Editing History of Catalonia (section)

=== Rise of the Iberian culture ===
[[File:Iberia 300BC-en.svg|thumb|right|Ethnology of Iberia before the Roman conquest, c. 300 BC]]
[[File:Silver plate - Tresor de Tivissa - Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona 2014.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Ancient silver vessel from the Tivissa Treasure, c. 500 BC. Archaeology Museum of Catalonia]]
An iron-using culture first appeared in eastern Iberia in the 8th century BC. By the 5th century BC, the Iron Age [[Iberians|Iberian civilization]] had become consolidated on the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula. What is now the Catalan territory was home to several distinct [[tribe]]s of Iberians: the [[Indigetes]] in [[Empordà]],<ref name="smith">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O59BAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA52 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography |editor-first=William |editor-last=Smith |page=52 |publisher=Walton and Maberly |date=1857 |volume=2}}</ref> the [[Ceretani]] in [[Cerdanya]] and the [[Airenosins]] in the [[Val d'Aran]]. Some urban agglomerations became relevant, including Ilerda (Lleida) inland, Hibera (perhaps Amposta or Tortosa) or Indika ([[Ullastret]]). The settlement of Castellet de Banyoles in [[Tivissa]] was one of the most important ancient Iberian settlements. This, situated in the northeast of the peninsula, was discovered in 1912. Also, the 'Treasure of Tivissa', a unique collection of silver Iberian votive offerings was found here in 1927.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Tresor de Tivissa |trans-title=The Treasure of Tivissa |language=ca |url=http://turismetivissa.com/ca/castellet-de-banyoles/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327035747/http://turismetivissa.com/ca/castellet-de-banyoles/ |archive-date=2023-03-27 |website=Tivissa – Muntanyes d'histórica}}</ref>

Iberian society was divided into different classes, including kings or chieftains, nobles, priests, artisans and slaves. Iberian aristocracy, often called a "senate" by the ancient sources, met in a council of nobles. Kings or chieftains would maintain their forces through a system of obligation or vassalage that the Romans termed "fides".

The Iberians adopted [[wine]] and [[olives]] from the Greeks; [[Horse breeding]] was of particular importance to the Iberian nobility. [[Mining]] was a major contributor to the economy, from which fine metalwork and high-quality iron weapons could be produced.

The [[Iberian language]] was a [[Paleohispanic language]]. The oldest inscriptions are dated from the end of the 5th century BC, and the most recent of the end of the first century BC, even at the beginning of the 1st century AD, after being gradually replaced by Latin. In its different variants, the Iberian language was spoken in a broad coastal strip stretching from southern Languedoc to Alicante.

[[Archaic Greece|Greeks]] arrived to the Iberian coasts by the late 7th century BC.{{Sfn|Blázquez|1988|p=11}} The trading colony of [[Empúries]] (in [[Greek language|Greek]] ''Emporion'', meaning "market", in [[Latin]] ''Emporiae''), was founded on the northern coast of current Catalonia by the Greek city of [[Phocaea]] in the 6th century BC.{{Sfn|Blázquez|1988|p=11}} Situated on the coastal commercial route between Massalia ([[Marseille]]) and [[Tartessos]] in the far south of Hispania, the city became a center of economic and commercial activity. Another known Greek colony was Rhode ([[Roses]]), located on the coast at the northern end of the [[Gulf of Roses]].