Veteres Incolae Manentes in the Urban Transformation of North-Eastern Hispania Citerior (2nd-1st century BC). The Indigenous Population of the Roman Cities of Ilerda, Iesso and Aeso

Abstract

This paper examines the urban transformation experienced by several communities in northeastern Hispania Citerior between the late 2nd century BC and the early 1st century BC. Based on the cases of Ilerda, Iesso and Aeso, special attention is devoted to the combination of their Roman-Italic urban morphology and their predominantly indigenous population. This circumstance is examined in relation to the promotion of Cisalpine Gaul in 89 BC, which used a Latin colony model characterised by its municipal nature, in which its colonial contingents primarily comprised former inhabitants of the promoted communities. Finally, the study assesses whether the transformation of these communities in the Iberian Peninsula could have entailed a legal promotion to the status of Latin colonies, thus reproducing some of the constitutional features attested in the promotion of Cisalpine Gaul.