HISPA'NIA, the name by which Spain was known to the Romans. According to W. von Humboldt, it is only a modified form of the original name, which lie derives from Ezpana, a Basque word, meaning a "border," or " limit," and which he understands to imply that the country formed the margin of Europe towards the Western ocean. Of the other ancient names of the country, the chief are common designation among the Greeks, and 'believed to denote specially the region of the lberus (modern Ebro)—and Hesperia. on account of its western situation. ft • Little definite or accurate kitoWledge of Hispania 'was posSe'Ssed before the time of the Romans. The conou2sts of the Carthaginians first excited the alarm of the Romans, and led to the struggle on Spanish soil of these two great rivals. The triumph of the Romans, as every reader knows, was ultimately complete, and for the next two or three centuries these indefatigable conquerors set themselves to the thorough subjugation of the whole country. This was finally effected iu the time of Augustus, who also founded many Roman cities, adorned with splendid architecture, such as Caesar Augusta (Zara goza), Emerita Augusta (Merida), Pax Julia (llja), Pax Augusta (Badajoz), Legio VII.
Gemina (Leon), etc., and completed the system of military roads across the peninsula, begun 124 B.C. Great numbers of Romans then flocked into the country, and settling there, mixed with the native Iberi, sonic of whom completely adopted Roman habits, and were spoken of as Togati.
what stock of the unman family the old Iberi of Hispania belonged, is one of the queestzones Dexatce of scientific ethnography. That they are now represented by the i Basques (q.v.) universally admitted. _Niebuhr holds that Hispania was originally peopled by Celts and lberi, from a mixture of whom arose the Celtiberi (q.v.). The more comm on opinion, however, both ancient and modern, is that the Celts were not equally aboriginal with the Iberi, but invaders from Gaul, who conquered the latter.