Lacobriga

Lacobriga

Lacobriga was the latin name of a settlement established during the pre-Punic civilizations, near current day Lagos, Portugal.Founded by the Conii around 1899 BC, there is evidence of Phoenician presence around the seventh century BC....

was the latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 name of a settlement established during the pre-Punic

Punics

The Punics were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician and Cypriot settlers, but also to North African Berbers . Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry...

 civilizations, near current day Lagos, Portugal

Lagos, Portugal

Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....

.

Founded by the Conii around 1899 BC, there is evidence of Phoenician

Phoenician

Phoenician may refer to:*Phoenicia, the ancient civilization*Phoenician alphabet*Phoenician languagePhoenician may also be:*A native or resident of Phoenix, Arizona-See also:*Phoenix *Phoenicia...

 presence around the seventh century BC.

It was conquered by the Carthaginians

Carthage

Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

 under Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar Barca or Barcas was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair....

, who then recruited Celtic

Celtic

The words Celt and Celtic can refer to:In ethno-linguistics:*Celts, a people of the Celtic nations*Celts , the modern Celtic identity*Celtic languages...

 tribesmen in the Punic Wars

Punic Wars

The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...

 against the Romans.
The original settlement was destroyed by an earthquake in the fourth century BC. Following the disaster, the Carthaginian captain Boodes

Boodes

Boodes was a Carthaginian senator and naval officer who served during the First Punic War. He commanded a successful expedition to Lipara where he captured the Roman consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina.-Citations:...

 resettled the city on its current location in 250 BC.

Owing to its important harbor, it was colonized by the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and integrated into the Roman province of Lusitania

Lusitania

Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...

, becoming known as Lacobriga.

In 76 BC Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...

, a rebellious Roman general, helped by the Lusitanians

Lusitanians

The Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...

 of Lacobriga (who had been oppressed under Roman Generals and members of Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...

 party), successfully defeated the Roman army of Caecilius Metellus Pius

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was a pro-Sullan politician and general. He was named Pius because of his 99 BC petition to return his father from exile and was true to his cognomen for the constance and inflexibility with which he always fought for his father's rehabilitation and return to...

 probably at nearby Monte Molião.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the town was occupied in the 6th century by the Visigoths from the Kingdom of Toledo and later by the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

.