Pujades Book II

Pujades Chronicle of Catalonia 1609

### Chapter 1

*In which it refers to how Spain was divided into nations, and the names of them in Catalonia.*

1. As times change, governments tend to change, and according to what is varied in them, human dispositions also tend to change, as events and their causes require. For this reason, as a result of this work, the Government and Lordship of Spain was already moving; and that of what was a Government, a Kingdom, a Lordship and a Head, many divisions were made into various Lordships and Governments: it seems right to me to begin at this point a new book and chapter, dividing the new regime of the old government: however continuing the canvas begun with this new sample, in the following manner and form.

2. Good King Abidis had died, although Justin says that his successors possessed the kingdoms of Spain for many years, as no memory can be found, and all other writers agree that no legitimate children, heirs, or successors survived him, as Medina says, we must follow the common opinion, which says that many novelties, hatreds, resentments and divisions among the natives of the earth happened in Spain. And not having been able to come, as Viladamor says, or as Florian writes, because each one wanted to occupy all that he could in the lordship; some for being perhaps relatives of Abidis, and the others for freedom; and some because they are presumed capable for the government, or for other reasons that are ignored due to the antiquity of time, as Medina says, were divided into particular nations and governments: of which Pineda also mentions. And Mtro Florian says that although the writers give us news of the people who remained in Spain distributed in small provinces, such as heads of lineages, and others with higher offices and positions of republics, according to the use of time they could then teach them; however, very few of them declare the names they had, neither their feats nor their deeds. And Viladamor says that although the historians do not declare the mode of government of Spain, it is understood from them that it was divided into particular nations, in the manner of provinces. And for this reason Viladamor himself took the trouble to clearly identify the most important nations of Catalonia, Roussillon and Cerdanya; and he puts their names in the following form: Ceretans Roussilions Indicets Betulons Lacetans Sedetans Suessetans Cosetans Ilergets Acetans Ilercahons Ausetans.

3. The terms and territories of the named twelve nations are described by Viladamor himself in the following way. The *Ceretans*, he points out that they were the same that Cerdaña has today: and that is how it seems that Ptolemy understood it, when he said that Julia Líbica was from the Ceretans; for today we find a Libya in Cerdanya as I have said above. From here it can be seen that these were the Ceretan peoples. Master Pedro Juan Nuñez De situ Orbis, and the Bishop of Gerona say that Libya belonged to the Ceretans in the Pyrenees: all of which proves what we have said. Mostly that even today if we want to use the Latin language, we name the entire land of Cerdana Ceritania, which is so clear that there is no need for proof. And whoever wants to see it with more punctuality, will find it at length reading our most learned Micer Antonio Oliva, in the Epistle ad patriam et lares, which is before the treatise he has made on the Usatge, Alium namque: where it seems that it almost means that the land took its name from what is today called Torre Cerdaña. I do not know if for being the first population of the Ceretans, or for what other reason. And before going on further, it is good to warn the reader that from all this it follows that Ambrosio de Morales erred when he said that Ceret was the head of the towns of Cerdaña: ​​because Ceret is not in Cerdanya but in Roussillon, on the left hand side of Boló; which is still from Vallespir. What should have made Morales err, perhaps was the assonance of the name Ceret and Ceretans: and also that Libya was named Julia, as Ptolemy named her, and Ceret was also named Julia, as will be read below in the fourth book, chapter 34. And so Morales erring, he would easily say that Ceret is in Cerdanya, and that he is the head of the Ceretans: which is a mistake, as can be seen from what is referred to here. And no one wants to defend it, saying that of our Francisco Calza it seems that the Ceretans and those of Cerdaña are diverse, because making mention of some towns in Catalonia, he says like this: Emporitans, Ceretans, Sardanos. Because to this I answer that Calza did not write it divided, but is joint in this way: Ceretans Sardanos, as if to say Ceretans, who also named Sardanos. Of which Pomponio Mela mentions, who, speaking of the Thelis and Ticis rivers, says that they come down from Sardano: and Thelis or Thetim is the one called Ruscion, according to the Bishop of Gerona.

4. The *Roussilions*, our Viladamor says, were the same ones that Roussillon has today, going down the sea coast, from La Grau to Cap de Creus, and from the sea to Mount Canigó: named after the river Ruscion, according to the Bishop of Gerona. And these same I think are the ones who named Rusinos, after the Rusino colony: of which Pomponius Mela mentions. This specific colony Gerónimo Olivario will be the same one that today is called Perpignan, a town that is the head of Roussillon, of whose foundation we will speak some chapters later: but I doubt that the explanation that Olivario makes is correct. And I will not attribute it to another fault, but only to not being practical of the land. Well, I understand that the Rusino colony, as Francisco Compte says, was there and is the same thing that today is called Castell Roselló, built in the tongue of a hill, which starts from Perpignan, and is flattening little more than a quarter of a league towards the sea on the way to Canet; and in that castle today one can only see a tower of lime and sand, and three or four houses, with a chapel of St. Rufina. And all the pilots on earth know that this is the head of the County of Roussillon, although the Royal Court, Ministers, and the exercise of Justice are in Perpignan. With this foundation I am persuaded that this castle was the head of the Russinos or Roussilions peoples, which after moving for some time the word have been called and are called Roussillon. And because it was so close to Perpignan, some thought that everything was the same thing; and then I have seen that the Bishop of Gerona writes it as I had thought. Others name these towns Sensuats; of which I will speak in the third book in chapters 69 and 70.

[The proper name of this tribe seems to have been the Sordones, as Rousillon is a much later name.]

5. The *Indicets* or Indigets, according to what Viladamor says, were on the sea coast, from Cap de Creus to the city of Betulonia, which today is named Badalona, as we have said above in the first book, chapter sixteen. But I think it is wrong; because Florian de Ocampo, which is according to what we will say below, does not give them territory, but from Cap de Creus to where the ancients said it was the Sambroca or Sambuca river, which they placed on the side here of Empurias, without arriving by much at Betulonia, rather meeting with Gerundenses or with those of Gerona, who were of the Ausetans towns according to Ptolemy; although Nuñez puts them with the Indicets.

6. The *Betulons* and *Laletans*, Viladamor himself says that they were the towns on the sea coast from Badalona to the mouth of the Ebro river: comprising the cities of Barcelona and Tarragona. And he is completely wrong: because neither the other writers give terms to the Betulons, nor the Laletans had lands near the Ebro, as will be seen below when speaking of the Cosetans. Of these Laletans or Lacetans, Micer Gerónimo Pau says that the city of Barcelona was head: whence Lucio Marinéo took the occasion to say that Laletania was the entire principality of Catalonia. Beuter writes that the Lacetans peoples ranged from Llobregat to the lands of Gerona; and that extended from La Joncária through Báscara and Gerona to Llobregat. But it was a manifest error; inasmuch as Florian gives these borders to the Gerundenses, saying that they were inland, and that they were with the Indicets. And so Beuter is corrected with this, and with what Morales says in the Antiquities of Spain in the chapter on Lacetania; because in it he says that Lacetania was from Llobregat through the marina and coast of Levante, until meeting the Gerundenses beyond Blanes. And so the Betulons, either did not have borders, or were included in the Lacetans: and I believe that this is the total concord of this, as it seems from Ptolemy who places Betulo in the Lacetans villages, and the Gerundenses with the Ausetans. And thus the Indicets and Ausetans were bordering: and the Lacetans reached the Gerundenses, who belonged to the Ausetans, ending up in the river of Tordera, according to what the Bishop of Gerona writes. And although Morales warns that in Pliny it is read many times that the Lacetans were in the Pyrenees, some have for certain that it is the mistake of the one who copied the originals; because where Lacetans said he had to say Yacetans for the city of Jaca, which is where we said in the first book, chapter 34. And while Morales himself believes it was not a mistake, and that it is right to say Lacetans, and that these would be different from the Laletans; I follow the other opinion: because, as it seems from Ptolemy and Livy, and from an ancient stone that from Aulus Mevius below will be put in its place; it is clear that the Lacetans were those of the marina and coast already designated: and the Laletans were very different, as we will say in the third book, chapter 51. And what Morales writes, I think he means about the Acetans, who were between the Ilergets and Cosetans, inland to Jaca.

7. And because here, when we begin to talk about the Betulons and Lacetans, we have made mention of the Joncária, for greater clarity of these things, it should be noted that in Catalonia there is a memory of the Joncária in two different places. The first is where today we find the Junquera, on the foot of the Pyrenees mountain, of which Florian and others mentioned above speak; and we will deal with it in chapters 11 and 12 of this second book. The second place in the Joncaria is mentioned by Mtro Pedro Juan Nuñez, saying that Antonino in his Itinerary puts it near Barcelona; and Nuñez explains that it is what was formerly called Aquae Vaconis, and that today we call it Caldes de Malavella. But I think he is mistaken, because Caldes de Malavella is in the Gerundenses, a league from Llagostera, and ten or eleven from Barcelona. And if this Joncaria is near Barcelona, ​​it will undoubtedly be the parish of Junqueras in the Vallés de la Bailía de Tarrasa, next to the municipality of Sabadell. And this being so, it will be good in the end of the Lacetans, and they later to meet the Ausetans and Gerundenses: and thus there would be no contradiction in the writers, but only the error of Beuter, who taking here the one Joncaria for the other, stretched the Lacetans more than it should have. And finally, Nuñez says that the Lacetans extended into the land from S Julian and S Cristóbal de Llizá to Bagá (formerly named Bacassium) and on the western side they reached Martorell.

