We now come to the Iberus, into which several rivers from the north discharge their waters; one of these, the _Sicoris_ (Segre), is a river of some importance. The Romans acquired influence and formed connections in the country between the Ebro and the Pyrenees about the same time when Hamilcar was actively engaged in the south to extend the power of Carthage; and the inhabitants of Catalonia, at least those on the coast, had at that time already submitted to the Romans. As the power of the Carthaginians was spreading in Spain, the Catalonians thought they could protect themselves only by applying to some distant state which had no armies in the neighbourhood, which levied no taxes, and to which they had only to furnish troops in case of need. TARACO, properly the capital of all Spain, was the chief city in fair Catalonia throughout the Roman period; and from it _Hispania Taraconensis_, which embraced the greater part of Spain, derived its name. After the time of the Hannibalian war there were two _Hispaniae_, and one praetor resided at Carthagena, and the other at Taraco. It was in its character of a capital that Taraco had a temple of Roma and Augustus. It was a wealthy place, but afterwards declined, and in the middle ages it was eclipsed by the neighbouring— _Barcelona_, which, however, is not mentioned during the period of the Roman republic, but only under the empire. Its ancient name is BARCINO; the termination _no_ or _ino_ is of common occurrence, as for example, in Ruscino, and seems to have been a dialectic peculiarity of those parts. Barcelona, has an excellent harbour, and its situation is very strong on account of the mountain which rises above the city. At the time of the Visigoths, it surpassed Taragona in importance, but in ancient history it does not occur. On a more distant part of the coast, we meet with two Greek settlements, EMPORIAE, from which the modern Ampurias has its name, and RHODE. The latter is called a Rhodian colony; but Rhode, as well as Emporiae, was probably a colony of Massilia, by whose support it was maintained. The country between the Ebro and the Pyrenees was in ancient times inhabited by many small tribes, as the Ilergetes, Lacetani, Cosetani, etc.[67] ILERDA, the modern Lerida on the Sicoris, is a town of great historical importance in the interior of Catalonia. It is remarkable in the history of Rome, and especially that of Caesar, who there compelled Afranius and Petreius to capitulate. These events, which are interesting in themselves, also show how an extraordinary man overcomes the most difficult circumstances, and gains advantages even where all chances seem to be against him. OSCA (now Huesca), an ancient town farther inland, in Aragon, was, for a long time the head-quarters of the great Sertorius. It must have been a town of great importance to Spain, for the standard of the Spanish coinage is called _argentum Oscense_.