The Early Peoples of Spain

Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians

Iberians (4000? to 3500B.C.)

The Iberian Peninsula is a mast of land presently occupied by Spain and Portugal. The first known recorded peoples to have settled on this mast of land were the Iberians, hence the name. Given the geographic positions of the peninsula as it relates to North Africa, one theory is that the Iberians migrated from North Africa to the peninsula via the Strait of Gibraltar, some time between 4000 and 3500 B.C. The Strait of Gibraltar separates the rocks at the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula from that of the northernmost point of the coast of North Africa.

The Iberians were generally a short and dark skinned people who were primarily agriculturists; some were miners and metal workers. They were politically inclined and possessed a sophisticated written literature. They built villages and towns such as Cartenega, now Tarragana.

Knowledge of the Iberians’ existence was gained primarily from their coins and pottery. Many of the coins are inscribed with alphabet. The inscriptions were partly derived from the Phoenicians and Greeks. But most are in an older apparently indigenous script of unknown origin. Additionally, historical references to the Iberians were made by Greek colonists who had settled along the coast of the peninsular around the 6th century, B.C.

Phoenicians (1000B.C. to 500 B.C.)

Phoenicia is a narrow strip of territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The strip is designated as ancient and is about 200 miles long and 15 miles wide. To its east, are the Lebanon Mountains, its south, Mount Carmel and north, Kabir, which forms the northern boundary of Lebanon. It is located in what is now Lebanon. Its inhabitants were a unified civilization. They however were not a unified state. They were made up of groups of kingdoms of which Tyre and Sidon were the two dominant cities of their ruling power.

The Phoenicians were called Sidonians in the Old Testament. Homer, the Greek poet referred to them as the “Semites” related to the Canaanites of Ancient Palestine. Phoenicians were the first notable shipbuilders. And thus, they were traders and sailors of their time, B.C. They sailed throughout the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. The Phoenicians came to the Iberian Peninsula as traders around 1000B.C. They developed a flourishing trade and colonies. Over 400 years they built cities such as Cadiz and Malaga. The alphabet was the most significant contribution they made to civilization. Less significant was the purple dye, the invention of glass, the manufacture of textiles, and metal works.