ROMAN SPAIN, 206 B.C.-409 A.D.
[Sidenote: Importance of the Roman occupation.]
Undoubtedly the greatest single fact in the history of Spain was the
long Roman occupation, lasting more than six centuries. All that Spain
is or has done in the world can be traced in greatest measure to the
Latin civilization which the organizing genius of Rome was able to graft
upon her. Nevertheless, the history of Spain in the Roman period does
not differ in its essentials from that of the Roman world at large,
wherefore it may be passed over, with only a brief indication of events
and conditions in Spain and a bare hint at the workings and content of
Latin civilization in general.
[Sidenote: The Roman conquest.]
The Romans had not intended to effect a thorough conquest of Spain, but
the inevitable law of expansion forced them to attempt it, unless they
wished to surrender what they had gained, leaving themselves once more
exposed to danger from that quarter. The more civilized east and south
submitted easily to the Roman rule, but the tribes of the centre, north,
and west opposed a most vigorous and persistent resistance. The war
lasted three centuries, but may be divided into three periods, in each
of which the Romans appeared to better advantage than in the preceding,
until at length the powerful effects of Roman organization were already
making themselves felt over all the land, even before the end of the
wars.
[Sidenote: The military conquest.]
The first of these periods began while the Carthaginians were still in
the peninsula, and lasted for upwards of seventy years. This was an era
of bitter and often temporarily successful resistance to Rome,--a matter
which taxed the resources of the Roman Republic heavily. The very lack
of union of the Spanish peoples tended to prolong the conflict, since
any tribe might make war, then peace, and war again, with the result
that no conquests, aside from those in the east and south, were ever
secure. The type of warfare was also difficult for the Roman legionaries
to cope with, for the Spaniards fought in small groups, taking advantage
of their knowledge of the country to cut off detachments or to surprise
larger forces when they were not in the best position to fight. These
military methods, employed by Spaniards many times in their history,
have been given, very appropriately, a Spanish name,--_guerrilla_
(little war). Service in Spain came to be the most dreaded of all by the
Roman troops, and several times Roman soldiers refused to go to the
peninsula, or to fight when they got there, all of which encouraged the
Spanish tribes to continue the revolt. The Romans employed harsh methods
against those who resisted them, levelling their city walls and towers,
selling prisoners of war into slavery, and imposing heavy taxes on
conquered towns. They often displayed an almost inhuman brutality and
treachery, which probably harmed their cause rather than helped it. Two
incidents stand out as the most important in this period, and they
illustrate the way in which the Romans conducted the war,--the wars of
the Romans against the Lusitanians and against the city of Numantia in
the middle years of the second century B.C.
[Sidenote: Viriatus.]
The Roman leader Galba had been defeated by the Lusitanians, whereupon
he resorted to an unworthy stratagem to reduce them. He granted them a
favorable peace, and then when they were returning to their homes
unprepared for an attack he fell upon them, and mercilessly put them to
death. He could not kill them all, however, and a determined few
gathered about a shepherd named Viriatus to renew the war. Viriatus was
a man of exceptional military talent, and he was able to reconquer a
great part of western and central Spain. For eight or nine years he
hurled back army after army sent against him, until at length the Roman
general Servilianus recognized the independence of the lands in the
control of Viriatus. The Roman government disavowed the act of
Servilianus, and sent out another general, Cæpio by name, who procured
the assassination of Viriatus. Thereafter, the Lusitanians were unable
to maintain an effective resistance, and they were obliged to take up
their abode in lands where they could be more easily controlled should
they again attempt a revolt.
[Sidenote: The wars of Numantia.]
Meanwhile, the wars of Numantia, which date from the year 152 B.C., were
still going on. Numantia was a city on the Douro near the present town
of Soria, and seems to have been at that time the centre, or capital, of
a powerful confederation. Around this city occurred the principal
incidents of the war in central Spain, although the fighting went on
elsewhere as well. Four times the Roman armies were utterly defeated and
obliged to grant peace, but on each occasion their treaties were
disavowed by the government or else the Roman generals declined to abide
by their own terms. Finally, Rome sent Scipio Æmilianus, her best
officer, with a great army to bring the war to an end. This general
contrived to reach the walls of Numantia, and was so skilful in his
methods that the city was cut off from its water-supply and even from
the hope of outside help. The Numantines therefore asked for terms, but
the conditions offered were so harsh that they resolved to burn the city
and fight to the death. This they did, killing themselves if they did
not fall in battle. Thus ended the Numantine wars at a date placed
variously from 134 to 132 B.C. The most serious part of the fighting was
now over.