8. The *Sedetans* and *Suessetans* were next to the valleys of Cerdana, Conflent and Roussillon, as Compte writes, or along the sea coast from Ebro to Poniente, and through the rest of Catalonia and part of the kingdom of Valencia, according to Viladamor himself. And Florian puts the limits of the Suessetans in the mountain, in the confines of Navarra and Aragon; and Garibay specifying them, says that they were those who today are from the Sanguesa merindad. Morales says that they were those who are now from Zaragoza in Aragon, and that those who say they were in the Cancellería de Tarragona are wrong, because they do not have to say Sedetans, but Edetans: of which he says that the city of Edeta was the capital. And he makes the Suessetans and Sedetans different: because having placed some in Aragon, as I have said, he says that the Suessetans or Suetans were the same as the Consentans or Cositans, and that they were in the Tarragona region, and that Florian he erred when he said what we have written here with his authority.

9. This is what our Micer Gerónimo Pau said in his Barcinona; although Florian rebukes him. But Marineo says that Vilafranca de Panadés was from the Suesans villages. And so it seems confirmed that the Suessetans, Susetans or Suesans were around the contours of Tarragona, since Vilafranca is at a distance of six leagues. Master Pedro Juan Nuñez, setting the limits to those of Suessetania, says that they were from Llobregat to Ebro, including Tibisa with them: despite the fact that the Bishop of Gerona gave all this to the Ilercahons.

[The Suessetans are the only Celtic, that is Celtiberian tribe listed here; the remainder are all now thought to have been speakers of the ancient Iberian language of Catalonia, which was non Indo-European.]

10. The *Cosetans* or Consentans, otherwise named Cositans, were those who inhabited from the mouth of Llobregat to Ebro, along the marina and coast from Levante to Poniente, according to Viladamor. Which although he was contrary to himself, for having already attributed this land to the Betulons and Lacetans, nevertheless in the Cosetans he is correct. They had this marina, and through the upper part of the Ebro that enters Catalonia, they took a journey to Llobregat, to the part that falls on the mountain of Monserrate, as Florian writes. And the very literate Antonio Agustin, the most worthy Archbishop of Tarragona, seems to have the same sentiment; which explaining to Hermoláo Bárbaro, on the third chapter of the third book of Pliny, says: Tarraco urbs Cositanorum; which means: Tarragona, city of the Cositans peoples. From which it is inferred that Tarragona was within the limits of these towns, which had to spread in the parties already indicated. And go for warned what we have said that Morales wants, that is, that these and the Suessetans were all one; although the Bishop of Gerona wants these Cosetans to be those of Urgél, Cardona and Pallás.

11. The *Acetans*, Viladamor says they were the ones who bordered the Cosetans and Ilergets inland, entering within Aragon, up to the city of Jaca; of which Pliny also makes mention. And Ptolemy puts them between the Cosetans, Ilercahons, Ilergets, and Castellaunos.

12. The *Ilergets* began in Aragon, in the parts of the Galician river, and entered Catalonia by following the same river, until meeting the Ebro, and throughout the Segre river, having within it the cities of Urgél, Balaguér, Lérida, and others in Aragon, as Viladamor wants, and it seems from Ptolemy, and we have already pointed it out in some way higher in the first book, and more specifically it will be seen below in the third book. Master Juan Nuñez extends these towns to Berga, which he says was named Bergiolum. The Bishop of Gerona extends them to all of Navarre.

13. The *Llercahons* extended from the Cosetans to the Ceretans, comprising all the land that today is called Castellbó, and its regions, per Viladamor. But I think there is a mistake; because already in the first book, chapter 14, following Beuter, we gave these peoples a different place, saying that they were between Ídubeda, Millas and Ebro, the entire shoreline of the sea. And it is so, according to what Ptolemy says, and to the statement that Pliny gives them: all agreeing that Llerchaosa or Ilercacosa, or Lercosa was the capital of these peoples. Of which city I have already said (in the first book, chapters 11 and 14) that Beuter writes, saying it is Tortosa. And it's true; because as we will say in the third book, Beuter himself extends these towns to Burriana and Castelló de la Plana in the kingdom of Valencia. And Master Pedro Juan Nuñez also agrees with all of these, although he does not extend them as much as Beuter.

14. The *Ausetans* were from Llobregat, which divided them from the Cosetans, until they found the Indicets, pulling inland, including everything that belongs to the Vich lands, according to Viladamor. And so it is seen that what we have said above comes in handy, that the Gerundenses were included with these peoples, who were in the middle of the Lacetans and Indicets. And so Mtro Pedro Juan Nuñez places Gerona and Bañólas (formerly Bacula) and Aquæ Calidæ, which today is Arles, for Ausetans towns.

In this way Viladamor says that Catalonia was divided at that time we are talking about, this is after the death of King Abidis.

15. And even if it is true that those nations and peoples were, as it is found that they were, in this land, it is nevertheless to be noted that at this time and point where the thread of our history is, Catalonia was not yet divided in this way; Well, if it is not from the Betulons, Ceretans, Ilergets, Ilercahons, Lacetans and Ausetans, we have not yet found a memory of the others. However, this will serve one thing, and that is that when we find memory of those peoples, nations or peoples, we will not have to stop to put their borders, but rather refer to this chapter, in which, as in the epilogue, they are all summarized; and for this, there are other peoples that are the following: Penos or Fenizos. Portusios Bergusios Bergitans Castellaunos.

16. The *Penos*, says the Bishop of Gerona, were those of the Penedes. And certainly, either these were included with the Sedetans and Cosetans, or according to the times the names had to vary.

17. Pedro Antonio Beuter, speaking of the *Bergusios*, says that they were what today are called *Portusios*, and Garibay says the same: and in Titus Livius, as I will notice below in chapter 31, we find them also named Bergusios. And Beuter says that the terms of these extended to Perepertusa, which is in the Pyrenees, as we saw in the first chapter fifth book. And perhaps it would be more true that the Pertusios were those of Pertusa, than those of Portús. And the reason is, because the Portús is too far removed from the Roussilions, Ausetans, and Indicets; and for this same reason these towns from Portús could not pass to Pertusa, because there was so much land in the middle of Roussillon, Vallespir and Conflent; Or else, they had to be completely understood with the others, as I have said above about the Betulons and Gerundenses.

18. The *Bergitans* says Viladamor that they were those from the land of Berga, who today are called Bergadans: which Nuñez says were included with the Ilergets, as he has already said.

19. Florian de Ocampo makes mention of the *Castellaunos*, and I think he found it in Ptolemy; who says they comprised the towns of Sebedunun, Bassi, Beseda and Egosa. And our most literate Francisco Calza declares that these Castellaunos were the towns that are today the Duchy of Cardona. But the Bishop of Gerona puts them with the Cosetans. And Master Pedro Juan Nuñez says that these towns were those of the Viscounty of Bas. And so those places that Ptolemy names Bassi and Egosa, he says are Bas and Engosa, and in this interpretation he agrees with the Bishop of Gerona. The reason why they named these peoples that way, is not found written; if it is not what Calza says, they were named that way because of the multitude of castles that existed in all that place. Of which even today there are many ruins.

### Chapter 2

*Treating on the great drought of Spain, which caused its depopulation, and how it was repopulated.*

1. Because of the great division that historians point out, and we have said that there was in those times in Spain due to the ambition to reign, many tyrannies could not but be followed, and great sins were committed. And this was undoubtedly the motive that aroused the wrath of God; and just as He had already once punished the world with the general flooding of the waters of the Deluge, He later sent the punishment for the opposite term on miserable Spain, making her suffer the greatest drought that is read to have happened in the world. Of which mention Pedro Antonio Beuter, Florian de Ocampo, Mtro Pedro Medina, Antonio Viladamor, Damian Goes, Felipe Garcia, and others referred by Micer Luis Pons de Icart and Estéban Garibay. From which and from our Canon Francisco Tarafa it is deduced that it happened in the following way.

2. A short time after Kings were absent in Spain, as prosperity is usually followed by adversity, and as we usually say, the days of pleasure and contentment are the eve of sorrow; in the year 1030 before the coming of Christ our Lord, and in 1133 after the population of Spain, a little more or less, the great drought began to be felt in it due to lack of rain, and of other running waters. I have already said elsewhere (first book chapter twenty-one) that some put this drought long before; and that other authors already referred to put it in this place, saying that it not only lasted one year, two and three, if it lasted 26 years; in which not only did it not rain, but not even the slightest dew fell. And as with the course of so long, with so much lack of humidity, the heat of the earth grew, the extreme came to dry up all the streams of water, and little by little the fountains; so that in all Spain there was no river that carried water, but the Ebro and the Guadalquivir, which retained very little. This cause produced the corresponding effect; for the earth was entirely sterilized, lacking fruit absolutely, the trees dried up, and plants and other herbs were burned. This was followed by the fact that humanity lacking the means of subsistence, which is the precise food, they began to desert the land, first the poor: because the rich who had provisions in their homes delayed the flight, with the concept that the last extreme of misery would not come to them, always hoping that the rain would arrive at the right time: but it did not happen that way, and when hunger determined them to leave, they found the land full of open mouths, caused by the drought, and furious winds; so that they could not walk, and most of them were killed. The poor, as they escaped in time, some came to Italy, others to Africa and Mauritania, many to the neighboring islands, and most to the parts of Gascony and France. The lands where the drought caused the greatest damage were Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, Andalusia, and Portugal, because, as more southern, they participated more in the heat of the Sun.

