Laietani
Encyclopedia
The Laietani were an ancient Iberian
(Pre-Roman
) people of the Iberian peninsula
(the Roman Hispania
). They inhabited the area occupied by the city of Barcelona
. One of the main thoroughfares of the city, Via Laietana, is named after the Laietani. They are believed to have spoken an Iberian language
.
The Laietani minted their own coins, which bore the inscription laiesken in northeastern Iberian script
that is interpreted in the Iberian language
as a self-reference to the ethnic name of that people: from the Laietani or from those of Laie.
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
(Pre-Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
) people of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
(the Roman Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
). They inhabited the area occupied by the city of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. One of the main thoroughfares of the city, Via Laietana, is named after the Laietani. They are believed to have spoken an Iberian language
Iberian language
The Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. The ancient Iberians can be identified as a rather nebulous local culture between the 7th and 1st century BC...
.
The Laietani minted their own coins, which bore the inscription laiesken in northeastern Iberian script
Northeastern Iberian script
The northeastern Iberian script is also known as Levantine Iberian or Iberian, because it is the Iberian script that was most frequently used, and was the main means of written expression of the Iberian language. The language is also expressed by the southeastern Iberian script and by the...
that is interpreted in the Iberian language
Iberian language
The Iberian language was the language of a people identified by Greek and Roman sources who lived in the eastern and southeastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. The ancient Iberians can be identified as a rather nebulous local culture between the 7th and 1st century BC...
as a self-reference to the ethnic name of that people: from the Laietani or from those of Laie.