[Sidenote: Sertorius.]
In the next period, lasting more than a hundred years, there were not a
few native revolts against the Romans, but the principal characteristic
of the era was the part which Spain played in the domestic strife of the
Roman Republic. Spain had already become sufficiently Romanized to be
the most important Roman province. When the party of Sulla triumphed
over that of Marius in Rome, Sertorius, a partisan of the latter, had to
flee from Italy, and made his way to Spain and thence to Africa. In 81
B.C. he returned to Spain, and put himself at the head of what purported
to be a revolt against Rome. Part Spanish in blood he was able to
attract the natives to his standard as well as the Romans in Spain who
were opposed to Sulla, and in a short time he became master of most of
the peninsula. He was far from desiring a restoration of native
independence, however, but wished, through Spain, to overthrow the
Sullan party in Rome. The real significance of his revolt was that it
facilitated the Romanization of the country, for Sertorius introduced
Roman civilization under the guise of a war against the Roman state. His
governmental administration was based on that of Rome, and his principal
officials were either Romans or part Roman in blood. He also founded
schools in which the teachers were Greeks and Romans. It was natural
that not a few of the natives should view with displeasure the secondary
place allotted to them and their customs and to their hopes of
independence. Several of the Roman officers with Sertorius also became
discontented, whether through envy or ambition. Thus it was that the
famous Roman general Pompey was at length able to gain a victory by
treachery which he could not achieve by force of arms. A price was put
on Sertorius’ head, and he was assassinated in 72 B.C. by some of his
companions in arms, as Viriatus had been before him. In the course of
the next year Pompey was able to subject the entire region formerly
ruled by Sertorius. In the war between Cæsar and Pompey, commencing in
49 B.C., Spain twice served as a battle-ground where Cæsar gained great
victories over the partisans of his enemy, at Ilerda (modern Lérida) in
49, and at Munda (near Ronda) in 45 B.C. It is noteworthy that by this
time a Cæsar could seek his Roman enemy in Spain, without paying great
heed to the native peoples. The north and northwest were not wholly
subdued however. This task was left to the victor in the next period of
civil strife at Rome, Octavius, who became the Emperor Augustus. His
general, Agrippa, finally suppressed the peoples of the northern coasts,
just prior to the beginning of the Christian era.
[Sidenote: Invasions from Africa.]
For another hundred years there were minor uprisings, after which there
followed, so far as the internal affairs of the peninsula were
concerned, the long Roman peace. On several occasions there were
invasions from the outside, once by the Franks in the north, and various
times by peoples from Africa. The latter are the more noteworthy. In
all, or nearly all, of the wars chronicled thus far troops from northern
Africa were engaged, while the same region was a stronghold for pirates
who sailed the Spanish coasts. A large body of Berbers successfully
invaded the peninsula between 170 and 180 A.D., but they were at length
dislodged. This danger from Africa has been one of the permanent factors
in the history of Spain, not only at the time of the great Moslem
invasion of the eighth century, but also before that and since, down to
the present day.
[Sidenote: The Romanization of Spain.]
Administratively, Spain was divided into, first two provinces (197
B.C.), then three (probably in 15 or 14 B.C.), and four (216 A.D.), and
at length five provinces (under Diocletian),[6] but the principal basis
of the Roman conquest and control and the entering wedge for Roman
civilization was the city, or town. In the towns there were elements
which were of Roman blood, at least in part, as well as the purely
indigenous peoples, who sooner or later came under the Roman influence.
Rome sent not only armies to conquer the natives but also laborers to
work in the mines. Lands, too, were allotted to her veteran soldiers,
who often married native women, and brought up their children as Romans.
Then there was the natural attraction of the superior Roman
civilization, causing it to be imitated, and eventually acquired, by
those who were not of Roman blood. The Roman cities were distinguished
from one another according to the national elements of which they were
formed, and the conquered or allied cities also had their different sets
of rights and duties, but in all cases the result was the same,--the
acceptance of Roman civilization. In Andalusia and southern Portugal the
cities were completely Roman by the end of the first century, and
beginning with the second century the rural districts as well gradually
took on a Roman character. Romanization of the east was a little longer
delayed, except in the great cities, which were early won over. The
centre and north were the most conservatively persistent in their
indigenous customs, but even there the cities along the Roman highways
imitated more and more the methods of their conquerors. It was the army,
especially in the early period, which made this possible. Its camps
became cities, just as occurred elsewhere in the empire,[7] and it both
maintained peace by force of arms, and ensured it when not engaged in
campaigns by the construction of roads and other public works.
