Spain and Portugal Author:Graeme Mercer Adam Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chapter V CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE UNDER THE GOTHS WHEN the northern barbarians, at the beginning of the fifth century, commenced their destructive irruptio... more »ns into the Peninsula, the number of provinces was five, exclusive of Tingitana in Africa, and of the Balearic Isles,—Tarragona, Carthagena, Galicia, Lusitania, and Baetica. To these was soon added Narbonensian Gaul, called also Septimania, which, from its occupation by the Goths, was in the sequel denominated Land- gothia, and at length Languedoc. The Balearic Isles, in 466, were seized by the Vandals, in whose possession they remained until Belisarius reduced them to the sway of Justinian. Tingitana also submitted to that renowned general; but in the seventh century we again find that province an appendage of the Visigothic crown. The period of its reconquest is unknown; but there is reason to believe that it was in the reign of Swintila, who had the glory of forever ending the Greek domination in the Peninsula. Hence the number of provinces was still seven. At one time, indeed, there were eight. Carpetania was divided into two: Contestania, of which the capital was the city of Carthagena, held by the imperialists ; and Carpetania, which, with its capital Toledo, belonged to the Goths. From Swintila to the invasion of the Moors the two provinces were reunited, and Toledo, the royal residence, acknowledged not only as the capital of the whole province, but as the metropolis of the kingdom. It must not, however, be forgotten that the metropolitan honor was enjoyed by Seville long before Toledo, apparently from the time of Constantine the Great. Amalaric was the first Visigothic king who established his court in Spain, and he naturally selected the former city as the seat of his government. Athanagild translated it to To...« less