Calagurris
- A town in Hispania Tarraconensis, in the region of the Ilergetes, north of Osca, now Loarre, Liv. 39, 21, 8; Flor. 3, 22, 9.—Hence,
- B Călăgurrī-tāni, its inhabitants, Caes. B. C. 1, 60; Suet. Aug. 49; acc. to Plin. 3, 3, 4, § 24, with epithet Fibularenses.—
- II A town of the Vascones, in Spain, birthplace of Quintilian, and, acc. to some, of Prudentius, now Calahorra: Calagurritani Nassici, its inhabitants, Plin. l. l.
CALAGURRIS(Calagorris, Calaguris, Κλάγουρις, Strab. 3. p. 161; Κλάγυρος, Appian. B.C. 1.112: Eth. Calagurritani: Calahorra), a city of the Vascones, in Hispania Tarraconensis, stood upon a rocky hill near the right bank of the Iberus (Auson. Epist. 25.57, haerens scopulis Calogorris), on the high road from Caesaraugusta ( Zaragoza) to Legio VII. Gemina (Leon), 49 M. P. above the former city ( Itin. Ant. p. 393). It is first mentioned in the Celtiberian War (B.C. 186: Liv. 39.21); but it obtained a horrible celebrity in the war with Sertorius, by whom it was successfully defended against Pompey. It was one of the last cities which remained faithful to Sertorius; and, after his death, the people of Calagurris resolved to share his fate. Besieged by Pompey's legate Afranius, they added to an heroic obstinacy like that of Saguntum, Numantia, and Zaragoza, a feature of horror which has scarcely a parallel in history: in the extremity of famine, the citizens slaughtered their wives and children, and, after satisfying present hunger, salted the remainder of the flesh for future use! The capture and destruction of the city put an end to the Sertorian War (Strab. l. c.;Liv. Fr. xci., Epit. xciii.; Appian. B.C. 1.112; Flor. 3.23; Val. Max., ext. 3; Juven. 15.93; Oros. 5.23).
Under the empire, Calagurris was a municipiumwith the civitas Romana, and belonged to the conventus of Caesaraugusta (Plin. Nat. 3.3. s. 4). It was surnamed NASSICAin contra-distinction to CALAGURIIS FIBULAIRIA,a stipendiary town in the same neighbourhood (Liv. Fr. xci.; Plin. l. c.calls the peoples respectively Calaguritani Nassici and Calaguritani Fibularenses). The latter place seems to be the Calagurris mentioned by Caesar as forming one community with Osca ( B.C. 1.60: Calaguritani, qui erant cum Oscensibus contributi), and must be looked for near Osca, in all probability at Loarre, NW. of Huesca;but several writers take Loarrefor Calagurris Nassica and Calahorrafor the other. (See Ukert, vol. ii. pt. 1, p. 447.)
Whichever way the question of namebe decided, there still remains some doubt whether the city N. of the Ebro( Loarre), ought not to be regarded, on account of its close connection with Osca, as the one so renowned in the Sertorian War. A similar doubt affects the numerous coins which bear the name of Calagurris; but the best numismatists regard them as belonging all to Calagurris Nassica. They are all of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, and the various epigraphs give the city the surnames, sometimes of NASSICA,sometimes of JULIA,and testify to its having been a municipium. (Florez, Med. de Esp. vol. 1. p. 255, vol. 3. p. 22; Mionnet, vol. 1. p. 34, Suppl. vol. 1. p. 67; Sestini, Med. Isp. p. 119; Eckhel, vol. i. pp. 39--41; Rasche, s. v.) The favour it enjoyed under Augustus is shown by the fact that he had a body-guard of its people (Suet. Octav. 49).
Calagurris ( Calahorra, in this case, without doubt) is celebrated in literary history as the birthplace of the rhetorician Quinctilian, and, according to some, of the first Christian poet, Prudentius, whom others make a native of CAESAIAUGUSTA.(Auson. de Prof. 1.7; Prudent. Hymn. 4.31, Peristeph. 1.117).
[P.S]CALAGURRISa place in Aquitania, on the road between Lugdunum Cornvenarum and Tolosa, according to the Antonine Itin. It is marked 26 M. P. from Lugdunum. D'Anville fixes it at Cazères, others at S. Martorris, boti of them on the left bank of the Garonne, in the department of Haute Garonsne. The distance from Lugdumum ( St. Bertrand de Comminges) must be measured along the Garonne. The places between Calagurris and Tolosa, namely Aquae Siccae and Vernosole, seem to be identified by their names, and Calagurris ought not to be doubtful. Cazéresand S. Martorrisare not far distant from one another, and mosaic pavements and other remains are said to have been found at one or both.
[G.L]The modern Calahorra; a town of the Vascones in Hispania Tarraconensis, near the Iberus (Ebro). It was the birthplace of Quintilian. The Calagurritani are said to have eaten their wives and children in the extremity of their hunger, rather than yield to Pompey in B.C. 71. See Val. Max.vii. 6.
On the left bank of the river Cidacos near its junction with the Ebro. Mentioned by Livy (39.21) in connection with the wars of the Romans against the Celtiberians in 188-187 B.C. It is celebrated for its adherence to Sertorius and resistance to Pompey and Afranius in 76 B.C. (Sall. H. 3.86-87; Val. Max. 6. ext. 3). Towards the middle of the 1st c. B.C. it acquired the epithet of Nassica and later that of Julia, after Caesar. According to Suetonius (Aug. 49.1) both Caesar and Augustus recruited Calagurritans for their bodyguards, and Augustus accorded the privilege of coining money.
Among its remains is a circus NE of the city, some 400 paces in length and 116 in width, capable of accommodating 20,000 spectators. The highway from Caesaraugusta to Virobesca traversed the site and crossed the Ebro by a 20-arch bridge, 5-6 m high and 140 m long. There are also remains of an aqueduct and of baths with a mosaic pavement.
Calagurris was the birthplace of the orator and essayist Quintilian, and perhaps of Prudentius. According to Ausonius, at the close of the 4th c. it was a deserted town of no importance.
The local museum contains mosaics, terra sigillata, and inscribed stones.
BIBLIOGRAPHYB. Taracena, “Restos romanos en la Rioja,” ArchEspArq 15 (1942) 17-47MPI.
J. ARCE