[Sidenote: The Roman gift to Spain.]
The gift of Rome to Spain and the world was twofold. In the first place
she gave what she herself had originated or brought to a point which was
farther advanced than that to which other peoples had attained, and
secondly she transmitted the civilization of other peoples with whom her
vast conquests had brought her into contact. Rome’s own contribution may
be summed up in two words,--_law_ and _administration_. Through these
factors, which had numerous ramifications, Rome gave the conquered
peoples peace, so that an advance in wealth and culture also became
possible. The details need not be mentioned here, especially since Roman
institutions will be discussed later in dealing with the evolution
toward national unity between 1252 and 1479. The process of
Romanization, however, was a slow one, not only as a result of the
native opposition to innovation, but also because Roman ideas themselves
were evolving through the centuries, not reaching their highest state,
perhaps, until the second century A.D. Spain was especially favored in
the legislation of the emperors, several of whom (Trajan, Hadrian, and
possibly Theodosius, who were also among the very greatest) were born in
the town of Itálica (near Seville), while a fourth, the philosopher
Marcus Aurelius, was of Spanish descent.
[Sidenote: Last years of the Roman rule.]
In the third and fourth centuries Spain suffered, like the rest of the
empire, from the factors which were bringing about the gradual
dissolution of imperial rule. Population declined, in part due to
plagues, and taxes increased; luxury and long peace had also softened
the people, so that the barbarians from the north of Europe, who had
never ceased to press against the Roman borders, found resistance to be
less and less effective. Indeed, the invaders were often more welcome
than not, so heavy had the weight of the laws become. The dying attempt
of Rome to bolster up her outworn administrative system is not a fact,
however, to which much space need be given in a history of Spain.
[Sidenote: Society in Roman Spain.]
In Spain as elsewhere there were a great many varying grades of society
during the period of Roman dominion. There were the aristocratic
patricians, the common people, or plebeians, and those held in
servitude. Each class had various sub-divisions, differing from one
another. Then, too, there were “colleges,” or guilds, of men engaged in
the same trade, or fraternities of a religious or funerary nature. The
difference in classes was accentuated in the closing days of the empire,
and hardened into something like a caste system, based on lack of equal
opportunity. Artisans, for example, were made subject to their trade in
perpetuity; the son of a carpenter had no choice in life but to become a
carpenter. Great as was the lack of both liberty and equality it did not
nearly approximate what it had been in more primitive times, and it was
even less burdensome than it was to be for centuries after the passing
of Rome. Indeed, Rome introduced many social principles which tended to
make mankind more and more free, and it is these ideas which are at the
base of modern social liberty. Most important among them, perhaps, was
that of the individualistic tendency of the Roman law. This operated to
destroy the bonds which subordinated the individual to the will of a
communal group; in particular, it substituted the individual for the
family, giving each man the liberty of following his own will, instead
of subjecting him forever to the family. The same concept manifested
itself in the Roman laws with reference to property. For example,
freedom of testament was introduced, releasing property from the fetters
by which it formerly had been bound.
[Sidenote: Beginnings of the Christian church in Spain.]
Even though Rome for a long time resisted it, she gave Christianity to
the world almost as surely as she did her Roman laws, for the very
extent and organization of the empire and the Roman tolerance (despite
the various persecutions of Christians) furnished the means by which the
Christian faith was enabled to gain a foothold. In the fourth century
the emperors gave the new religion their active support, and ensured its
victory over the opposing faiths. There is a tradition that Saint Paul
preached in Spain, but at any rate Christianity certainly existed there
in the second century, and in the third there were numerous Christian
communities.[8] The church was organized on the basis of the Roman
administrative districts, employing also the Roman methods and the Roman
law. Thus, through Rome, Spain gained another institution which was to
assist in the eventual development of her national unity and to play a
vital part in her subsequent history,--that of a common religion. In the
fourth century the church began to acquire those privileges which at a
later time were to furnish such a problem to the state. It was
authorized to receive inheritances; its clergy began to be granted
immunities,--exemptions from taxation, among others; and it was allowed
to have law courts of its own, with jurisdiction over many cases where
the church or the clergy were concerned. Church history in Spain during
this period centres largely around the first three councils of the
Spanish church. The first was held at Iliberis (Elvira) in 306, and
declared for the celibacy of the clergy, for up to that time priests had
been allowed to marry. The second, held at Saragossa in 380, dealt with
heresy. The third took place at Toledo in 400, and was very important,
for it unified the doctrine of the Christian communities of Spain on the
basis of the Catholic, or Nicene, creed. It was at this time, too, that
monasteries began to be founded in Spain. The church received no
financial aid from the state, but supported itself out of the proceeds
of its own wealth and the contributions of the faithful.
