The Iberians (Latin: Hibērī, from Greek: Ίβηρες, Iberes) were a set of people

that Greek and Roman sources (among others, Hecataeus of

Miletus, Avienus, Herodotus and Strabo) identified with that name in the eastern and
southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. The Roman
sources also use the term Hispani to refer to the Iberians.
The term Iberian, as used by the ancient authors, had two distinct meanings. One, more
general, referred to all the populations of the Iberian peninsula without regard to ethnic
differences (Pre-Indo-European, Celts and non-Celtic Indo-Europeans). The other, more
restricted ethnic sense and the one dealt with in this article, refers to the people living in
the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, which by the 6th century BC
had absorbed cultural influences from the Phoenicians and the Greeks.[1] This pre-Indo-
European cultural group spoke the Iberian language from the 7th to the 1st century BC.
Other peoples possibly related to the Iberians are the Vascones and the Aquitani. The
rest of the peninsula, in the northern, central, and northwestern areas, was inhabited
by Celts or Celtiberians groups and the possibly Pre-Celtic or Proto-Celtic Indo-
European Lusitanians, Vettones, and the Turdetani.
Due to their military qualities, as of the 5th century BC Iberian soldiers were
frequently deployed in battles in Italy, Greece and especially on Sicily.
The Iberian culture developed from the 6th century BC, and perhaps as early as the fifth
to the third millennium BC in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula.[2]
[3][4] The Iberians lived in villages and oppida (fortified settlements) and their communities
were based on a tribal organization. The Iberians in the Spanish Levant were more
urbanized than their neighbors in the central and northwestern regions of the Iberian
peninsula. The peoples in the central and northwest regions were mostly Celtic, semi-
pastoral and lived in scattered villages, though they also had a few fortified towns
like Numantia.[5] They had a knowledge of writing, metalworking, including bronze,
and agricultural techniques.
Settlements[edit]

Ancient silver vessel from the Tivissa Treasure, c. 500 BC. Archaeology Museum of Catalonia
 Iberian relief, Mausoleum of Pozo Moro, 6th century BC, showing Hittite influence

In the centuries preceding Carthaginian and Roman conquest, Iberian settlements grew
in social complexity, exhibiting evidence of social stratification and urbanization. This
process was probably aided by trading contacts with the Phoenicians, Greeks,
and Carthaginians. By the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC a series of important social
changes led to the consolidation of an aristocracy and the emergence of a clientele
system. "This new political system led, among other things, to cities and towns that
centered around these leaders, also known as territorial nucleation. In this context,
the oppidum or fortified Iberian town became the centre of reference in the landscape
and the political space."[6]
The settlement of Castellet de Banyoles in Tivissa was one of the most important ancient
Iberian settlements in the north eastern part of the Iberian peninsula that was discovered
in 1912. Also, the 'Treasure of Tivissa', a unique collection of silver Iberian votive
offerings was found here in 1927.[7]
Lucentum was another ancient Iberian settlement, as well as Castelldefels Castle.
Mausoleum of Pozo Moro near the town of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in Castile-La
Mancha seems to mark the location of another big settlement.
Sagunto is the location of an ancient Iberian and later Roman city of Saguntum, where a
big fortress was built in the 5th century BC.
Greek colonists made the first historical reference to the Iberians in the 6th century BC.
They defined Iberians as non-Celtic peoples south of the Ebro river (Iber). The Greeks
also dubbed as "Iberians" another people in the Caucasus region, currently known
as Caucasian Iberians. It is thought that there is no connection between the two peoples.
The Iberians traded extensively with other Mediterranean cultures. Iberian pottery and
metalwork has been found in France, Italy, and North Africa. The Iberians had extensive
contact with Greek colonists in the Spanish colonies of Emporion, Rhode,
and Hemeroskopeion. The Iberians may have adopted some of the Greeks' artistic
techniques. Statues such as the Lady of Baza and the Lady of Elx are thought to have
been made by Iberians relatively well acquainted with Greek art. Thucydides stated that
one of the three original tribes of Sicily, the Sicani, were of Iberian origin, though "Iberian"
at the time could have included what we think of as Gaul.[8]
The Iberians also had contacts with the Phoenicians, who had established various
colonies in southern Andalucia. Their first colony on the Iberian Peninsula was founded in
1100 BC and was originally called Gadir, later renamed by the Romans
as Gades (modern Cádiz). Other Phoenician colonies in southern Iberia included Malaka
(Málaga), Sexi and Abdera.