Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus - Conquest of The Western Iberian Peninsula

Conquest of The Western Iberian Peninsula

Brutus led the Roman legions in the conquest of western Iberia after the death of Viriathus, chieftain of the Lusitanians and the defeat of his successor, Tantalus by Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 140 BC).

In his conquest, he scored major victories in the south of modern Portugal, before going on to the north. He had the city of Olissipo (modern Lisbon) fortified and advanced to the north, destroying settlements as he went.

The city of Talabriga (current day Marnel, near Águeda) was taken, a fortified position was established at Vissaium (Viseu), the Douro river was crossed and the Lima river was reached by 137 BC. Ultimately, according to Strabo, Brutus reached the Minho River.

At the end of Brutus' campaigns, Rome controlled the territory between the Douro and Minho rivers plus probable extensions along the coast and in the interior. It was only under Augustus, however, at the end of the 1st century BC, that present north Portugal and Galicia were fully pacified and under Roman control.

Read more about this topic:  Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus

Famous quotes containing the words conquest of the, conquest of, conquest and/or western:

    The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.
    Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)

    An educational method that shall have liberty as its basis must intervene to help the child to a conquest of liberty. That is to say, his training must be such as shall help him to diminish as much as possible the social bonds which limit his activity.
    Maria Montessori (1870–1952)

    The great social adventure of America is no longer the conquest of the wilderness but the absorption of fifty different peoples.
    Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)

    In the woods in a winter afternoon one will see as readily the origin of the stained glass window, with which Gothic cathedrals are adorned, in the colors of the western sky seen through the bare and crossing branches of the forest.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)