracted gold." Silius Italicus (23-101 AD)

"...the pale Asturian does not let himself get lost in the galleries of the mines, which vomit forth gold in abundance...".Claudius Claudianus (4th century AD)

Even today, traces of that gold remain in the rivers, mountains, and hills of Asturias, León, Zamora, and Tierra de Miranda. In fact, its exploitation is considered profitable in some areas and would be underway were it not for the devastating environmental impact: there is a proposed mine in Tapia de Casariego (Asturias), which could be the largest gold deposit in Western Europe, but it faces fierce opposition from environmentalists and a large part of the local population. Similarly, the León press frequently reports on prospecting by mining companies in regions such as Maragatería, Omaña, and others. On a much smaller scale, and working in a more artisanal and environmentally friendly way, some people in these provinces still pan for gold, an ancient technique practiced by the Astures in the rivers, and one we usually associate with Western films.

However, it was the Romans, after their campaigns of conquest, who took the most advantage of this natural resource:

“Consequently [Octavian Augustus] ordered that the soil be exploited. Thus the Astures, striving to excavate the land for the benefit of others, began to know its resources and riches.” (Florus II, 33).

The author who has given us the most details about the Roman exploitation of Asturian gold is the aforementioned Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his "Natural History." He is the only one who describes how the so-called "ruina montium" was carried out, which gave the Las Médulas site in the El Bierzo region (León) its impressive appearance. He also explains the construction work on the hundreds of kilometers of canals and the enormous water reservoirs that can still be seen near the summit of Mount Teleno.

“The procedure surpasses the work of the Giants; the mountains are excavated along a vast area is explored through galleries made by lamplight (…) and for many months daylight is not seen. This type of mining is called “arrugia.” Cracks frequently open up, dragging the miners down in the collapse (…) Hard rocks often appear; they break them with fire and vinegar, but most of the time, as this fills the galleries with steam and smoke, they break them with 150-pound iron hammers [a little over 40 kg]. And they carry them out on their shoulders, day and night, passing them from one to another through the darkness. Only the last ones see the light of day. (…)

There is a terrain, almost impenetrable, of a certain type of clay mixed with gravel. They attack it with iron wedges and the aforementioned hammers, and they believe that nothing is harder, except the hunger for gold, which is the hardest thing of all. 

Once the work is finished, they demolish the arch supports, starting with the last one. (...) The mountain collapses with a prolonged roar, one that the human mind cannot conceive, while simultaneously unleashing an incredible gust of wind. [The miners] victoriously witness nature's collapse. However, they still have no gold. (...) Another similar and even more costly task is bringing streams of water to wash away these landslides, sometimes from the mountaintops, often from a distance of 100 miles. (...) It is convenient that the slope be calculated so that, rather than flowing, it runs; and for this reason, the water is brought from the highest areas. (...)

On the mountain ridges, reservoirs are excavated, two hundred feet on each side and about ten feet deep [approximately 60x60x3 m]. Within these, five drainage channels of about three square feet [approximately 90 cm2 ] are left, so that, once the outlets are opened, with the reservoir full, a torrent of such force rushes out, causing rocks to roll down (...)

There is still one more task to be done on the plain. Ditches are dug for the stream to flow through (…) which are covered at intervals with heather. It is a shrub similar to rosemary, rough, and which retains gold. The sides [of the ditches] are closed with planks, and in the uneven areas the channels are suspended. (…) The heather is dried, burned, and the ash is washed in a grassy channel so that the gold settles. (…)

Some have reported that Asturias, Gallaecia, and Lusitania thus exceed twenty thousand pounds of gold [more than 6,500 kg] each year, so that Asturias produces the greatest quantity. And this abundance is not sustained for so long anywhere else in the world.”

All these works mentioned by Pliny left their mark on the landscape: in addition to the aforementioned pools on the peaks of Teleno, researchers have already documented more than 600 kilometers of canals in the province of León alone, making them the largest hydraulic engineering project in the entire history of the Roman Empire. But besides panning and panning, gold was also extracted through gallery mines excavated in the rock, as can still be seen in some places in Ancares and especially in Llamas de La Cabrera.

The Astures were aware of their wealth and worked gold to create splendid diadems, torques (a type of rigid Celtic necklace), fibulae (pin brooches for fastening clothing before buttons were invented), bracelets, necklaces, and more.