3. In the Pyrenees mountains, Astúrias and Galicia, as more northern and fresh lands, they remained in some settlements, and also especially in the maritime parts, because they were provided with the means of subsisting on maritime traffic and trade. Read that some olive groves and pomegranates survived along the banks of the Ebro and Guadalquivir, which were still alive when Spain was repopulated. Many doubt that this drought was so absolute, and for as many years as it is said. But Florian, Fr Mariana and Garibay respond to them as sharply as they usually do on all occasions; and they bring examples of other droughts in other times, that although not so great or of so much duration, caused in Spain enough miseries (See chapter ten). And so Cárlos de Grasialo says that Spain is because of its unique situation. But let's get back to our purpose. God our Lord, who never takes His pious eyes off the face of the earth, took pity on the affliction of Spain (which would undoubtedly cry out with the prophet Isaiah: O Heavens! Throw down the dews from on high, and send the abundance of the waters upon me), and He watered it with great abundance, and satisfied it and filled it with fruit in the year 1040 before Christ, according to the account that we follow in this chapter. Because it began to pour rains on Spain, it was with such abundance and fulfillment, as His mercies and graces usually are, since it lasted three years that it almost continuously rained. And with this heavenly help, the earth became wet and green again, then populated with trees, plants and herbs, taking on the being it had lost.

4. The contentment that the news Spaniards received from this happiness can only be understood by those who have been absent from their beloved homeland, and have tried for some time what jobs are: and this is how they then began to return to Spain in the years 1033 or 1032 before Christ, but more fully in the year 1030. And not only did the Spaniards and their families return, but (to the fame of the ancient fertility of Spain, and with the hopes of recovering it) many families of those who collected them in their lands and houses. The writers agree to this, and that Catalonia and Aragon were the first provinces to be repopulated, due to the comfort of the Spaniards who had gone to Gascony and France, and many who had to come down from those who had retired to the fresh land, up in the Pyrenees mountains; and they were settled by the mountains of Idubeda, and by the banks of the river Ebro.

### Chapter 3.

*Treating on the first nations that came to Spain afterward, and how Iberia was renamed.*

1. Once the great drought of Spain had passed, and they returned to populate it, as the old towns were found almost ruined, they applied themselves with great efficiency to raise them up, and to build many of them again: so much so that, busy with these maneuvers, they did not stop to provide for it, that it suited their good government and regime of the land, which consisted in having a King to rule and govern them, as they always had before the death of the good King Abidis. The lack of rich and wise men, who are those who can claim and maintain the Royal State, who lost themselves on the roads, when they wanted to withdraw from Spain, contributed much to this laziness and lack of providence, as it is referred to: because not having those chiefs, the others were all simple people and busy with their work, foreigners with the ambition to reign, or to command one another, all happy, and each one respective, with the joy of seeing themselves in the beloved homeland. And this is, say Florian and Beuter, the only cause why they did not take care to choose a king; that the many nations that came to Spain might also have concurred, perhaps they would tyrannize it before the poor Spaniards had time to recognize themselves; or once they were recognized, it would be with confusion and division into peoples, nations and lineages, as we have read in the first chapter of this book.

2. Of the many nations that came to repopulate Spain, it seems that of the Almozudes or Almonides was the first; of which Florian, Diego de Valera and Alfonso de Cartagena speak in their Chronicles. And as for that nation, not only do I not read anything that was from Catalonia, before the Bishop of Gerona, Antonio de Nebrija and Blas Ortiz are in doubt that this nation came to Spain: for this I am only touching its coming, and note that, as some say, they left in Spain the use and custom of wearing robes and mourning dresses for the deceased, and putting coats of arms, flags, and other trophies on graves. Those who want to know whether or not this is profane among Christians, read Gerónimo Romá's Christian Republic.

[The name Almozudes seems to be derived from the Arabic name for the Vikings or Northmen who harried Spain in the 9th century AD. Despite this, some later Spanish accounts speak of a group of 'Almozudes' allegedly led by Brutus of Troy while en route to Britain, who landed at Corunna in Galicia and went on to found Toledo. This is seemingly fanciful, combining events and figures of disparate eras.]

3. So leaving the nation of the Almozudes, the most certain is that the Celtic Gauls by nickname Bracatos (so called for the underclothes or pants, which they used to cover the lower parts of the body) left Narbonne, Montpeller and Marseille, they were those who first entered Spain through the eastern parts of Catalonia, as more neighboring and in conformity with those they left behind; following the Spaniards who in the drought time had been in Gaul, and in the fertile time they returned to inhabit Spain: as Florian de Ocampo, Mariana and Viladamor write. And this would be the second coming of the Celts, according to what we said in the first book, chapter eleven.

4. The first lands that the Spanish inhabited and repopulated, as many of those already mentioned write, were the mountains and ranges of Idubeda, up to the banks of the Ebro; and on this occasion, having already forgotten the name of Hispanians that they had formerly had for King Hispan, they were re-named Iberians, as it means: living in the Ebro regions. The Celts who had followed these, or had come shortly after, with the great friendship they had, mingled with them, and then living together, in imitation of their ancestors, they were reappointed Celtiberians, as they had done in the time of King Hiberus, and I leave it said at length in the first book, chapter 12. And this was in the year 930 before Christ our Lord, according to Florian and Garibay. But what has given many writers much to think about is whether the coming and mixing of the Celts and Iberians was as old as we have put it in the first book, or if it was in those times. Finally, the Celtiberians having populated in the above-mentioned and other Eastern lands, and having multiplied prodigiously, they began to escape through the Western lands, pulling along the slopes of that mountain, up to the highest part of Moncayo, stretching ten or twelve leagues towards Aragon, where they founded many towns, which I omit to name them, because it seems to me to be apart of our history.

5. Canon Tarafa writes that there has been no shortage of people who said that in these times some Lydian princes and men came to Spain, who dominated it for 40 years: those who wrote this were moved by having found some settlements founded by them, but they do not say which they were.

[The *Supplement* has an entry for seven years after the fall of Troy, i.e. 1176 BC, "*The Lydians gained control of the sea.*" This would be around the end of Erythreus' and beginning of Gargoris' reign. Jerome likewise says for 1175 BC "*The Lydians controlled the sea.*" This is the year the Sea Peoples attacked Egypt. The next Jerome says controlled the sea were the Pelasgians in 1057 BC, 119 years later. However Eusebius, citing Diodorus, lists the "Lydians and Maeonians" (Maeonia being the same as Lydia) as the first of the Thalassocracies for 92 years, followed by the Pelasgians. Anderson has a nearly identical list of nations as ruling Spain, or part of it, starting with the Lydians who he says invaded in the 49th year of Hebides, according to him 1061 BC, and ruled Spain 48 years, which would be until 1013 BC, followed directly by the Thracians.

Since, aside from omitting the Pelasgians, Anderson's list is the same as that of Eusebius and Jerome of "Thalassocracies", it seems probable to me that control of part of Spain, probably at first the Pillars of Hercules with Baetia, went along with the title of "Thalassocracy". Therefore the Pelasgians should be added to the list of nations who nominally controlled Baetia between the Lydians and Thracians. Thus I date Lydian control of Baetia 1176-1057 BC (following Jerome), and that of the Pelasgians (who were the Peleset or Philistines, one of the Sea Peoples) 1057-1006 BC (again following Jerome's dates, although Eusebius gives them 85 years). The Pelasgian rule dropped out of Spanish accounts, though it is stated southern Spain was depopulated due to drought 1056-1030 BC, which must have limited Pelasgian settlement of the 'Thalassocratic fief'.]

6. And for the same reason he says that, since the settlement of Alba was found in our Catalonia, and Julius Ascanius, Aeneas' son, having founded the city of Alba in Italy around these times, they have thought that Ascanius also founded the town of Alba in our Catalonia, where later the much celebrated Empurias was, as we will see in book 2 chapter 13. From this settlement of Alba the argument is taken to say that Ascanius came to Spain. And given the etymology of his name, it is vulgarly said that in addition to Alba he founded Ascania in Catalonia, today Alcanár, and Ascó, syncopated and corrupted by the common people, changed from the name Ascanius. These settlements fall in the borders of the Ilercahons, the first in the extreme part of Catalonia, bordering the kingdom of Valencia, and the banks of the river Cenia, as I have said in the sixth chapter of the first book; and the other on the banks of the Ebro, of which in its place there will be occasion to speak. And as in those times the land was being settled by the banks of the Ebro, it is a sign that the opinion of the common people will not have had a beginning without some foundation.

7. Later the Thracians came, according to the same Tarafa, and built some cities: whose names I omit, because they do not belong to our history.

[Jerome says for 1006 BC "*The Thracians were third to control the sea, 19 years*". This would be to 987 BC. However, he also records "*The Thracians controlled the sea*" in 967 and 963 BC. The next to control the sea after them, the Rhodians, he places in 916 BC, 90 years after the first mention of Thracians. Eusebius says the Thracians were the third Thalassocracy for 79 years. However adding up all of Eusebius figures so far, assuming the correct start at 1176 BC, this brings us to 920 BC for the Rhodians. Anderson has the Thracians ruling part of Spain 86 years, which also brings us to 920 BC for the Rhodians assuming the Thracian Thalassocracy spanned the years 1006-920 BC, thus I take this as the best confirmation of the correct dates for them. Anderson also mentions Abdera in Baetia as built in their time, also the name of a city in Thrace.]

### Chapter 4

*Treating on the coming of the Rhodians: cities of theirs in Catalonia; and of the use of money.*

1. Later, or in this same season that we are talking about, the Rhodians also came to Spain, according to Florian, Medina, and Viladamor, Juan de Mariana, Tarafa, and others. It is true that Pedro Antonio Beuter puts the coming of the Phoenicians before that of the Rhodians: but I am still here the most common opinion, and of the Phoenicians I will speak below.

