[Preview] The Lusitani
The Lusitani
Overview:
The Lusitanians were a people formed by several tribes that lived between the rivers Douro and Tagus, in most of today's Beira and Estremadura regions of central Portugal, and some areas of the Extremadura region (Spain).They were a tribal confederation, not a single political entity; each tribe had its own territory and was independent, and formed by smaller clans. However, they had a cultural sense of unity and a common name for the tribes.Each tribe was ruled by its own tribal aristocracy and chief. Many members of the Lusitanian tribal aristocracy were warriors as happened in many other pre-Roman peoples of the Iron Age.Only when an external threat occurred did the different tribes politically unite, as happened at the time of the Roman conquest of their territory when Viriathus became the single leader of the Lusitanian tribes. Kaukainos (or Caucenus) was another important Lusitanian chief before the Roman conquest. He ruled the Lusitanians (before Viriathus) for some time, leading the tribes in the resistance against Carthaginian attempts of conquest, and was successful.
Ancient Romans, such as Pliny the Elder and Varro (cited by Pliny), speculated that the name Lusitania was of Roman origin, as when Pliny says "lusum enim Liberi Patris aut lyssam cum eo bacchantium nomen dedisse Lusitaniae et Pana praefectum eius universae": that Lusitania takes its name from the Lusus associated with Bacchus and the Lyssa of his Bacchantes, and that Pan is its governor. Lusus is usually translated as "game" or "play", while lyssa is a borrowing from the Greek λυσσα, "frenzy" or "rage", and sometimes rage personified; for later poets, Lusus and Lyssa become flesh-and-blood companions (even children) of Bacchus. Luís de Camões' Os Lusíadas, which portrays Lusus as the founder of Lusitania, extends these ideas, which have no connection with modern etymology.
In his work, "Geography", the classical geographer Strabo suggests a change had occurred in the use of the name "Lusitanian". He mentions a group who had once been called "Lusitanians" living north of the Douro river but were called in his day "Callacans".
Classical sources also mention Lusitanian leader Viriathus as the leader of the Celtiberians, in their war against the Romans. The Greco-Roman historian Diodorus Siculus attributed them a name of a Germanic tribe: "Those who are called Lusitanians are the bravest of all Cimbri". The Lusitanians were also called Belitanians, according to the diviner Artemidorus. Strabo differentiated the Lusitanians from the Iberian tribes. Pliny the Elder and Pomponius Mela distinguished the Lusitanians from neighboring Celtic groups in their geographical writings.
Categorising Lusitanian culture generally, including the language, is proving difficult. Some believe it was essentially a pre-Celtic Iberian culture with substantial Celtic influences, while others argue that it was an essentially Celtic culture with strong indigenous pre-Celtic influences.
The Lusitanians worshiped various gods in a very diverse polytheism, using animal sacrifice. They represented their gods and warriors in rudimentary sculpture. Endovelicus was the most important god: his cult eventually spread across the Iberian peninsula and beyond, to the rest of the Roman Empire and his cult was maintained until the fifth century; he was the god of public health and safety. The goddess Ataegina was especially popular in the south; as the goddess of rebirth (spring), fertility, nature, and cure, she was identified with Proserpina during the Roman era.
The Lusitanians were considered by historians to be particularly adept at guerrilla warfare. The strongest amongst them were selected to defend the populace in mountainous sites. They used hooked saunions made of iron, and wielded swords and helmets like those of the Celtiberians. They threw their darts from some distance, yet often hit their marks and wounded them deeply. Being active and nimble warriors, they would pursue their enemies and decapitate them.In times of peace, they had a particular style of dancing, which required great agility and nimbleness of the legs and thighs. In times of war, they marched in time, until they were ready to charge the enemy.
In 194 BCE, war first broke out between the Romans and the Lusitanians, who were an autonomous people. By 179, the Romans had mostly succeeded in pacifying the region and signed a peace treaty. In 155, a major revolt was reignited under the leadership of Punicus, who allied with the Vettones. Caesarus succeeded after Punicus's death. Another warlord, Caucenus, made war against the Romans in the region south of Tagus down to North Africa.
The praetor Servius Sulpicius Galba and the proconsul Lucius Licinius Lucullus arrived in 151 and began the process of subduing the local population. Galba betrayed the Lusitanian people he had invited to peace talks and had roughly 10,000 massacred in 150, thus ending the first phase of the war. This would be later proven to have been a costly mistake as the Lusitanians became embittered and began open warfare against Rome and its allies. Not only that, but future Lusitanian leader Viriathus had escaped alive from the massacre, having now developed a vendetta against Rome.
In 146, the Lusitanians elected Viriathus after rescuing a great number of Lusitanian warriors pinned down by a Roman Legion after reminding them of Rome's betrayal three years prior and convincing them not to accept any Roman offers. Upon preying on the Legions unwillingness to break formation, he succeeded in saving the entire band from massacre or capture, an incredible feat. With this success he was elected leader by the Lusitanian tribesmen. Viriathus was to gain renown throughout the Roman world as a guerrilla fighter. In the words of Theodor Mommsen, "It seemed as if, in that thoroughly prosaic age, one of the Homeric heroes had reappeared." In 145, the general Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus campaigned successfully against the Lusitanians, but failed in his attempts to arrest Viriathus. In 143, Viriathus formed a league against Rome with several Celtic tribes, for resisting the Romans and getting revenge against them for the betrayal and massacre three years previously.
Eight years later after having become leader of the Lusitanians in 139 BCE, Viriathus was killed in his sleep by three of his companions (they were Tartessians, Lusitanian allies), Audax, Ditalcus and Minurus. The three men had escaped by the time the Lusitanians discovered the death of their leader. Unable to avenge him they instead held feasts, gladiator battles and a grand funeral. These three men who had been sent as emissaries to the Romans had been bribed by Marcus Popillius Laenas into betraying their mission. The popular story of their fate has Roman general Servilius Caepio having them executed, declaring "Rome does not pay traitors."
After the death of Viriatus, the Lusitanians kept fighting under the leadership of Tautalus (Greek: Τάυταλος), but gradually acquired Roman culture and language; the Lusitanian cities, in a manner similar to those of the rest of the Romanised Iberian peninsula, eventually gained the status of "Citizens of Rome".
This faction overhaul will be released with 1.2
Units
This faction overhaul adds 18 new units to the Lusitani. Here are some pictures of the unique units:
Spear Infantry
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Melee Infantry
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Missile Infantry
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Cavalry
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Sources and credits:
Men at Arms Series, 180
Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula
An Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time. 22. VI. Chapter XII, Section I: The History of the Celtes. T. Osborne, A. Millar, and J. Osborn.
some unit names and parts of their descriptions from Europa Barbarorum
Miri82 for some great models and textures - check his amazing iberian units mod
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Originally Posted by suras333
