The Lusitanians[37] were an Indo-European-speaking people living in the far west of the Iberian Peninsula, in present-day central Portugal and regions of Western Spain. It is uncertain whether the Lusitanians were Celticized Iberians, representatives of the ancient Beaker Culture (with Proto-Lusitanian tribes possibly originating from Gallia Belgica)[38] or Celts, related to the Lusones.[39] Early in the first millennium BC, several waves of Celts arrived in Portugal from Central Europe and intermarried with the local populations to form several different ethnic groups. The Celtic presence and heritage is patent in archaeological and linguistic evidence. They dominated most of northern and central Portugal, while the south maintained some of its older character (believed non-Indo-European, likely related to Basque) until the Roman conquest.[40] In southern Portugal, some small, semi-permanent commercial outposts were also founded by Mediterranean peoples namely Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians along the coast. Roman Portugal Main articles: Lusitania, Gallaecia, and Hispania Roman Temple of Évora, one of the best preserved landmarks of Roman presence in Portugal Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC. The Carthaginians, Rome's opponent in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies. During Julius Caesar's rule, almost the entire peninsula was annexed to Rome. The conquest took two hundred years and many died, including those sentenced to work in slave mines or sold as slaves to other parts of the empire. The Roman occupation suffered a setback in 155 BC, when a rebellion began in the north. The Lusitanians and other native tribes, under the leadership of Viriathus,[41][42] wrested control of all of western Iberia. Rome sent legions to quell the rebellion but were unsuccessful. Roman leaders bribed Viriathus's allies to kill him in 139 BC; he was replaced by Tautalus. In 27 BC, Lusitania gained the status of Roman province. Later, a northern province was separated from the province of Tarraconensis, under Emperor Diocletian's reforms, known as Gallaecia.[43] There are numerous ruins of castros (hill forts) and remains of the Castro culture, like the Mozinho, Zambujal, Cidadelhe, Conímbriga, Mirobriga, Briteiros archaeological sites. Germanic kingdoms Map of the Kingdom of the Suebi in the 5th and 6th centuries In 409, with the decline of the Roman Empire, the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by Germanic tribes.[44] In 411, with a federation contract with Emperor Honorius, many of these people settled in Hispania. An important group was made up of the Suebi, Buri,[45] Vandals in Gallaecia, who founded a Suebi Kingdom with its capital in Braga. They came to dominate central Portugal, including Aeminium (Coimbra) all the way to the Tagus, while the Visigoths occupied the south.[46] The Suebi and the Visigoths were the Germanic tribes who had the most lasting presence in the territories corresponding to modern Portugal. As elsewhere in Western Europe, there was a sharp decline in urban life during the Dark Ages.[47] Roman institutions disappeared in the wake of the Germanic invasions with the exception of ecclesiastical organisations, which were fostered by the Suebi in the fifth century and adopted by the Visigoths afterwards. Although the Suebi and Visigoths were initially followers of Arianism and Priscillianism, they adopted Catholicism from the local inhabitants. St. Martin of Braga was a particularly influential evangelist.[46] In 429, the Visigoths moved south to expel the Alans and Vandals and founded a kingdom with its capital in Toledo. From 470, conflict between the Suebi and Visigoths increased. In 585, the Visigothic King Liuvigild conquered Braga and annexed Gallaecia; the Iberian Peninsula was unified under a Visigothic Kingdom.[46] A new class emerged, unknown in Roman times: a nobility, which played a key social and political role during the Middle Ages. It was under the Visigoths that the Church began to play an important part within the state. As the Visigoths did not learn Latin from the local people, they had to rely on bishops to continue the Roman system of governance. The laws were made by councils of bishops, and the clergy emerged as a high-ranking class. Islamic period Today's continental Portugal, along with most of modern Spain, was invaded from the South and became part of al-Andalus between 726 and 1249, following the Umayyad Caliphate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. This rule lasted decades in the North, up to five centuries in the South.[48] Ruins of Aljezur castle, in the Algarve built by the Moors in the 10th century. After defeating the Visigoths in a few months, the Umayyad Caliphate started expanding rapidly in the peninsula. Beginning in 726, the land that is now Portugal became part of the vast Umayyad Caliphate's empire of Damascus, until its collapse in 750. That year the west of the empire gained its independence under Abd-ar-Rahman I with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba. The Emirate became the Caliphate of Córdoba in 929, until its dissolution in 1031, into 23 small kingdoms, called Taifa kingdoms.[48] The governors of the taifas proclaimed themselves Emir of their provinces and established diplomatic relations with the Christian kingdoms of the north. Most of present-day Portugal fell into the hands of the Taifa of Badajoz of the Aftasid Dynasty, and in 1022 the Taifa of Seville of the Abbadids poets. The Taifa period ended with the conquest of the Almoravids in 1086, then by the Almohads in 1147.[49] Al-Andaluz was divided into districts called Kura. Gharb Al-Andalus at its largest consisted of ten kuras,[50] each with a distinct capital and governor. The main cities were in the southern half of the country: Beja, Silves, Alcácer do Sal, Santarém and Lisbon. The Muslim population consisted mainly of native Iberian converts to Islam and Berbers.[51] The Arabs (mainly noblemen from Syria) although a minority, constituted the elite. The Berbers who joined them, were nomads from the Rif Mountains of North Africa.[48] "Marcas" share similarities with bomärken, in Scandinavia Invasions from the North also occurred in this period, with Viking incursions raiding the coast between the 9th and 11th centuries, including Lisbon.[52][53] This resulted in the establishment of small Norse settlements in the coastline between Douro and Minho.[54] One likely Viking cultural heritage is found in the ancient Marcas Poveiras or Siglas Poveiras. It is generally accepted that the siglas, also known as marcas, are of Scandinavian origin. Based on numerous similarities initially found at the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen, several objects marked with "home-marks" were also identified in Funen (also known as Fyn), Denmark. Further studies revealed that the complex hereditary marking system of Póvoa de Varzim was also present in Fyn. Given the geographical distance, historical Viking incursions along the Portuguese coast, and pagan rituals practiced by people from this particular fishing region, it is believed that there is a partial Norse ancestry and cultural legacy.[55] Reconquista