Arevaci

[Arjos]

The four divisions into which the Celtiberians have been separated, the most powerful, generally speaking, are the Arvacans (Strabo 3.4.13)
When the news of the Iberian victory became known, the Arevaci, considering themselves far superior to the Iberians, made light of the enemy, and the people in their assembly, when they elected to enter the war against the Romans, acted chiefly for this reason. (Diodorus Siculus 31.42)

What are your feelings about a possible celtiberian faction in EBII?

Origins

Herodotus gave somewhat confusing references of Celts in Iberia during the mid-fifth century, but in the second century the words Celtiberi or Celtiberes appeared with increasing frequency.
One of the current theories about the "Arrival" in the peninsula proposes the existance of a proto-celtic culture, whose élite gradually developed influenced by the Atlantic Bronze Age trading system and later by contacts with the Mediterranean one.
This view gives some interesting similarities to the emergence of the La Tène culture.

Culture as Archaeology transmitted

Stretching from the southern flank of the Ebro valley to the eastern Meseta, layed the Celtiberian homeland. Bordering with the Urnfield culture to the north, with the Iberians to the east and south and with the Atlantic communities to the west.
In the harshness of the territory developed a pastoral economy of transhumance, allowing a gradual increase in population. This new warrior-based society started to adopt customs from the near cultures: urned cremation from the north-east; geometric painted pottery, two-part springed fibulae and belt hooks from the Tartessians to the south-east.
While the short antennae-hilted iron swords was specific of the celtiberian area.
With increasing mediterranean contacts, by the fourth century, the Celtiberians started to use the rotary querns and the potter's wheel.
Their script derived from Iberian and by the third century large oppida-like settlements developped.
Through gift exchange with the communities north of the Pyrenees some La Tène artefacts flowed in, but torcs and horse-and-rider fibulae were distinctively celtiberian in style.

Celtiberian Expansion

Thanks to the distribution of place names with the suffix -briga or the prefix Seg- can be traced the extent to which the celtic language was spoken.
The ethnic group names rather than tribal ones indicate that the celtiberian expansion was the result of military élites taking power over the pheripheral tribes. Beyond this zone, determined by modern Extremadura and Castile-León, raids where conducted against the Iberians.

[Mediolanicus]

This is hardly a case for a new faction.. So why couldn't you have posted this in the New Factions thread?

I'm fairly confident that we'll see something new on the Iberian Peninsular in EB II - though maybe not in the first release. The Arevaci are indeed one of the stronger tribes.

But again.. Unless you are going to make an essay-like case, like for the Scordisci, why make a new thread? Perhaps a mod can merge this into the right thread.

[Arjos]

I was thinking of making this thread in a celtiberian discussion, to post and discuss about every info that came to the mind: a single tribe or a confederacy? Where the Arevaci a sub-group of the Vaccei or a different one? Ecc...
Didn't want to be so specific in a general one...

[seienchin]

Oh, the self proclaimed forum police got you before the mods could say anything
Still the new factions thread would have been fitting^^

I wouldnt be surprised if EBII had the celtiberians, after all the Iberian peninsula is one of the few spots on the EB map where enough rebell settlements ine EB1 are to have a new faction.

Also:
The celtiberians are far more known to historians than cultures like the boii,scordisci, bastarnae or who else is in EBII or was proposed by a user. Maybe I am just ignorant here, but to my knowledge the history of the iberian peninsula is far more tracable through archaeology and contemporary writings of their enemies, than the history of eastern europe and the balkan.

[anubis88]

Even if the Arevaci don't make them in, you'll be able to use their cavalry in the late campaing mod.

But i think that the inclusion of Arevaci is about 99%ish in EB II.

[Arjos]

Edited the first post with a little essay.
Source: The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe.

I can't stand copy and paste sorry XD

[Arjos]

Even if the Arevaci don't make them in, you'll be able to use their cavalry in the late campaing mod.

I'm keeping an eye on your project which seems very promising ^^
Regarding the arevacian cavalry, to be 100% precise it was called Ala Aravacorum (reflecting the native pronunciation) ;)

[anubis88]

I'm keeping an eye on your project which seems very promising ^^
Regarding the arevacian cavalry, to be 100% precise it was called Ala Aravacorum (reflecting the native pronunciation) ;)

I see... We'll i've seen them mentioned as both Aravacorum and Arevacorum... so you say the first one should be preffered? If you can elaborate a bit i'll change it ASAP

[Arjos]

In every diploma the text says of the Aravaci and Ala Aravacorum.
But now I've the doubt if by the principate the language has changed...

Maybe I've found the answer, from "The Romanization of central Spain", Leonard A. Curchin:
The spelling "Aravaci", found in inscriptions of the ala II Aravacorum and cohors II Aravacorum in the eastern provinces, dating to a period when the members of these auxiliary units were no longer Spaniards but local recruits, appears to reflect regional pronunciation.

So my mistake XD
Arevacorum should be the correct one ^^