2. So that around the year 933 before the coming of Christ our Redeemer, and 1123 after the population of Spain according to Viladamor's account, the Greeks inhabited the island of Rhódes, which is part of Asia and the land which today is called Great Turkey, they were beginning to become powerful. And how afterwards they became famous and skilled in navigation, or better to say, how they became masters of the whole sea, so much so that for 23 years they left no ship that they did not set off or destroy; the parts of Europe were running. And when they reached those of Spain, it seemed to them that in order to move forward with that way of life that they used, and so that their power and dominion were increasing, it was convenient for them to have some parts of Spain, where they would repair both the fury and fierceness of the sea, as well as the necessary provisions, ammunition and supplies, and to be able to have better and easier contracting and trade with those of the land: for this they tried in some parts of the sea shore to build some castles or fortresses, and particularly in those branches or arms of the Pyrenees, in the place that today we call Rosas. Which, although foreign writers say that it is between France and Spain, those of the land certainly know that it is in Catalonia, in the County of Empurias, as I have explained above in the description of Spain, first book chapter four and five.

[Jerome, Eusebius and Anderson all agree that the Rhodians ruled the sea for the space of 23 years, which as I have calculated above began in 920 BC, and thus ended in 897 BC.]

So, the Rhodians having landed on that coast, and recognized the terrain, and seen that it was accommodated for what they wanted, they began in some way to build there. And some of the aforementioned historians say that the first building of the Rhodians was there where today the monastery of San Pedro de Rodas is; and that they went up there to be fortified, and guarded from the fierceness of the surrounding people of the earth, hoping that little by little they would become tractable and friendly. He moved the said authors to say this in the name of that house. But I believe that the reason for saying this is not having practice and knowledge of the land; because the monastery does not have the name because it was that place, where the Rhodians founded their first seat, but because of the place where it is, because all that mountain is called Rhodes. And finding myself an ordinary advisor, and General Commissioner of the County of Empurias, being those mountains of belongings of the County, I did some errands in search of any trace of this (See below book six, chapter eighty-two). And in many autos or writings of the Sacristy of that ancient monastery, and particularly in an ancient book or Lectionary, handwritten on parchment, where it is written how certain relics in those churches came, I have found that that tongue of the sea in front of the place de la Selva, and the monastery of S Pedro, between Llansá and Cap de Creus, and all those slopes of mountains that look out over the Levante sea, are called Armen Rodes, which although we want to grammar it, means the place where the Rhodians began to cultivate and plow the land with oxen. Because what Donato says is well known, and it is taken from the Commentaries of Julius Caesar, that the ancients, when they founded a city or town, joined a cow and an ox, and making them pull a plow, they passed a furrow there where there was to be the wall. And so, because the first furrow with a pair of oxen was pulled by the Rhodians (where I will soon say), to found the town or habitation of it, that place should have been named Armen Rodes. Or in this other way Arx moenium Rodis, as what says the fortress of the wall of Rhodes. So from this it is inferred without injury that the possessions and seats of the Rhodians were there; and that from here the mountain of Rhodes took its name. And the very place where they founded, I understand that it must have been in a plain, not far from the beach that is on the right hand side of the town called La Selva, inclined to the part of Cap de Creus, in whose plain there are still two or three country houses, divided and set apart from each other, and the site is called Puig Rodas: and there are some vestiges in it that denote being part of old buildings. And although Florian de Ocampo, a very curious researcher of these things, says that the population made by the Rhodians was a border to the one that later became the city of Empurias, so it seems it had to be in the parts of that mountain, on the slopes or skirts that look to the part of here, to the turn of the South and West; However, Florian does not claim any sign that indicates this, or that disables what I have said about Armen Rodas and Puig Rodas. Nor can it be said that the first settlement of the Rhodians was the town of Roses; because it was built later, as we shall soon see. This will be easily understood by the practitioners of the earth: and for the others it will be enough that they understand that it was so in one place or another. The certain thing is that some time later the Rhodians began to descend from the fortress and castle towards the part of the Medio at the foot of the coast, and near a tongue of the sea like a gulf or port that is made there. And there they built houses, fortified with people, repairs and the rest that was appropriate for their defense, and that of their ships. With this, and with the defense that they had on the eastern side with its castle or another fortress, they came to build such a beautiful town, which was soon famous and well-known, and they called it Rodope, and after the word was changed, it was called Roses. But it should be noted that that old Roses was in the valley of Peni, below the castle of Brufragaña: whose vestiges remain standing near what is now Roses, a quarter of a league from the shore of the sea, where the Parroquial is still located, old one of S Genis de Roses, although very ruined. But it is quite a testament to the ancient people who were there. Later, with time, by contracting and maritime commerce, they would be making farmhouses, and little by little it would become the town that today is called Roses, and is on the tongue of the water. Of whose settlement, in addition to the aforementioned authors, Antonio Nebrisense and Ambrosio de Morales make mention. And by conjectures they mean that it was the coming of the Rhodians in the year 910 before the coming of Christ, and thus Garibay assures it. So it would be the 23rd year of the mighty Rhodian lordship. And Garibay, Mariana and the Bishop of Gerona speaking of this town, say that in the time of the Goth Kings it was an episcopal city. I am amazed, because in other authors I have not read it, nor do I find any Council with the signature of such a city, at least that it can be said to be from there, if it was no longer from the city of Roda, of which we will speak at the end of this chapter.

3. So that Roses was founded, and its inhabitants being there, they began to contract and make friends with those of the land. And these friendships and contracts were established so much that because of them or because the dominance that the Rhodians had over the sea with their armies was diminishing, they often forgot to make long ships and navigations, as they did before, and only tried in to have transport boats, and to establish their establishment in that place. From deal to deal and from trade to trade it increased so much that they began to farm with those of the land, doing various things, and selling canopies, and teaching them to make wicker baskets and reed ropes, whereof that land abounds because of ponds. Until then, it had been customary in Spain to make the ties with leather straps, or with rods from soaked tree branches. And with good instruction, they also knew how to use the reeds, which by making them soak and crush like hemp, they spun and twisted them as is done today with hemp and flax, and with these ropes they began to tie what they wanted more comfortably than they used to do before. And after the experience proved the usefulness of that invention, the natives of the land came to buy them very frequently, and the contracting with the Rhodians grew, and very soon the ropes and baskets were made with such abundance, which were sent to other parts of the world. The Rhodians took those reeds in the pond near the town, and they also brought some portions of leagues higher up, where the abundance of them was so great that after a short time the land came to be named Joncária, as Lucio Marinéo says; and today they call it the Junquera. The Rhodians also taught the Spaniards the use of blood mills, which are those that are rolled by hand or with animals, large or small, and with them they began to grind wheat, barley and other grains. For although above I have said that Ceres and the king Abidis taught agriculture to the Spaniards, yet it is not read that until the time of the Rhodians they had learned to grind.

4. From all this contracting and trade, with the good manner that some had with the other, and with the good climate and healthy region concurring, so many Spaniards came to deal with them, and the people grew in such a way that the town increased much, and it became of consideration. And as it seems from the discourse of this story, and those versed in others know that the Greeks were always inclined to superstitions, frequently changing deities, religion and worship, they later built two temples there, which they dedicated one to Hercules, and the other to his feigned goddess Diana. Which were much visited and frequented, both by the Greeks themselves, as well as those who were natives of those parts of Spain. So much so that Florian says this temple of Diana competed with that other one that was founded by Zacinto's companions; and that these temples were built inside the first castle, which they founded when they came. And Beuter says that they were built where the monastery of S Pedro de Rodas is today, which is where Florian and the others thought the castle of the first foundation of the Rhodians had been. But it has already been seen above that the castle was not where Beuter thought, but elsewhere. However, the temples where the monastery is today could well be; for it does not prevent the substance of the fact that they were inside the castle, or two or three crossbow shots away from it, because if it was a flat road, the distance would be very short. Anyway these temples were here or there, the ceremonies with which they made the sacrifices in them, were little different from those of the other Greeks, except those of Hercules: to whom they sang lyrics and verses of curses, vilification, insults, reproaches, mockery and laughter, persuaded that in this way they gave Hercules their god or their demon. And the reason why they did it is written at length by Mariana, whom I am referring to. And Beuter says that the existence of those temples produced in Spain the detestable vice of doomsayers and superstitious people, those of Tamarite specifically slandered from this: that it can be inferred that this settlement was already founded at that time, although I have not found its origin. This must have come to those of Tamarite from the neighboring town that they had with the city of Roda, of which we will soon speak. And so I understand that when Beuter speaks of Tamarite here, he must understand that of the flat of Litera in the neighborhood of Ribagorza; and not the one near the city of Tarragona, and on the shore of the sea of ​​which Micer Pons de Icart speaks; and there you can see the alleged origin of it.

5. In addition to all this the Rhodians, who from their lands had brought coins made of various metals, with which they bought the merchandise and necessary things, buying, selling and using them among themselves, also wanted to introduce the use of them among the Spaniards, as they were already used in Asia, Greece, Africa, and other parts of the world. And just as I have already said in the first book, chapter nineteen, that at the time Hercules Líbicus came to Spain, wanting to put coin into use, it was not received nor did the people of the land want to admit it; the same thing also happened in the beginning to the Rhodians: because when they wanted to begin to deal with currency, our Spaniards in the beginning laughed and mocked, considering as great nonsense to change the fruits, clothes, footwear and properties, and other such merchandise. Which ones that they then used, because of so little being, such as a piece of metal made and marked with some figure or letters, with which they could not fit, clothe, or feed. Figuring for themselves that since each respective one was not enough to stock themselves with everything they needed, at least it was better to exchange some things for others, with the utility of one or the other, taking advantage of the one that gave and the one that received. For whose cause and reason many years passed, in which although the Greeks of Roses used the coins among themselves, our local Spaniards, who negotiated with them, did not admit them. But just as the Persians, as the lawyer Paulo says very well, noting that when some had what others wanted, they did not have what they lacked, to be able to arrange exchanges, deals, purchases and sales, they chose metals, or other matters, that with public and perpetual esteem had the value and effect of the things that they lacked, and with such matter could acquire what they wanted: Florian and Medina also say that the Spaniards of our land, after time, seeing the benefits of the use of coins accruing to the Rhodians, little by little they admitted them, as a public and special thing, with which all other things could be exchanged and could be achieved; and thus they began to use the coins. And all the writers affirm that since then the use of them remained in Spain; and that those of our Spaniards from the Rhodians' region were the first to use them in their trade and commerce.