Fortunately, we have finds such as the impressive Asturian treasure of Arrabalde (Zamora) or that of San Martín de Torres (León), which offer us a good sample of their art. This art appears to have been influenced by Celtiberian and Extremaduran goldsmithing, although it also possesses many original and unique features.

Gold mining practically disappeared in Asturian lands in the 3rd century, but it is not true that this abandonment was likely due to the depletion of the deposits, as large quantities of gold still remain there today. This abandonment was probably caused by the discovery of the fabulous deposits of Dacia (incorporated into the Empire by Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century), which were much easier and cheaper to exploit than those of Asturia.

Furthermore, as the Empire declined, it must have become increasingly difficult to maintain the infrastructure and the legions of workers needed to build and maintain the canals, mines, and so on.

The Astures also worked other metals: they extracted copper from mines like La Profunda (Cármenes, León) to forge swords and cauldrons. They usually reserved iron for tools, although they began to use it more commonly after the Roman conquest.

Some thoughts on the Astures.

In the study of history, something very curious happens: our minds are accustomed to current administrative frameworks, and that's why it's common to find provincial, regional, and other museums that conform to those parameters. The administrations are well aware of this and don't hesitate to cut or expand (or even invent) whatever is necessary to make historical events fit within their corresponding framework. This is common practice in the so-called "historical communities," but also in other autonomous communities and even in much smaller administrations, such as provincial ones. Historical reality is quite different, since the territories and administrative divisions of past centuries almost never coincide with those of today.

In any case, due to this lack of historical perspective, the Astures suffer a double blow today. On the one hand, a veritable "law of silence" has fallen upon them in the Meseta Central, making it difficult to find references to them even in reports of treasures and excavations of distinctly Asturian hill forts. Instead, more convenient terms for the current regional framework are used, such as "Celtiberians," and their name is erased from provincial and regional museums and school textbooks.

Some archaeologists and researchers minimize their importance as a people, claiming that they were in reality a conglomeration of tribes with practically no cohesion. Leaving aside the fact that the same could be said of most of the pre-Roman peoples of Hispania, this opinion contrasts with the evidence from the period and with the fact that they were the last to be conquered. At a popular level, both the people of León and Zamora are unaware of their Asturian past. At most they have heard of "the Celts", that historical category that encompasses practically all of Western Europe.

On the other hand, and also reflecting this mental bias, the Astures suffer a completely different kind of attack from Asturias. There, unlike in León and Zamora, their hill forts are indeed being excavated and researched, but it is increasingly common for some Asturian historians, archaeologists, and popularizers to confine the Astures solely to the area north of the Cantabrian Mountains, practically coinciding with the borders of the Principality. They thus "forget" the Augustan Astures, where their capital in Roman times was located (Asturica Augusta, the future Astorga), and where the bulk of their population almost certainly resided. This oversight is even more striking when we remember that the Astura River, which gave them their name, flows entirely through the provinces of León and Zamora. And, as I mentioned earlier, it is quite a mental challenge to overcome current administrative boundaries, especially given all the propaganda and educational work carried out by our administrations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

-BARTOLOMÉ, Nicolás. “Mitoloxía popular del reinu de L.lión”. León, 2013.
-CAÑAS NAVARRO, Pedro. Aspectos jurídicos del censo romano. EN “Revista de Derecho
UNED, nº4”. 2009. Págs. 103-138.
-CARO BAROJA, Julio. “Los pueblos de España”. Madrid, 2000.
-ESTRABÓN. “Geografía de Iberia”. Madrid, 2007.
-FERRER DÍEZ, María. “Los hijos del Esla. La Asturia en la Segunda Edad del Hierro”. León,
2015.
-GARCÍA DORY, Miguel Ángel. “Asturcón, caballo de los astures”. Oviedo, 1980
-GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, Sonia María. El pacto de los zoelae y su repercusión en el ordenamiento
social y territorial de los astures. EN “Argutorio. Año 2, n.º 3”. Astorga, 1999. Págs. 27-28.
-GONZÁLEZ, Miguel Ángel. “Teleno: señor del laberinto, del rayo y de la muerte. Un estudio
etnoarqueoastronómico para el estudio de los santuarios antiguos del corazón de la Asturia”. León,
2011.
-MORALEJO, José Luis. Ni “astur” ni “astures”, sino “ástur” y “ástures”. EN “Boletín del Instituto
de Estudios Asturianos, nº90-91”. Oviedo, 1977. Págs. 363-372.
-PEREA CAVEDA, Alicia, y SÁNCHEZ-PALENCIA, F. Javier. “Arqueología del oro astur:
orfebrería y minería”. Oviedo, 1998.
-SANZ VILLA, Juan Ramón. “Los dioses astures”. León, 1996.
-PÉREZ GONZÁLEZ, Maurilio y MATÍAS RODRÍGUEZ, Roberto. Plinio y la minería aurífera
romana: nueva traducción e interpretación de PLIN.Nat.33,66-78. EN “Cuadernos de filología
clásica: Estudios latinos, vol. 28, nº1”. Madrid, 2008. Págs. 43-58.
-VV.AA. “Lancia 1. Cántabros y astures”. León, 1983.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION: THE BACKGROUND OF THE LEONESE KINGDOM

