The Mancelli map
Valencia on the Eve of the Revolt of the Brotherhoods
The origins of the city of Valencia date back to 138 BC, when the Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus Galaicus established the colony of Valentia Edetanorum as a settlement for the veteran soldiers who had fought in the wars against the Lusitanians. Recent archaeological findings have revealed, however, the existence of human settlements prior to the Roman foundation of the city, during the Mesolithic period and, later, in the fourth and third centuries BC, when the presence of Iberian and Carthaginian peoples is documented.