[According to the best evidence, the first official widespread use of marked coins in the world was by the Lydians, some time after this, c. 609 BC. At this time, ingots of weighted metal (of varying purity), unmarked or with no standard marks, are thought to have been in general use as currency.]

6. With this, the Rhodians managed to grow friendship and affection with the Spanish; and thus they made a complete seat in Catalonia, and they settled many places in it and in France. And although of those of France we do not have a certain relation of which they were; by the conjecture of the name and etymology I would dare to say that the city of Roda (where today is the monastery of Vicente de Roda, which belonged to Canons Regular of the Order of S Agustin) was a settlement of those Rhodians: because in Catalonia we certainly have that that town was very old and populous, and a main city. And so our Dr Marquilles, glossing the *Usatges* of Barcelona, ​​among the cities of Catalonia places and names Roda. We also find the town of Rodes between Vich and Manresa; and in Osona on Vich, banks of the river Ter, to Roda. And it is to be believed that the Rhodians, who were as ingenious and cunning people as we have seen here, would try to expand and spread within the land, and have trade with the others within. And thus trying and conversing with those of the parts and mountains of the Ausetans and Llergets, little by little they would easily build those settlements. And since the transplanted plants prevail better than the natural ones, those transplanted from Rhodes to our Catalonia, and to the seashore, and from there to the mountains, would grow so much that those settlements could make, and among them one worthy of have the name of the city, as it is said; and I understand that Mariana and Garibay wanted to talk about this, when they said that Róses in the time of the Goths was an Episcopal city. Because of Roda we find that it was a city, and further down in the fourth book, chapter twelve, we will say when it began to have a Bishop: but of Roses we do not read such a thing, because it was very close to Empurias and Coblliure, which were Cathedrals.

### Chapter 5

*Treating on the great fire of the Pyrenees, and of the name of Vallespir, Conflent and Perpignan.*

1. Finding the things of Spain and our Catalonia at this point, and populated as much as before, in no time it would have been repaired from the damage caused by the great drought, and from other past adversities; there was a sudden fringe of great consideration: which if it had been general throughout the land, just as it was only in particular and in a single place, it would have been greater than how many calamities and adversities Spain had suffered. This misfortune was the great and memorable fire of the Cetubales mountains, later and now named Pyrenees. It is true that as I have said above in the first book, chapter 21, Berosus, Annius and Beuter say that that fire was during the life of King Hispan. But Florian de Ocampo, Mtro Medina, and Diego Perez in the Greatness of Spain, our Pedro Antonio Viladamor, and Mariana put it in this place; and thus, following the most common opinion of our Spaniards, I also refer to it in this season of times. And I will continue in the relation of the fact to all those mentioned, and to Pliny, Steven Forcátulus, Lucio Marinéo, the Bishop of Gerona, Juan Pineda and Estéban Garibay, who relate it in this way.

[On the basis of *Defloratio Berosi* the fire in the Pyrenees giving them their name occurred in the times of Celtes of Celtica, dated to around 1978 BC. Spanish histories however remember the fire as occuring at this time, over a millennium later.]

2. In the year 880 before the coming of Christ to the world. and 1383 of the population of Spain made by Tubal, a memorable case happened. In those days most of the traffic and commerce that men had consisted of herds of sheep and goats, as I have already said in the life of Tubal and in that of the tyrant Gerion. And as in the Cetubales mountains (today called Pyrenees) there was always a lot of grass, they were very frequented by shepherds, who grazed their cattle there.

3. Those who were at the top of that mountain, which in Catalonia we call Cap de Creus, set a fire so that the ashes would manure the earth, and thus new herbs would be born with more vigor and freshness. And since there were many dry branches they were lit promptly, and the fire spread from one side to the other, at the same time that the sea wind moved, and without noticing it the shepherds spread the fire throughout the mountain, and without being able to extinguish it. It stretched for many leagues from those Pyrenean mountains: and in them the fury of the fire was so great that even the rocks were kindled in many places, and great mouths were opened, burning even the roots of the trees. Burning in this way, fanning the flames with the wind, so many tongues of fire came out that it caused horror and dread. And neighboring peoples participated in them; for the historians referred to above say that there were few provinces of Spain, from where the flames were not seen and seen, and that some came to feel the burning of the fire, or to know it in the hot air. Not even the secret mines hidden in the bowels of the earth got rid of that furious element: because it penetrated until it melted their metals, which ran in streams from the highest of the mountains to the deepest valleys.

4. And from this very thing that we have just related, it is inferred to be true what is commonly said in Catalonia, that the blaze of that fire started at the tip of Cap de Creus, and from there it passed to the most distant part of Roussillon, between Cap de Creus and Coblliure; and that for this reason all those valleys and mountain slopes were called and named Vallispyrii, which is the whole land that today we name Vallespir: retaining almost the name itself, taking it from the etymology, as we will say later speaking of the name of the Pyrinee mountain. And they add that as fire made the secret mines melt from the bowels of the earth, and streams of gold, silver and other metals flowed: from here originated that part of that land was named Confluents, which today they call Conflent, also retaining the name quite honestly. It is taken from our Micer Gerónimo Pau, and it seems to be confirmed from what Estéban Forcátulo says referring to Diodorus, that the flow and current of metals was greater in Spain than in France: which is the same as we have said.

5. This great fire gave reason to the Greeks who lived in Spain and abroad, to name that mountain Pyrenees. Because pyr in that language means the same as in ours foch: and so pyrinéa, a thing of fire, fired, lit and burned. The name of which today still lasts for those mountains, and thus we name them Pyrenees or Pyrenees mountains.

6. Others, like Pliny, have wanted to say that this was not the reason for the names of those mountains as the Pyrenees, but because they were so high, and that many rays fell frequently on them. That in the end it would also take the name of fire; but I leave this longer for the philosophers. Some like Nuñez say that there was in Spain a maiden named Pirene; and that because she died in a certain part of those mountains (as I said in chapter 22 of the first book), for this reason they named Pyrenées: which Annius, Forcátulus and Antonio Nebrisense reprimand, and many men who have it as a fable, like other things said by the Greeks. The Chronicle of King D Alonso gives a different cause for this name, saying that there was in Spain a King named Pirrus, who, tired of reigning, retired to those mountains: and because he made some settlements in them, they were called Pyrenées: but this does not place to no historian, nor to learned men. Our Barcelona native Gerónimo Pau says that it seemed to him (in his opinion) that they were called the Pyrenees Mountains, because of the heights or peaks that are so sharp that they end in the shape of pyres or fires, in Castilian flames. Among so many opinions I will not know what to say more, but that all writers are serious, and the most lean to the first. And they agree that there the name of Cetubales ended, that those mountains had had since the coming of Tubal, and that from the burning onwards they were named Pyrenees, as they are named today.

7. To all these things Beuter adds that the name being left to the mountains because of the fire; on the same occasion, and in memory of that one, near the places where it had begun, a town was founded, which they later named Pyripeniana, and the word is now called Perpignan somewhat corrupted. This origin is also given by Francisco Compte, Annius, Berosus and Juan Pineda, and they say that some thought it was the foundation of Perpignan, at the time of the wars that we will say instead. Our Bishop of Gerona writes that this town is the one, which Antonino names in the Itinerary Stabulum, which according to the authority of Virgil in the eighth book of the Aeneid is the same as the place where the herds of cattle are gathered and locked up. And this is the same thing that the natives of that town say with different voices, when they say that a man, whose name was Perpiñan, made a room and a house there, and that next to it later little by little, due to the amenity of the place, they built others, until it became a great town, and with the continuation of time it became what it is today. They also point out the place or site where Perpignan made the first house, which is a square that today is called de las Sebes, which means of the Onions; and counting these things they show a pinecone in a corner of the house, alleging it by testimony of this opinion, as the blazon and insignia of the founder of Perpiñan. That in the end everything is to give the beginning of pastoral things, such as herds of cattle, ranchers or shepherds, that caused the fire. And so Francisco Compte has written that one of the shepherds, who after the fire began to live in cabins and have cattle pens in that place, was called Perpiñan: of which and from the fire the name of the town could remain. It is true that being so close to the Rusino people, as we have seen in the first chapter of this second book, and having been Rusino a Roman colony, as we will see below, I think that in those times Perpiñan would have been very little, and that it could not have a lot of renown until Rusino was destroyed. Of which I have found that even in the year 816 after the Nativity of Christ our Lord, it was standing and in good condition, as (if God serve to give me strength) I will show it in the second part of this Work that I am composing. Of such fidelity and constancy of Perpignan, it is not now the place to discuss, but it will show itself in its time, as is due. It is watered by the Latet river, and located in a flat, healthy, happy place, abundant in bread and soft wines, not far from the sea; the reason why it is provided in all fishing, and abundant in everything possible to be desired.

