Alistair Tosh has a lifelong interest in Roman history and a love of Andalusia. When he began writing historical fiction it was natural to combine the two in his Edge of Empire series. Here he looks at the history of Roman Andalusia and at some of the places he features in his books.
Warrior, the third novel in my Edge of Empire series, takes place in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, roughly equating to modern day Andalusia. The region is both a picturesque and a historic part of Europe and I thought I would share some insights on why I was drawn to this region for the story.
First a little potted history. Rome’s involvement in southern Hispania has its roots in the struggle against Carthage. Whilst Hannibal Barca was rampaging around Italy with his elephants, the Romans invaded the Iberian peninsula in 206BC under Scipio Africanus (after a failed campaign by his father and uncle) who was victorious against their greatest rivals, of the period, at Alcalá del Rio, near present-day Seville.
It signalled the end of Carthaginian power in Spain and starved Hannibal of reinforcements and supplies, ultimately forcing him to withdraw to north Africa and eventual defeat (by Scipio) at Zama. The Roman Empire was to stay in Andalusia for 700 years.
Around 150 years later, Julius Caesar’s final battle against the leaders of the Optimates came when the sons of his deceased arch rival Pompey escaped to Spain.
Caesar gave chase and defeated the last remnants of opposition at the Battle of Munda on 17 March, 45BC. The site of the battle is still unknown but may have been near present day Ronda or even Monda.
In AD27 his adopted son, the Emperor Augustus, reorganised southern Hispania renaming it Baetica, derived from the principal river, Betis; the new province had Corduba (present day Cordoba) as its capital.
Hispania Baetica produced some notable sons too. Seneca the Elder was born in Corduba and two of the ‘Five Good Emperors’, Trajan and Hadrian, were offspring of the city of Italica.
Though the empire has long gone, replaced by, first, the Visigoths, and then the Moors (who named it Al Andalus, from which the modern name is derived), it has left an indelible mark with significant remains at many rich sites, even entire towns.
Lucius, one of my two protagonists in Edge of Empire, existed. He was a Tribune of the First Nervana Germanorum, an auxiliary cohort. We know all of this because of an altar stone that was raised by him almost 2000 years ago and found near the Roman fort of Birrens in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where he served as its commanding officer. He would have been a Roman citizen, too, but that is about all we know of him.
In the series I chose to make him a son of Baetica, a deliberate act that would allow me to explore one of my favourite places on the planet. I used four of the region’s ancient Roman towns in book three and had the fabulous opportunity to do research trips to three of them:
Acinipo, around 21km from Ronda, is one of the region’s most important sites. Amongst the remains of this ancient city is the impressive theatre, built in the first century BC. There is also a significant bathhouse and several townhouses.
Unfortunately when I visited in 2021 it was not set up to cater for tourists. But it is open to the public and my wife and I were able to wander freely over the ruins, which are set on a hilltop that provides wonderful 360-degree views of the surrounding olive plantations and rugged mountain range of the Serrania de Ronda beyond.
Baelo Claudia is located next to the gorgeous and semi-wild beach of Bolonia on the Straits of Gibraltar, and is the most complete Roman town yet uncovered in the Iberian peninsula.
It provides a great insight into what urbanism was like in the period, with its basilica, square of the forum, thermal baths, theatre and industrial area. It has an informative onsite museum too.
Baelo was built around 200BC and it thrived on the fishing industry and trade with Tingis (Tangier) in Mauritania, now part of Morocco, just across the Straits.
Italica. This is a site that I have yet to visit, but hope to do so this year. Located north of Seville, it was the first major city the Romans built outside Italy. It is still in the process of excavation and the photos I have seen of its structures, mosaics and public buildings have got me excited for the trip. Its amphitheatre was one of the locations for the filming of the fantasy series Game of Thrones and is even today used for theatrical events.
Malaga (Roman Malaca). There was no need for a special research trip here as I have visited many times. The theatre in the heart of this port city dates to the first century BC and is still impressive today. A tourist can make the most of the shops in the cathedral district and the plethora of cafes and restaurants. Then, free of charge, have a wander around the theatre and the small information centre, that sit below the imposing walls of the Moorish citadel.
I am barely doing the region justice. Andalusia is stuffed full of Roman history and if you decide to visit any location you are virtually guaranteed that it will be situated in a stunning setting.
Along the way you will inevitably trip over some of Spain’s mediaeval past and in particular its rich Moorish history dotted across the region at places such as Alora, Cordoba, Malaga, and Granada. A period I plan to visit in my writing at some point in the future.
As a family we first visited Andalusia 25 years ago when our boys were very young. Lured to the Costa del Sol, we went for all of the usual reasons, almost guaranteed sun, great beaches and wonderful food. But it didn’t take us long to venture farther afield and explore the mountains, whitewashed pueblos and extensive history of this beautiful corner of Europe.
No matter where we journeyed we were often within sight of the sparkling Mediterranean and the coast of North Africa, beyond. I would encourage anyone who loves to visit southern Spain for holidays to jump in the hire car and visit one of the many gorgeous historic sites. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Warrior by Alistair Tosh was published on 10 November, 2023.
Alistair, a bestselling author, was born in Dumfriesshire, a place filled with ancient place names such as Torthorwald and Caerlaverock. But it was his visits, as a boy, to nearby Burnswark Iron Age hillfort and its Roman siege works that first fired his interest in Roman and ‘Dark Age’ history.
When not writing or researching, Alistair likes to spend time with family. He and his wife also love hill walking and have spent a great deal of time exploring the mountains of both the UK and Andalucia accompanied by their dog Hurley.
Find Alistair on Twitter/X.
Historia features on similar subjects include:
Al-Andalus: Islamic Spain in the 8th century by Matthew Harffy
Vanity project or lasting legacy – was Hadrian’s Wall worth all the effort? by Douglas Jackson
Agricola’s victories in Britain by Simon Turney
Why the Roman Empire grew so big by Harry Sidebottom
And Tom Williams writes about his own research trip to Spain for a book set far nearer our time in Wellington’s biggest Peninsular War secret
Images:
- The basilica at Baelo Claudia: photo by Alistair Tosh
- Bust of Hannibal Barca, photographed at an exhibition in the Bardo museum in Tunis, but usually displayed at the Archaeological Museum in Naples: Youssefbensaad for Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed)
- Altar dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus by Lucius Faenius Felix tribunus, near Birrens, drawn by RGC, 1936: Roman Inscriptions of Britain (no copyright restrictions found)
- The theatre at Baelo Claudia by Alistair Tosh
- The theatre at Malaga by Alistair Tosh
