Romanisation: living like a Roman
The Romans ruled the Iberian Peninsula for more than 600 years, and that had a huge effect on it. The pre-Roman peoples began to adopt Roman customs and culture. This process is called Romanisation.
People began to speak Latin, the language of Ancient Rome. Latin is the basis of the Romance languages of the Peninsula: Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese.
The Ancient Romans worshipped many gods, like Jupiter (king of the gods), Mars (war), Venus (love) and Ceres (farming). In AD 312 the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and later the rest of the Empire did too.
Famous Romans from Hispania
Born in Itálica, a Roman city near modern-day Seville. He was Emperor of Rome from AD 98 to 117.
Also from Itálica. Emperor from AD 117 to 138. He built Hadrian's Wall across the north of Britain.
An important Roman philosopher, born in the Roman city of Corduba (Córdoba).
The Basque language (euskera) does not come from Latin. It is older than the Romans, and nobody knows exactly where it comes from!