### Chapter 6

*Of the coming of the Phrygians and Phoenicians to Spain, and what happened to Teron.*

1. After the things I have referred to in Spain had passed, not because of the drought, nor because of the fire, strange nations stopped coming to her. Rather, it seems that the pieces of Spain were congratulations for the other provinces; and that they lured strangers to come to her. And just as after the drought the nations that are written above came, also after the fire other different nations came to her. And the first of whom I have found memory is that of the Phrygians, according to Tarafa, who were also named Trojans of Asia Minor. These were descendants of those Spanish Brigos, who passed to that province of Asia during the life of King Brigus. And Tarafa himself says that those of this coming populated a large part of the islands of Majorca and Menorca, and that they invented fishing nets there.

[Jerome and Eusebius agree that the Phrygians 'ruled the sea' for 25 years, starting in 892 BC according to Jerome (although he mentions the Cyprians following them in 865 BC, 27 years later). Anderson gives the Phrygians 26 years in Spain, in his scheme 907-881 BC. Stevens omits the Phrygians and Cypriots and says the Phoenicians came next after the Rhodians. As we saw, the Rhodians held the title until 897 BC, and the Phrygians' rule of 25 years thus lasted until 872 BC.

The Phrygians were also known as Brigi and Mushki, and then had a state in Anatolia.]

2. Tarafa himself also affirms that after the Phrygians the Cyprians came to Spain. And that reigning in it for 30 years they founded some populations, it is necessary to point out where.

[Eusebius says the Cyprians were the Thalassocracy next for 33 years, Jerome says 32 years starting from 865 BC, though he mentions the Phoenicians following them in 837 BC, only 28 years later. Anderson gives the Cyprians 39 years, 881-842 BC. Taking Eusebius' numbers as the most accurate here, I date the Cypriot rule of 33 years in Baetia 872-839 BC.

Cyprus was probably known as Alashia at this time. The Phoenicians of Tyre also occupied the region of Alashia around Kition around 872 BC.]

3. Touched above, we have pointed out Beuter that, before the fire in the Pyrenees, the nation of the Phoenicians came to Spain: but as Florian de Ocampo satisfying the contrary, and the canon Tarafa, Viladamor, Pedro Medina, Juan Mariana, S Agustin and Luis Vives say that these came after the fire; for this reason they put themselves in this place, adhering to the common opinion. I will follow it and Annius in the narrative, in this way.

4. Like the Phoenicians, people from those two famous cities of Troy [sic] and Sidon, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Syria, were very skilled in the things of the sea, and powerful in ships, around the year 828 before the Birth of the Savior, according to Esteban Garibay, our seas ran through these, bringing as captain Siqueus, who by the Spaniards was named Acerna, prince of Tyre, father or husband of Queen Dido, as the historians understand it. Sailing like this through these marinas, they reached the region of the Pyrenees. And since they brought in their fleet many merchandise and a variety of provisions, to give in exchange for the good things that they found in the lands where they arrived, they had the opportunity to know the good and best of each province, and the uses, customs, and religion of its inhabitants; and so from each land where they arrived, they took what seemed most useful and on purpose to take it to other lands. And with trifles of very little value that they brought, through their way of dealing and conversing with the people of these blankets, they knew and understood in depth what this land and its inhabitants were. They especially stopped considering the existence of the gold and silver mines; who understood it because of the large copy of these metals, which had run melted in streams with the fire in the Pyrenees. And they also noticed the little appreciation that the natives of the land had for these metals.

[Eusebius and Jerome say the Phoenicians controlled the sea for 45 years, Jerome mentions this at 837 BC, but mentioning the next holders, the Egyptians, 53 years later in 784 BC. Anderson gives them 41 years in Spain 842-801 BC. Stevens gives the date 822 BC for the arrival of the Phoenicians in Andalusia, and says they ruled it 200 years until 622 BC or 632 BC, when the native Tartessians drove them out under Argantonius. Assuming 45 years is correct, I place their dominance in Spain from 839 to 794 BC followed by the Egyptians, but it is possible they maintained some control in Andalusia as Stevens says until Argantonius in 622 BC.]

5. With this intelligence, the Phoenicians applied themselves with skill to go collecting silver and gold: which was easy for them because of the little esteem that the natives of the country made of it. And so they were swiftly gathering and loading their ships, so that even the anchors, chains and hooks were made of silver, taking good advantage of the situation of time.

6. When they reached Tyre, and the fertility and wealth of Spain was seen by the Phoenicians, they learned how well it could be for them to achieve some dominion in it. And so they resolved to meditate slowly on how they could achieve residence in Spain, possessing in it some population and strength, where they could best provide it. For this purpose they came a second time, bringing Pigmaleon as their captain, because Acerna had already died, and they arrived in Spain in the year 818 before the coming of Christ, according to Florian and Garibay; or according to Tarafa in the year 840: well that Mariana seems to want Pigmaleon to come twice, which would be in this year and the other. However that may be, they agree that when he arrived he set his seat in Cádiz, and that in the parts of Andalusia he founded many towns: but I will not deal with them because they are an agent of my intent: contenting myself only with talking about what is necessary to understand what I am trying to do, anywhere it is convenient. Beuter says that, since it seemed to the Phoenicians that it was convenient for them to have a seat and a strong place in the lands that today belong to the kingdom of Valencia, they wanted to come to it. But since they did not find proportion for their attempt on the mainland, because especially the Saguntines had a well-supplied navy, and they resisted them, they went to the island of Ibiza: but since they recognized that it was not convenient for them to stop there to found any population, whether it was because it was a short land, or because it did not have the wealth they were looking for, they determined to return to Cádiz, and to Andalusia from where they had come. And so that it would not be said that that departure had been unsuccessful, they made their way through the navy, robbing the coast, making assaults where they seemed to: and from here the annoying enmities and wars of the Saguntines with those of Cádiz and Andalusia began. Because the Saguntines, feeling injured by those robberies, decided to wage war on those of Cádiz. For which purpose they named for their King or Captain a brave man named Teron, principal and of great reputation, a native of the land of Cetubalia (which today is called Catalonia), as we shall see in the next chapter. Following this Captain with a good army, the Saguntines went against the Phoenicians of Cádiz, to take revenge for the injuries they had received. But they, knowing this coming, fielded another better army, and waited for them well prepared, because they were more practical and skillful in a whole: for which, after they met, the Saguntines were defeated; and all their ships and other vessels were burned with the fireworks that the Phoenịcians of Cádiz threw at them. This victory left them so proud that they lost their respect and fear of the Andalusians, their enemies, and began to turn against them, capturing and robbing them very shamelessly. And because Beuter in this rout and loss of the Saguntines names them Celtiberians, as indeed they were, because they were within Celtiberia; another clamor moved from this, since the other Celtiberians considered themselves aggrieved by that expiration. And because, as Florian says, they had already multiplied so much that they did not fit in their lands, wanting to get out of them and spread out, or wanting to avenge the Saguntines, they took up arms, and traveled much land from Spain to Castile and Lusitania. Whose departure Florian and Garibay say that it was about the year 759 before the glorious Birth of Christ our Savior and Master. Who wants to know the towns that these Celts, Celtiberians or Gauls founded in those parts, read the next mentioned authors to which I refer.

[Pygmalion or Pumayyaton is a historically and archaeologically known ruler of Tyre, thought to have reigned ca. 831-785 BC.]

### Chapter 7.

*How Taraca and the Egyptians came to Spain, who were defeated by Teron Cetubal, or Catalan; and likewise how he died defeated by those of Cádiz.*

1. While what was said in the two preceding chapters was happening in Spain, some companies of Egyptian people came to it, or from the regions surrounding Egypt, following their captain, King Taraco. Of whom many write, referred to by Garibay, Florian, Medina, Tarafa, Viladamor and Mariana, who reigned in Ethiopia under Egypt: and that it was he who in Isaiah chapter thirty-seven, and in the fourth book of Kings, chapter Nineteen, is named Taraca, who defeated King Sennacherib of Babylon, Florian specifying that his kingdom was the same one that was later called of the Prejoan, who, corrupting his name somewhat, is called by the vulgar Prester John. His subjects were brown, and not black like those of upper Ethiopia; wherefore some thought and said they were white: but in the end they were like the other Africans, who with respect to us seem black; but not as much as those of Guinea, Monicongo, and others.

[Eusebius mentions the Egyptians as holding the Thalassocracy after the Phoenicians, but the length of their rule as such is missing. Jerome places them in 784 BC, and mentions their successors, the Milesians, controlling the sea in 749 BC, after 35 years. Anderson likewise gives the Egyptians 35 years in Spain, by his calculation 801-766 BC. As we have calculated the Phoenician title ending in 794 BC, I date the Egyptians in Spain to 794-759 BC. However, it seems a Phoenician presence was maintained along the coast from Cadiz (Gedir) until Argantonius in 622 BC.

Taraco the Ethiopian, aka Taharqa, is an anachronism here, as he ruled Egypt and Ethiopia a century later, 690-664 BC. Sennacherib who fought with him was likewise king in Assyria 689-681 BC. Egypt at the time it controlled the Sea and was active in Spain, 794-759 BC, was under the Meshwesh of Libya, themselves closely affiliated with the Sea Peoples, and of Moesic descent from Moesia in Europe. The Libyan Pharaohs in Lower Egypt at this time were Shoshenk IV, Pami and Shoshenq V. Not long after they were ejected from Saguntum, in c. 756 BC Lower Egypt fragmented into rival Meshwesh principalities, as the Ethiopians increased their influence again in Upper Egypt.

While Taraco is known from the Old Testament, the narrative that he campaigned as far as Spain may be found in Strabo (ca. AD 25). However it hardly seems possible he could have been the opponent of Teron, who was in the time of the Meshwesh. Also, a mention of Ethiopia would customarily bring up an association with Prester John of mediaeval European legend, but Pujades' identification of him with king Taharqa of Egypt and Ethiopia need not be taken seriously.]

