Modern-day Portugal was home to the proud Lusitanians, who thrived on self-sufficiency (and occasionally crime).
But as the Romans made their way onto the Iberian Peninsula, their way of life became threatened. The Romans began their task of pressing them into submission in 151 BCE – and almost succeeded. They managed to lure the Lusitanians from their mountains with the promise of fertile plains, and then slaughtered them. Few escaped, but one who did was Viriathus – and he was out for revenge.
Viriathus had been a shepherd or a huntsman, but now he became a military mastermind. He knew how his men worked and he knew the lay of the land, conducting the fighting in the mountains in the beginning to give his men the upper hand. When the Romans tried to offer a truce, Viriathus reminded his people of the massacre and the wrongdoings they had suffered at the hands of the invaders. He was officially elected as their leader.
Feigning a retreat, Viriathus led his enemies into an ambush. After that, the empire suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the Celt they called Terror Romanorum – ‘terror of the Romans’. It was only in 142 BCE that Viriathus was forced to retreat back to Lustania. But he wasn’t finished – a year later, he stole into a town and fought against its Roman besiegers. However, the Romans bested him again and escape was impossible, so a deal was struck.
The Romans could leave the town uninjured and the Lusitanians got to keep their territory. But Viriathus was always a threat to the Romans, so they had him murdered in his sleep.