Astur-cantabrian wars
| Cantabrian Wars Bellum Cantabricum Cantabrian and Asturian Wars Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum |
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 Territories of the Iberian Peninsula where the Cantabrian Wars took place |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Cantabri, Astures |
Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Corocotta (Cantabri) Gausón (Astures) |
Caesar Augustus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 70,000-100,000 (Based on pop. estimate) |
70,000-80,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| All male Cantabri and Astures of "military age" | Unknown | ||||||||
| The casualties are unusual in that both the Roman army did not take prisoners, nor did the Cantabri or Astures allow themselves to be taken alive as slaves. The result was a massive slaughter of Cantabri and Astures at the end of the conflict. | |||||||||
The Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) (Bellum Cantabricum), sometimes also referred to as the Cantabrian and Asturian Wars (Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum), were the final stage of the two-century long Roman conquest of Hispania, in what today are the provinces of Cantabria, Asturias and León, in northwestern Spain.
Under the reign of Augustus, Rome waged a bloody conflict against the last independent Celtic nations of Hispania: the Cantabri, the Astures, and the Gallaeci. These warlike peoples presented fierce resistance to Roman domination: ten years of war and eight legions with their auxiliary troops —more than 50,000 soldiers in total— were needed to subdue the region.
The Emperor himself moved to Segisama (modern Sasamon, Burgos), to supervise the campaign personally. The major fighting was completed in 19 BC, although there were minor rebellions until 16 BC and the Romans had to station two legions (X Gemina and IIII Macedonica) there for seventy more years.
"Sub occasu pacata erat fere omnis Hispania, nisi quam Pyrenaei desinentis scopulis inhaerentem citerior adluebat Oceanus. Hic duae validissimae gentes, Cantabri et Astures, inmunes imperii agitabant."
("In the west almost all Spain had been subjugated, except that part which adjoins the cliffs where the Pyrenees end and is washed by the nearer waters of the ocean. Here two powerful nations, the Cantabrians and the Asturians, lived in freedom from the rule of Rome.")
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Wikipedia