Lusitanians

Origins

The Lusitanians lived between the Douro and the Tagus, in central Portugal and the neighbouring parts of Extremadura, emerging as a recognisable people in the second half of the first millennium BCE. They spoke Lusitanian, an Indo-European language known from a handful of inscriptions in Latin letters, such as those of Cabeço das Fráguas.

Rule and society

Lusitanian society was organised in clans and hillfort communities, with warrior bands under chosen leaders and a herding and farming economy in the uplands. Raiding into the richer south was a constant feature. They worshipped local gods such as Bandua and Endovelicus, and their warriors fought in light, mobile formations that troubled Roman legions.

Decline and legacy

After raids from 155 BCE, the Roman praetor Galba massacred thousands under a false truce in 150 BCE. Viriathus, a survivor, led resistance until he was assassinated in 139 BCE, after which resistance collapsed. Their land later became the Roman province of Lusitania, a name later revived as a poetic name for Portugal.