2. So that after Taraco had defeated Sennacherib, king of Babylon and Chaldéa, accompanied by many of his Ethiopians, with a large army of ships he entered the Mediterranean Sea, taking the defeat and heading westward, until he reached the coast of Spain: through which he passed stealing much wealth and enslaving the people, destroying everything he found until he reached the Strait of Gibraltar, where he stopped, fearful of the current of the waters, ignoring that it was a natural thing, and deceived by the priests of Cádiz, who gave him to understand that the god Hercules did not want him to go ahead. therefore he returned from there, sailing along the coast of Spain, around the Levante, carrying his navy full of robberies, and sufficiently provided with people of arms; and the rest that was not necessary in the ships continued by land, always stealing and making insults in the places that he passed on the way, and in the towns that he found neglected, until he reached our lands of Celtica or Catalonia, in the year 799 as Tarafa wants; or according to Garibay in the year 682 before Christ: although Viladamor says that it was the year 731. I do not know what is the cause of the variety of this account and of the others, which in such serious authors we find at every step.

3. After the Celts who lived from the Ebro to the Pyrenees learned of the coming of this king Taraco, and the damage he was doing wherever he passed, they determined to guard against him effectively and take up arms to resist him. For this purpose, they named Teron as captain, who was from the Celts' own nation, and that is why historians say he was Catalan in the day. And because he is so generous, according to Florian, there is no shortage of stories that say he was King of the Celts, today named Catalans; and although historians do not tell us, particularly in what place or town he was born, or where he had the Court if he was King; however, all Catalonia in general can be honored by him, and each town can have him for their own, since he is the honor of all. So when Teron was at the point of war, with a large crowd of relatives, friends, and other supporters, he went out to meet Taraco, after he let the Ebro river pass him. And the resistance that made him not enter through Catalonia again was such that with some attacks he always killed many people from Taraco, losing very few of his own. Teron also had some ships at sea, left from the broken and loss of Cádiz, or from those manufactured later; and although they were not as many as would have been necessary to compete with the army of Taraco, nevertheless they were enough to restrain a great part of the opposing power, and he embarrassed many insults, which he would have done in the absence of that resistance. Above all, Teron took great care and solicitude in having all the food supplies collected from the land, and raising them to the part of the mountains, far from the sea coast, diverting the danger that they would fall into the hands of the enemy. With whose precautions the resistance was greater, and the enemy's need so great, that he began to grieve, fatigued both from having to counteract the weapons of the Celts, as from the straits in which the lack of provisions placed him. Frequently experiencing very close assaults, he found himself compelled to move his field to the navy part, so that his army would turn their backs on him, and he could not be surrounded or encircled; and he took a seat and lodging on the hill of a small mountain near the marina, not far from the water; and there he fortified himself in the form of a Royal, with repairs and trenches, something that until then he had not used in as many days as he had done in all the past road. While Taraco was there, he chose the tithe of the robberies he had done in Spain, and sent it to the temple of the god Hercules in Cádiz. At the same time the fleet returned from Cádiz it suffered a terrible storm, which made it run, and much of it went through and was lost; so that he never heard from it: the rest went to remote regions; and the ships were so badly stopped that it took many days to repair them. And not only the ships that returned from Cádiz had this bad fortune, but also those that were on the side of the Ebro river here. So that the entire army, which consisted of most of Taraco's power, was entirely ruined, and could never again serve. The ships of Teron, as the sailors were practical of the coast, and knew well the places, ports and coves of the navy, were collected and sheltered better, and they did not receive any damage. With these misfortunes, the damage to Taraco increased, and he was forced to renovate the rooms and apartments that he had made in that little mountain, or small hill that, as I already said, occupied the part of the marina. There he built some barracks or huts, where the people could be gathered from the inclement weather, until those who were dispersed with the ships could come together again; or by not returning, they could build new ships to return to his kingdom. Which in a short time he was able to do with some ships that returned, and others that he had made again, missing two thirds of the men and armada with which he entered Catalonia.

4. The Celts or Catalans who were gathered in the mountains, seeing the land already liberated, went back down to the plains, and settled them with houses to enjoy quietness there. And so did those of Teron's company, which had also worked on it. Those who did not have houses went up to occupy those barracks and huts that those of Taraco had left; and little by little they made a large settlement there: which some think is the great metropolis of Tarragona, saying it was founded by Taraco in the specified way. Tarafa and Garibay refer that some have written it thus, whom they name, and are referred to at length by Micer Pons de Icart in the Grandezas of that city: who, not being happy with this opinion, decides that it was the foundation of Tubal, as I did explain in his place in the first book, chapters nine and ten. It could be that at the time Taraco came, that city was little, or that it was ruined by the drought of Spain, or by many other calamities that the antiquity of time conceals and hides from us; and that is why it would be easy for Taraco to occupy it, and with the room he made, and the similarity of the name, perhaps some took the opportunity to write what we have said here. And if we consider the assonance of the word, it seems that Tarraca in Latin is the town that in vulgar we name Tárraga; and it has more similarity with the name of Taraco or Taraca, as he is named in Sacred Scripture. But because we say that this was on the shore of the sea, and Tárraga (which is in the confines of Urgél and Sagarra) is very far and more than twelve leagues inland; and because I am not inclined to invent new opinions, I do not want to say anything more than what I have indicated here.

5. And to end the things of Teron in this chapter, it is to know that, as they had such a good success and glorious end, perhaps elevated in pride (which is usually possessed by esteemed men) and having gained a lot of fame and credit not only with them of the land, but also with the strangers who feared, esteemed and revered him, so much spirit and verve grew in him, that a memory of the past injuries received from those of Cádiz, and also on the prey, theft and spoil of the land that Taraco had taken, and how much he had sent to Cadiz for the temple of Hercules; it seemed to him (despite all that he had worked) that he had not done anything of importance in defeating Taraco and his Egyptians, if he did not collect and return to his people the things that had been stolen from them, and if he did not avenge the loss he had being captain of the Saguntines. He determined to pass against Cádiz, and promptly choosing the largest number of galleys, ships and boats that were then in use, and of them the most repaired and fittest that there were, he also chose men versed in navigation, and many fighting men, and left the strongholds of earth well garrisoned. With all the necessary equipment ready, he manifestly published that he wanted to accomplish the conquest of Cadiz, announcing himself the victory, and that a great profit and wealth would result from it to those who would follow him. He gathered everything that was convenient for his travel; and put to sea, he began his navigation to Cádiz, stopping nowhere. Those from Cádiz, no less powerful and well armed, came out to meet him; and coming to blows with one another, the battle began very fiercely, traversing everywhere in fury, and damaging each other as much as they could. The ships of the Phoenicians of Cádiz were not as many as those of Teron, but they were bigger and more powerful; so they held up very well. Both did their duty in the function, killing and dying with courageous courage, the victory remaining indecisive for some time. But at last the ships of Teron began to whirl, and little by little, turning their prongs entirely, they began to flee in shame. Their enemies overtook them, and they were all arrested, burned and consumed; for most of the people were killed in the performance, and the rest drowned, whose unfortunate fate also had the brave, albeit unfortunate Teron, who was sooner buried in the depths of the waters, than killed by his enemies. Thus his bellicose thoughts ended with him, leaving those of Cádiz proud and very pleased, with the joy of the victory they achieved against him.

### Chapter 8

*Treating on different nations who came to Spain.*

1. After the misfortunes of the unfortunate Teron, the things of Catalonia were so buried in oblivion that many years later there is nothing to write about it. Well, although some Catalan historian, like Canon Tarafa, has made mention of some nations of Carians, Lesbians and Milesians, who after Teron's death came to Spain, as there is no news that they played in Catalonia, there is no reason for stop to talk about them.

[Eusebius lists the Milesians, Carians and Lesbians, in that order, as the Thalassocracies, but the durations of these in years are missing.

Jerome lists the Milesians in 749 BC as 'controlling the sea' for 18 years, then the Carians in 721 BC, 28 years later. Anderson says the Milesians ruled part of Spain 29 years, by his dates 766-737 BC. I would correct this to 759-730 BC. These are Greeks from Miletus (itself within Caria), not to be confused with the Gaelic Milesians named for Mil.

After the Carians, Jerome lists the Lesbians (Greeks from Lesbos) in 670 BC, 51 years later. Anderson says the Carians ruled part of Spain 48 years, 737-689 BC. I would correct this to 730-682 BC.

Jerome and Anderson both say the Lesbians rule was 68 years, I would correctly date that 682-614 BC.]

2. And for the same reason we shall keep silent about the coming of the Chaldeans with their king of Babylon Nebuchadnazar, who is otherwise commonly called Nebuchadnezzar. Who, as Garibay says, played in Spain in the year 590 before the coming of Christ our Lord: and of the events of this coming I refer to Megasthenes, cited by Jewish Josephus, and to Tarafa, Mariana, Florian and Medina.

[According to Anderson, following the Phocaeans, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia ruled in Spain for 9 years until 564 BC, when he says the Carthaginians invaded. Eusebius says the Phocaeans (whom Pujades describes more fully in the following chapter) held the Thalassocracy 44 years, which I date from 614-570 BC. Nebuchadnezzar thus must have ruled that part of Spain from 570 until 562 BC.]

3. We had to leave the Africans of the great Carthage likewise, because although in the year 663 they played in Spain, they did not say anything in that year to our Celts, nor when in the year 500 BC they seized the island of Cádiz. But because of the dominion they later had in Catalonia, it is convenient to summarily say something about its principles, so that when I speak of purpose the readers are so well instructed they can tie the thread of history.

