tribal confederation · Iberia

Vaccaei

400 BCE – 56 BCE (approx.) · capital Intercatia

A Celtic people of the Douro plains famed for sharing out land and harvests collectively, who resisted Rome until the 1st century BCE.

Origins

The Vaccaei occupied the middle Douro valley, in modern Valladolid, Palencia, Zamora and Burgos, from about the 4th century BCE. Their towns included Intercatia, Pallantia, Cauca and Pintia.

Rule and society

Diodorus records that they divided their land each year by lot, pooled the harvest and gave each family its share, punishing hoarding with death. They lived in large towns on the open cereal plains, and the cemetery of Las Ruedas at Pintia shows a warrior elite. They spoke a Celtic language.

Decline and legacy

Hannibal raided them in 220 BCE. In 151 BCE Lucullus massacred the people of Cauca, and later Pallantia withstood several Roman sieges. The Vaccaei fought on into the 1st century BCE, last rising in 56 BCE, before being absorbed into Hispania Citerior.

Lineage

VaccaeiHispania Citerior 197 BCE – 27 BCE

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