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.
I. THE ASTURES.
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 Asturii 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.
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