tribal confederation · Iberia

Caristii

300 BCE – 19 BCE (approx.)

A small people of Bizkaia and Álava between the Deba and Nervión rivers, whose Roman town Veleia lay on the road to Gaul.

Origins

The Caristii lived in the later Iron Age between the Deba and Nervión rivers, in modern Bizkaia and northern Álava, flanked by the Autrigones and Varduli. Their language is unknown.

Rule and society

Their society of hillfort communities is little documented. Ptolemy names their towns as Suessatium, Tullica and Veleia, the last of which grew into the Roman town of Iruña-Veleia.

Decline and legacy

They came under Roman control as the conquest of the north was completed in 19 BCE and were absorbed into Hispania Tarraconensis.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

CaristiiHispania Tarraconensis 27 BCE – 472 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Caristii. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/caristii
MLA
“Caristii.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/caristii. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Caristii.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/caristii.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Caristii’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/caristii (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