Editing Province of Zamora (section)

==History==
A megalithic culture developed in this region of Spain, particularly around [[Aliste (comarca)|Aliste]], and there are many remaining signs of the presence of various cultures over the years. Salt mining took place at [[Villafáfila]], stone forts were built on fertile plains and near rivers, and others were built in the vicinity of mines where [[variscite]] and [[iron]] ore were extracted. Rock paintings have been discovered and artefacts found include everyday pottery, tools, and gold and silver jewellery. In the [[Iron Age]], Celtic tribes built forts surrounded by moats but they were pastoral people, living in small villages, and did not build cities. They left [[Menhir|standing stones]] and [[dolmen]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Historia General Civil y Eclesiástica de la Provincia de Zamora |last=Ursicino |first=Álvarez Martínez |year=1965 |publisher=Editorial Revista de Derecho Privado }}</ref>

The Romans first came to Spain in 218 BC, and over the next three centuries there were various conflicts as the Romans advanced into Celtic lands. The Romans built roads across the territory and in 1978 the Roman town of Requejo in [[Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa]] was revealed after erosion occurred following flooding of the area by the River [[Órbigo]]. In 197 BC, Spain was divided into two provinces, [[Hispania Citerior]] and [[Hispania Ulterior]], controlled by two separate Roman military forces. Zamora was in the latter region. Peace reigned until 155 BC when the Lusitanians attacked Hispania Ulterior. Two Roman defeats followed, and many other rebellions were sparked in the peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/hispania/celtiberianwar.html |title=The Celtiberian War |work=Roman Spain |publisher=Nexus |access-date=4 October 2015}}</ref> The Romans eventually prevailed, and in 27 BC, subdivided the province of Hispania Ulterior into [[Hispania Baetica]] (modern-day Andalusia) and [[Lusitania]], which included Zamora. When the [[Vandals]] invaded the province in the 5th century AD, the Roman Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] sent his brother-in-law, the [[Visigoths]]' king, to defeat the Vandals. The Visigoths seized control of most of Hispania and made [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] the capital, while the [[Suebi|Suevi]] occupied the northwestern part of the Peninsula and made their capital city [[Braga|Bracara]]. By 585 the Suevi had been conquered by the Visigoths who then controlled the whole peninsula.<ref name="Cambridge Ancient v. 14">{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Ward |author2=Perkins and Whitby  |title=The Cambridge Ancient History - Volume XIV. Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, A.D. 425–600 |pages=122–124}}.</ref>