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Hispania included the entire Iberian Peninsula (today mainly Spain, but also the modern states of Portugal and Andorra), as well as other territories (the Balearic Islands); part of the westernmost part of North Africa – Mauretania Tingitana – was also added after Diocletian’s administrative reorganization, which divided the peninsula into the provinces of: Gallaecia, Tarraconensis, Lusitania, Carthaginensis and Baetica. This provincial division was the basis for the establishment and organization of the metropolitan sees during the imperial and Visigothic periods.Early Ch…

The territory of Gallaecia was established as a Roman province during the late 3rd century CE and was located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It broadly corresponded with the current autonomous region of Galicia, and parts of Asturias, Leon, and Zamora, as well as a small part of northern Portugal. Its main river is the Miño, which crosses the region from north to south and flows into the Atlantic. On its western shore we find Cape Finisterre ( finis terrae), which the Romans considered the westernmost point of the known world.The Galaici were the indigenous people against w…

Before falling under Roman control, the Balearic archipelago was divided into two parts: on the one hand the Pytiussae (Ibiza and Formentera), which belonged to the Phoenician-Punic κοινή, and on the other the Baliares (Majorca, Minorca, and the tiny Cabrera). The so-called Talayotic culture flourished on the latter during the prehistoric period. Located halfway between the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, the Balearic Islands occupied a strategic…

Dumium or Dumio was an episcopal see that arose out of an influential and relevant monastery during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. It was located on the northern outskirts of Bracara Augusta (Braga, Portugal), in the Cávado Valley, on the left bank of its namesake, and was part of the Diocletian province of Gallaecia . The current parish of Dume continues to serve as an episcopal see, now used by auxiliary bishops under the assignment of the archbishop of Braga. The monastery of Dumium, considered to be one of the earliest suburban mon…

Among the Hispanic provinces resulting from the various Roman administrative reforms, Baetica is certainly the wealthiest, not only in terms of historical and archaeological evidence, but also with regard to the early proofs of its Christianization. The abundance of natural resources, and a rich and diverse orography, with fertile plains, mountains, and several kilometers of coastline – which allowed the intensive exploitation of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries – along with the wea…

Barcino, modern-day Barcelona (Spain), lay on the Mediterranean coast in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs. There, the Romans founded a small colony with little more than 19 km2 of urban area, its walls surrounding the gentle hill named Mons Taber (16.9 m above sea level), where there had previously been an Iberian settlement built by the Laietani. There is no agreement on the etymology of the name Barcino, but it is documented on Iberian coins.Romanization and Early ChristianityAs part of a major administrative reorganiza…

The word diptych (from Gk δίπτυχον; δίς = twice; and πτύσσω = to fold) refers to an object formed by the joining of two superimposed tablets that were bound together by strings, rings, or hinges and used for writing. In antiquity, these tablets were made of various materials such as ceramics, wood, ivory, bone, or metal. The inner surface had a high frame and was covered with wax, a material upon which the people of antiquity used to write with a stylus or a reed. Thus, a brief text eq…