Urso
Urso, known as Osuna, is a historically significant city located in southern Spain, particularly in the region of Baetica. It has roots in Iberian history and played a notable role during the Second Punic War, where Roman generals Cnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio wintered there. The city is also mentioned in relation to the conflict against the nationalist leader Viriathus, highlighting its strategic importance during Roman times. In 45 BC, during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Sextus Pompeius, Urso was captured by Caesar, who envisioned transforming it into a colony for ex-soldiers, named Colonia Genetiva Julia Urbanorum.
Urso was strategically positioned at the intersection of major trade routes, making it an important hub for commerce and military movements. Archaeological evidence, including five bronze sheets inscribed with Caesar's colonial charter, provides insight into Roman administrative practices and can be viewed at Madrid's Archaeological Museum. The city also has religious significance, as a bishop from Urso participated in the Council of Illiberis in 309 AD. Today, remnants of Urso's ancient city walls and remarkable floor mosaics, including one featuring the Greek river Achelous, continue to be discovered, reflecting its rich cultural heritage.
Urso
Ursao (Osuna)
A city in southern Spain (Baetica), of Iberian origin. During the Second Punic War, the Roman generals Cnaeus and Publius Cornelius Scipio (uncle and father of Scipio Africanus the Elder) spent the winter of 211/210 at Urso and Castulo (Cazlona), and it was at Urso in 145/44 that Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, during the war against the nationalist Viriathus, concentrated his troops. Three of Urso's citizens were Viriathus' close friends and negotiators, but under Roman influence he put them to death. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and Sextus Pompeius (younger son of Pompey the Great)—whose quaestor Lucius Appuleus Decianus issued coinage at the town—it was stormed by Caesar (45), who planned the replacement of its population by a colony of ex-soldiers, under the name of Colonia Genetiva Julia Urbanorum; the settlement was probably undertaken in the following year, after his death.
The colony of Urso stood at the meeting point of north-south and east-west routes. Five out of an original nine bronze sheets inscribed with Caesar's colonial charter have survived (although the inscriptions themselves date from the Flavian period, AD 69–96), and can be seen at Madrid's Archaeological Museum; they cast exceptionally valuable light on Roman administrative arrangements in Spain. In 309 a bishop of Urso took part in the Council of Illiberis (Elvira). Parts of the city wall survived until 1932, and remains of houses and floor mosaics (including one depicting the Greek river Achelous surrounded by nymphs) have been unearthed.