A History of Spain
1 total work
This text charts 1000 years of Spanish history, from the 10th century BC to the Roman conquest. In recent years, the archaeological data on the first millenium BC in Spain have significantly changed our understanding of the period. Drawing extensively on this research, the author examines how during this period Spain gradually changed from a country of similar economic standing to the rest of Bronze Age Europe to a region opened up through its growing contacts with the more advanced Eastern Mediterranean, and transformed into one of the Western classical cultures. The "Prehistory of Spain" charts the increase in the Atlantic metal trade during the Bronze Age and the diverse cultural interchanges between the different regions in Spain. The book then looks at the "Tartessic Culture" and the influence of both Phoenician colonists and Greek merchants. Finally, the author examines the development of Iberian cultures during the period 500-280 BC. During this period a strong Hellinic influence flourished on the south and east, but the author shows that the differences between "civilized" Iberia and the rest of the country were very strong.