city state · Iberia
Saguntum
Origins
Saguntum, called Arse by its inhabitants, grew in the 5th century BCE on a long rocky hill above the Palancia river, near the coast north of Valencia, within the Edetanian world. Greek writers wrongly believed it had been founded by settlers from Zakynthos.
Rule and society
It was a prosperous Iberian town trading by sea with Greeks and Phoenicians and minting silver coins with the legend Arse. In the 220s BCE it made an alliance with Rome, though it lay south of the Ebro, the limit agreed between Rome and Hasdrubal in 226 BCE.
Decline and legacy
In 219 BCE Hannibal besieged Saguntum for eight months and took it, and Rome's declaration of war on Carthage followed. The Scipios recaptured the town in 212 BCE and restored its people. Saguntum flourished as a Roman municipium, whose theatre and walls still survive.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Saguntum was part of Edetani500 BCE – 219 BCE
- Saguntum was conquered by Barcid Iberia219 BCE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Saguntum. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saguntum
- MLA
- “Saguntum.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saguntum. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Saguntum.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saguntum.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Saguntum’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/saguntum (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