1.Pre-Roman Peoples: Asturians, Vettons and Vaccei.

There were three main peoples settled in the lands where the Kingdom of Leon will appear one thousand years later.

• The Asturians, who belonged to the North´s Peoples with the Galaecians and the Cantabrians. They occupied the most part of the actual Provinces of Asturias, Leon and Zamora. They had very primitive economic structures, and were collectivists. The Asturians were a matriarchy in several ways, and today there are still remains of this in the rural areas. Edward Gibbon said: “Of the native barbarians, the Celtiberians were the most powerful, as the Cantabrians and Asturians proved the most obstinate. Confident in the strength of their mountains, they were the last who submitted to the arms of Rome, and the first who threw off the yoke of the Arabs”. The Asturians were seated to both sides of the Cantabric Mountain Chain up to the River Duero, and they received their name from the River Astura (currently River Esla, in the Provinces of Leon and Zamora). In the Middle Ages, this name of the river became “Estula”, then “Estola”, and, finally, “Esla”. Ironically, nowadays only the North part of this Asturian land receives the name of “Asturias”. The Asturians were divided by the Cantabric Mountain Chain in Transmontane Asturians (actual Province of Asturias) and Augustan Asturians (actual Province of Leon, and the North half of Zamora).
  

• The Vettons, related with the Lusitanians and Vaccei, had a very primitive pastoral structure. During the celtiberization process they began to build fortified towns endowed with moats, walls and towers called “castros”, and they began to cremate their deads. One of the artistic manifestations of the vettones are the “verracos”, sculptures of bulls and pigs, and even in some occasions, boars, that were spread by all their territory. Their borders are bad known, but a part of the Vettons lived in the actual Province of Salamanca. Their main settlements in the future Kingdom of Leon were Helmantica (today the city of Salamanca), Bletisa (Ledesma), and Mirobriga (Ciudad Rodrigo). It´s thought that they had contacs with the Phoenicians.
  

• To the East, the Vaccei occupied the central part of the North Plateau (the "Tierra de Campos", that means "Land of Fields"). Although strongly “celtiberized”, they maintained an agrarian economy of communal type, corresponding to an archaic although more evolved Indo-European basis than the most western socioeconomic structures. In the actual Province of Leon, there was a settlement of Vaccei called Viminatium ("Terradillos" at present); and in Zamora they lived in Oceloduri (close to the city of Zamora), and Intercatia (Villanueva del Campo). Their houses were rounded. It seems that this people were attacked periodically by the Asturians, who hadn't a good agriculture and suffered hunger periods. It's said that the Vaccei subjugated to the Vettons: so, Helmantica (Salamanca at the present time) sometimes is mentioned like Vetton and sometimes like Vaccei. Only a portion of the land of this Pre-Roman people will be a part of the main Kingdom of Leon.

There were more peoples in small places of the future Kingdom of Leon, as the Cantabrians (in the North-East corner of the Province of Leon), and the Lusitanians (South-West corner of Salamanca), but we will focus on the Asturians, because their land will be the first resistence center against the Arabs, and will give rise to the Kingdom of Asturias, and then to the Kingdom of Leon.

Pre-Roman Peoples in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula. The borders are very doubtful in most cases.The red arrows represent the attacks from one people to another. The white shape is the shape of the actual Kingdom of Leon. Author: R.Chao 2006