[Sidenote: Priscillianism.]
As in other parts of the Roman world, so too in Spain, heresies were
many and varied at this time. One of the most prominent of them,
Priscillianism, originated in Spain, taking its name from its
propounder, Priscillian. Priscillian was a Galician, who under the
influence of native beliefs set forth a new interpretation of
Christianity. He denied the mystery of the Trinity; claimed that the
world had been created by the Devil and was ruled by him, asserting that
this life was a punishment for souls which had sinned; defended the
transmigration of souls; held that wine was not necessary in the
celebration of the mass; and maintained that any Christian, whether a
priest or not, might celebrate religious sacraments. In addition he
propounded much else of a theological character which was not in accord
with Catholic Christianity. It was to condemn Priscillianism that the
Council of Saragossa was called. Nevertheless, this doctrine found favor
even among churchmen of high rank, and Priscillian himself became bishop
of Ávila. In the end he and his principal followers were put to death,
but it was three centuries before Priscillianism was completely stamped
out. In addition to this and other heresies the church had to combat the
religions which were already in existence when it entered the field,
such as Roman paganism and the indigenous faiths. It was eventually
successful, although many survivals of old beliefs were long existent in
the rural districts.
[Sidenote: Economic development and public works.]
The Romans continued the economic development of Spain on a greater
scale than their predecessors. Regions which the other peoples had not
reached were for the first time benefited by contact with a superior
civilization, and the materials which Spain was already able to supply
were diversified and improved. Although her wealth in agricultural and
pastoral products was very great, it was the mines which yielded the
richest profits. It is said that there were forty thousand miners at
Cartagena alone in the second century B.C. Commerce grew in proportion
to the development of wealth, and was facilitated in various ways, one
of which deserves special mention, for its effects were far wider than
those of mere commercial exchange. This was the building of public
works, and especially of roads, which permitted the peoples of Spain to
communicate freely with one another as never before. The roads were so
extraordinarily well made that some of them are still in use. The
majority date from the period of the empire, being built for military
reasons as one of the means of preserving peace. They formed a network,
crossing the peninsula in different directions, not two or three roads,
but many. The Romans also built magnificent bridges, which, like the
roads, still remain in whole or in part. Trade was fostered by the
checking of fraud and abuses through the application of the Roman laws
of property and of contract.
[Sidenote: Intellectual life and the fine arts.]
In general culture Spain also profited greatly from the Romans, for, if
the latter were not innovators outside the fields of law and government,
they had taken over much of the philosophy, science, literature, and the
arts of Greece, borrowing, too, from other peoples. The Romans had also
organized a system of public instruction as a means of disseminating
their culture, and this too they gave to Spain. The Spaniards were apt
pupils, and produced some of the leading men in Rome in various branches
of learning, among whom may be noted the philosopher Seneca, the
rhetorician Quintilian, the satirical poet Martial, and the epic poet
Lucan. The Spaniards of Cordova were especially prominent in poetry and
oratory, going so far as to impose their taste and style of speech on
conservative Rome. This shows how thoroughly Romanized certain parts of
the peninsula had become. In architecture the Romans had borrowed more
from the Etruscans than from the Greeks, getting from them the principle
of the vault and the round arch, by means of which they were able to
erect great buildings of considerable height. From the Greeks they took
over many decorative forms. Massiveness and strength were among the
leading characteristics of Roman architecture, and, due to them, many
Roman edifices have withstood the ravages of time. Especially notable
in Spain are the aqueducts, bridges, theatres, and amphitheatres which
have survived, but there are examples, also, of walls, temples,
triumphal arches, and tombs, while it is known that there were baths,
though none remain. In a wealthy civilization like the Roman it was
natural, too, that there should have been a great development of
sculpture, painting, and the industrial arts. The Roman type of city,
with its forum and with houses presenting a bare exterior and wealth
within, was adopted in Spain.
In some of the little practices of daily life the Spanish peoples
continued to follow the customs of their ancestors, but in broad
externals Spain had become as completely Roman as Rome herself.