tribal confederation · Iberia

Cerretani

500 BCE – 150 BCE (approx.)

The Pyrenean people of Cerdanya, famed in Roman times for their hams, whose name lives on in the Cerdanya valley.

Origins

The Cerretani occupied the high Pyrenean valley of Cerdanya and the upper Segre, today divided between Spain, France and Andorra. They probably spoke an Iberian language, and are recorded from the late Iron Age.

Rule and society

They lived from pastoralism and farming in the mountains, and Strabo noted that their hams were highly prized and profitable. Little is known of their political organisation. Their valley controlled routes across the Pyrenees between the Ebro basin and Gaul.

Decline and legacy

They came under Roman control in the 2nd century BCE as part of Hispania Citerior. Pliny the Elder names the Roman town of Iulia Libica, modern Llívia, in their territory, and the name of the people survives in the region of Cerdanya.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

CerretaniHispania Citerior 197 BCE – 27 BCE

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