[Based on other sources quoted below, it seems the two key dates for the Carthaginian presence into Spain, should be 563 BC (when the general Masae occupied the Balearics and Saguntum), and 516 BC (when the general Maherbal occupied Gades.)]

4. I say then that the city of Carthage in Africa was built by two distinguished natural captains of Tire and Sidon, named Zaro and Charchedon, according to an opinion referred to by Garibay; or according to another and more common sentence, that famous city was founded by the honest and chaste (although without reason disfamed in Virgil) queen Dido, as it is written in the compendium of Titus Livius, in Justin, Bergomense, Sedeño, Florian, Beuter, D Antonio Agustin, Pineda, Garibay, Mariana, in the Gloss to the triumphs of Petrarca, and in the Paralipómenon of our Bishop of Gerona. Once Carthage was founded, and its power growing in the way that the aforementioned historians write, the Carthaginians came to the Balearic Islands, which, as I have already written, were named after those that today are called Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. They had lordship over the island of Ibiza, not so much because of the utility it could produce for the Carthaginian Seniority, as because of the disposition they had to enter Spain from there, mediating the hiring they were trying to establish with those from the island of Cádiz, who were also Phoenicians, their relatives: and thus they did not miss a chance that they did not take. And after having tempted the Saguntines, who were the first they befriended in the said year of 665, finding no disposition to carry out their ideas, they gave up the company for many years, according to the aforementioned authors as well, Pliny, Medina and Tarafa write. And as it is often said that those who do not tire reach, so the Carthaginians, after having waited for an opportunity from 663 to 500 BC, when they did not think, had the occasion they so desired.

5. Because some wars had been moved between the Phoenicians of Cádiz and the Spanish Tartessians or Andalusians, due to the grievances that the Phocaeans did to their neighbors, as the Tartesians with their king Argantonius (as Mariana says) had passed to Cádiz, and stole the island, demolished the temple of Hercules and ruined the land; the Phoenicians seeing themselves pressed together, had sent to Carthage for help, making use of their relatives and friends. The Carthaginians seeing the much desired occasion as good, came with the help that those from Cádiz had asked of them, as Justin writes in epitome of Trogus Pompéus, Fr Juan de Mariana, Florian de Ocampo, Pedro Antonio Beuter, Medina, Tarafa, Luis Pons of Icart, and the Bishop of Gerona. And after they went into Cádiz, failing to believe their auspices, and breaking the friendship, they seized all the fortresses, and became lords of the entire island. Those of Cádiz felt that infamous behavior, and when they saw the Carthaginians being neglectful, they took up arms, struck them, took away some fortresses, and killed many. Seen by the Carthaginians that the break was already made, they got together as best they could with some friends and confederates, and laid siege to the main fortress, and did not raise it until they took it and ruined it; and so did the city walls. The Andalusians neighboring Cádiz, when they found out what was happening, fearing the bad neighborhood, and that another day they would do the same with them, they took up arms, and published the Carthaginians as common enemies. But those were so wise and cunning, that at the time that the battle was to be fought, they knew (by negotiating truces) to attract the Tartessians to their will, confederate with them, and leaving those of Cádiz in servitude as slaves.

[Anderson says:

*The Carthaginians invaded Spain two Years before the Death of Nebuchadnezzar, under their General Masæ, and at first only possessed the Island Juisa. It is said they were invited by the Gaditanes, who being kept under by one Arganthon a Commander near Gades, and these Gaditanes often taking up Arms, all their Neighbours conspir'd against them: And not finding themselves equal for so many Adversaries, call'd in the Carthaginians to their Aid, who, in the End, became Masters of Spain, until the Romans stopt the Course of their Victories.*According to Stevens:

*...for it was about the Year, 622, according to some Authors, and 632, according to F Mariana, that the Tartessi chose Argantonius for their General to oppose the Insolences of these Intruders. He Prov'd very successful driving them out of all the continent, and confining them to the Island of Cadiz, if so be that, he did not expel them thence, as there are those that affirm. There are several Accounts of the length of his Life; Silius Italicus says, it extended to 3oo Years; Pliny out of Annacreon, says, 150; Valerius Maximus, Asinius Pollio, and Cicero, 120.*He has the Phocaeans coming after this, in 547 BC, the Athenians for one year in 517 BC, and the Carthaginians in 516 BC, when their general Maherbal took Gades from the Tartessians.]

6. Thus, the Carthaginians being absolute lords of the island of Cadiz, and beginning to have power in Spain, they wrote to Carthage to send them help, to keep themselves in the good condition where they were already. He sent the Lordship of Carthage whatever help he could suddenly. And to send it later, the elder chose Magon for General, as Florian, Medina and Beuter write. But he died before reaching Spain; because as Beuter, S Antonino of Florence, Fr Juan Pineda and Micer Icart say, while they were about to leave, some events of the Sardinian wars were pressed, and it was necessary for Magon to dwell on them until he lost his life.

[Mago I ruled Carthage 550-530 BC. Under his successor Hasdrubal (530-510 BC), the Carthaginians subjected Gades from 530 to 516 BC.]

7. Two sons named Hamílcar and Hasdrúbal survived Magon, as Justin, Mariana, and the others mentioned above write; of whom Hasdrúbal, who was the eldest, died in the Sardinian wars, survived by three sons Hannibal, Safo, and the youngest Hasdrubal. Who were so excellent Captains, as in the discourse of this history we will see.

### Chapter 9.

*Of the coming of the Phocaeans, who settled in Catalonia at Alba.*

1. Leaving for now the things of the Carthaginians, and returning to the purpose of what is typical of Catalonia; those who are willing to quote write that after the nations which, although I have mentioned in passing at the beginning of the preceding chapter, the Phocaenses of Ionia, in parts of Asia, came to Spain, fleeing from the tyranny of King Cyrus and the cruelties of his captain Harpalus, sailing and looking for lands to inhabit. And of these I have already said that Canon Tarafa anticipated speaking. Making their journey, these Phocaenses entered Italy by the river Tiber up to Rome; but although they were well received and lovingly caressed by the Romans, they did not find it convenient to stay with them: and continuing their navigation down the river, passing from one sea to another, and from province to province, they arrived at that of Spain, which already seems they considered like a fishing net, that receives within itself all species of fish. It is true that, according to Tarafa, the Phocaenses did not enter Spain this time. Rather, not finding comfort to stay there, they returned to Gaul, and there they found a place, and populated the city of Marseille, as Jacobo Bergomense, Estéban Forcátulo, Juan Mariana, Fr Juan Pineda, Pedro Antonio Beuter, Medina, and Florian de Ocampo write at length.

2. Marseille was founded in a fortunate and happy sign, and in a very few years it became of great recruitment and of great power in the sea: so much so that, following Eusebius, Tarafa says that in the year 619 BC the Phocaenses already began to be lords of the sea. And so some of them for the convenience of hiring, or for another reason, came to Celtic Spain from Marseille in around the year 547 BC, as Garibay writes, or much later, according to what Florian writes, pointing out that Eusebius' account is wrong by the translators. When these Phocaenses came to Celtica, as it is inferred from Pliny, they founded a town in it, which according to Tarafa was between the Pyrenees and Tarragona mountains, but these confrontations are very distant, and it is difficult to know: because from the Pyrenees to Tarragona there are at least thirty leagues by land; whose space only allows us to believe that it would be in Catalonia, but not where in it. Although Beuter opens the way to discourse, because he says that it was located next to the town of Alba, and that it also took the name of Alba: that later it became the great Empurias. And if Beuter's saying that these Phocaenses built next to Alba (which as I have said in its place was populated by Ascanio) is not to be understood so properly, that he wants to make it contiguous and together one town with the other, it seems that there is no more to say. But if you wanted to understand that they were close, in that case I would think that the town of these Phocaenses would be the one that is today a quarter of a league away and in sight of the old Alba and desolate Empurias, which is named Albons, almost like which is derived from Alba minor. Because in Catalonia many words end in ons, meaning diminution, and they are diminutive names, such as Pere Perellons, Torells Torellons, Figueras Figuerons, Taulas Taulons, and a thousand others that prove thought. But if this is not of consideration, let us be in the common and current opinion of the aforementioned authors.

[Anderson has the Phocaeans ruling in Spain 48 years, 621-573 BC, when he says Babylonia replaced them in Spain. Jerome assigned the Lesbians 68 years at 670 BC, which would bring us to 602 BC for the Phocaeans, however he does not mention any further nations 'controlling the sea' until the Aeginetans (who held the title in 490 BC, though Jerome wrongly places them in 508 BC). Eusebius says the Phocaeans held the Thalassocracy 44 years, which is probably the correct number of years they held the Thalassocratic fiefs in Spain, thus I assign them the years 614-570 BC.

598 BC is when the Phocaeans established another colony at Massilia in South Gaul. In 572 BC, Babylonia annexed Phoenicia, meaning the independence of Carthage and the outpost at Gadir. By 570 BC, the Babylonians, now controlling Tyre, and eager to gain a Spanish foothold, managed to take the former Thalassocratic fiefs in Spain from Phocaea, while the title of Thalassocracy itself (without any fief in Spain) then passed from Phocaea to Samos. In 562 BC, the Carthaginian general Masae drove the Babylonians out of their piece of Spain. Phocaea itself fell to Lydia in 560 BC, but also continued to maintain colonies, and in 547 BC, as Lydia including Phocaea fell to Persia, waves of Phocaeans colonized the coasts westward from Marseille and into Catalonia, in particular founding Empuries there (as also stated by Stevens), thus returning to part of Hispania, though not the same one they had held previously from 614 to 570 BC, which was now in Carthaginian hands.]

### Chapter 10

*Referring to the famine, pestilences, earthquakes and other calamities that occurred in Catalonia, and the silver that was found in it.*