The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a pre-Roman Celtic people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania (specifically in Castile and León).
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👉 Vaccaei in the context of Salamanca
Salamanca (Spanish: [salaˈmaŋka] ) is a municipality and city in the autonomous community of Castile and León in Spain, and the capital of the province of Salamanca. Attached to the comarca of Campo Charro, the city lies on the northern half of the Meseta Central, in the western-central part of the Iberian Peninsula, straddling the Tormes river. As of 2024, with a population of 144,458, Salamanca is the 46th-largest city in Spain.
The Iron Age hilltop site of Cerro de San Vicente on the right bank of the Tormes is considered as the first human settlement in the current-day city. By the 3rd century BCE, the urban settlement in the nearby Teso de las Catedrales had consolidated, under the influence of Vaccaei and Vettones. Following Roman subjugation, the indigenous oppidum gradually became the Roman civitas of Salmantica. Little is known of the history of the place after the Migration Period. Christian settlement took hold in the 11th century under Raymond of Burgundy. For much of its history, Salamanca has been a college town linked to the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest in Western Europe, whose germ was founded in 1218 as a studium generale, holding the status of university since 1254. It acquired a great deal of recognition in the 16th century for the intellectual production of the so-called School of Salamanca. In addition, the city has also recently developed as a centre for Spanish-language learning.
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Vaccaei in the context of Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticised peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BC. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strabo). These tribes spoke the Celtiberian language and wrote it by adapting the Iberian alphabet, in the form of the Celtiberian script. The numerous inscriptions that have been discovered, some of them extensive, have enabled scholars to classify the Celtiberian language as a Celtic language, one of the Hispano-Celtic (also known as Iberian Celtic) languages that were spoken in pre-Roman and early Roman Iberia. Archaeologically, many elements link Celtiberians with Celts in Central Europe, but also show large differences with both the Hallstatt culture and La Tène culture.
There is no complete agreement on the exact definition of Celtiberians among classical authors, nor modern scholars. The Ebro river clearly divides the Celtiberian areas from non-Indo-European speaking peoples. In other directions, the demarcation is less clear. Most scholars include the Arevaci, Pellendones, Belli, Titti and Lusones as Celtiberian tribes, and occasionally the Berones, Vaccaei, Carpetani, Olcades or Lobetani.
Vaccaei in the context of Arevaci
The Arevaci or Aravaci (Arevakos, Arvatkos or Areukas in the Greek sources), were a Celtic people who settled in the central Meseta of northern Hispania and dominated most of Celtiberia from the 4th to late 2nd centuries BC. The Vaccaei were their allies.
Vaccaei in the context of Valladolid
Valladolid (/ˌvælədəˈlɪd/ VAL-ə-də-LID; Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið] ) is a city in Spain and the largest city as well as primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of Valladolid. With a population of 299,816, it is the 13th largest municipality in Spain.
The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers 15 km (9.3 mi) before they join the Duero, surrounded by winegrowing areas. The area was settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and then by Romans themselves. The settlement was purportedly founded after 1072, growing in prominence within the context of the Crown of Castile, being endowed with fairs and different institutions such as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancellery and a royal mint.
Vaccaei in the context of Lucius Licinius Lucullus (consul 151 BC)
Lucius Licinius Lucullus was a Roman politician who became consul in 151 BC.
Lucullus was sent to Hispania Citerior (Nearer Spain, on the east coast of Hispania) when the senate rejected a proposal for a peace treaty with the Celtiberians by Marcus Claudius Marcellus to end the Numantine War (154–152 BC). However, Marcellus went ahead with his plan and quickly concluded a treaty before Lucullus got there. Lucullus was disappointed and, "being greedy of fame and needing money because he was in straitened circumstances", he attacked the Vaccaei, a Celtiberian tribe which lived further north and who were not at war with Rome, and did so without the authorisation of the senate. He claimed that they had mistreated the Carpetani as an excuse.