History of The Basque People - Roman Rule

Roman Rule

On arrival of the Romans to current south-west France, the Pyrenees and its threshold up to Cantabria, the territory was occupied by a number of tribes, most of them non Indo-European (the nature of others remains fuzzy, e.g. the Caristii). The Vascones show the closest identification with current Basques, but evidence points to Basque-like people extending around the Pyrenees and up to the Garonne, as evidenced by Caesar´s testimony on his book De Bello Gallico, Aquitanian inscriptions (person and god names), and several place-names.

Most of the Aquitanian tribes were subjugated by Crasus, lieutenant of Caesar, in 65 BC. However, prior to this conquest (celebrated apparently, on the Tower of Urkulu), the Romans had reached the upper Ebro region at the beginning of the 2nd century BC, on the fringes of the Basque territory (Calagurris, Graccurris). Under Pompey in the 1st century BC, the Romans stationed in and founded Pompaelo (modern Pamplona, Iruñea in Basque) but Roman rule was not consolidated until the time of the Emperor Augustus. Its laxness suited the Basques well, allowing them to retain their traditional laws and leadership. Romanisation was limited on the lands of the current Basque Country closer to the Atlantic, while it was more intense on the Mediterranean basin. The survival of the separate Basque language has often been attributed to the fact that the Basque Country, as a poor region, was little developed by the Romans.

There was a significant Roman presence in the garrison of Pompaelo, a city south of the Pyrenees founded by and named after Pompey. Conquest of the area further west followed a fierce Roman campaign against the Cantabri (see Cantabrian Wars). There are archaeological remains from this period of garrisons protecting commercial routes all along the Ebro river, and along a Roman road between Asturica and Burdigala.

Many Basques joined the Roman legions, and were often deployed far away to guard the Empire. A unit of Varduli was stationed on Hadrian's Wall in the north of Britain for many years, and earned the title fida (faithful) for some now-forgotten service to the emperor. Romans apparently entered into alliances (foedera, singular foedus) with many local tribes, allowing them almost total autonomy within the Empire.

Livy mentions the natural division between the Ager and the Saltus Vasconum, i.e. between the fields of the Ebro basin and the mountains to the north. Historians agree that Romanization was significant in the fertile Ager but almost null in the Saltus, where Roman towns were scarce and generally small.

The Bagaudae seem to have produced a major impact on Basque history in the late Empire. In the late 4th century and throughout the 5th century, the Basque region from the Garonne to the Ebro escaped Roman control in the midst of revolts. Several Roman villas (Liédena, Ramalete) were burned to the ground. The proliferation of mints is interpreted as evidence for an inner limes around Vasconia, where coins were minted for the purpose of paying troops. After the fall of the Empire, the struggle against Rome's Visigoth allies continued.