IV. The Lusitanian Cities

By finishing the wars, which Augusto undertook against the Cantabrians and Astures, the Princeps decided to found, in 25 B.C., the Lusitanian settlement called Augusta Emerita, because of the emperor’s name and because a large number of veterans from his legions would establish themselves there. His idea was to focus on this new settlement the entire administration of a geographical area which, within his reorganization program of the Hispanic territory, would be converted into a new province, between 16 and 13 B.C. Its location, in the heart of «Vegas del Guadiana», the Guadiana valleys, led to a fundamental change in the communications system, focused in the new settlement and as a link between the southern lands and the rich metal deposits of Caceres, Salamanca and Las Médulas. To the West, it connected to the estuaries of the Tagus and Sado rivers, to the relevant ports of Salacia, Alcácer do Sal and Olisipo, Lisboa, which thus became the places where the Roman Empire entered the Lusitania and through which the province exported its delicacies.

Learn more about the Roman cities of Lusitania in the article by Thomas Schattner.

Hospitality tablet  (tabula patronatus) Juromenha, Alandroal, Évora 31 d.C. 37,5 x 29 x 4 cm Museu Nacional de Arqueologia – Lisboa 2000.40.1