| c. 10,000 BC | Late Palaeolithic: notable cave paintings (Altamira, El Castillo, etc) |
| 5000-2000 | Neolithic: cave paintings (scenes of war and hunting) in eastern Spain. |
| 2000-1600 | Megalithic culture (Copper Age): monumental tombs and cult structures. |
| about 1100 | The Phoenicians establish trading posts on the south coast - Gadri (Cádiz), Malaka (Málaga), Tartessos etc. |
| after 1000 | The Celts, who in subsequent centuries mingle with the Iberians to become Celtiberians, thrust into the interior of the country. |
| from 700 | A number of ports - Emporion (Ampurias), Mainake (at Torre del Mar, 30 km (20 mi) east of Málaga), etc. - are established by the Greeks, mainly Ionians form the Phocaean colony of Massalia (Marseilles). |
| from 600 | The Carthaginians drive out the Greeks. |
| 236-206 | After the First Punic War, the Carthaginians under Hamilcar Barca, Hasdrubal and Hannibal extend their colonial power from the Tagus to the Ebro. |
| about 225 | Foundation of Carthago Nova (Cartegena) |
| 219 | At the beginning of the Second Punic War, Hannibal destroys Saguntum, an ally of Rome. |
| 201 | Under a peace treaty with Rome, Carthage gives up its Spanish possessions. |
| 197 | Establishment of the Roman provinces of Hispania Citerior in the north-east and Hispania Ulterior in the south-west.
A series of risings - by the Lusitanians under the leadership of Viriathus (154-139), the Celtiberians (143-133), the Asturians, Cantabrians and other tribes (25-19), etc. - hamper the complete subjection of the peninsular but not the rapid linguistic and cultural Romanisation of the country (with the exception of the Basque territories. |
| 81-72 | The Roman praetor Sertorius, a supporter of Marius, tries to establish an independent Celtiberian state. |
| 45 | Julius Caesar defends Pompey's sons and supporters at Munda (south west of Córdoba) and becomes dictator. His veterans are settled on the properties of his defeated rivals. |
| 27 | Spain is divided into the provinces of Hispania Tarraconensis (in the north and east), Lusitania (in the west, between the Duero/Douro and Guadiana) and Baetica (the original Hispania Ulterior). |
| 19 | The Iberian peninsula is fully incorporated into the Roman Empire by Augustus
The Romanised population of Spain produces writers like Seneca, Lucan and Martial and the Emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius (the Great). |
| AD 74 | Vespasian grants the principle towns the ius Latii (municipal charters) |
| from 100 | Beginning of the Christianisation of the Iberian peninsula. |
| after 400 | During the Great Migrations, the Alans (a tribe from the Iranian steppe) settle in what is now Portugal, the Vandals (an east Germanic people) in southern Spain, the Suevi (from southern Germany) in the north-west. |
| 414 | The Vandals move on into Africa |
| 466-84 | King Eurich, ruler of the Visigothic kingdom of Tolosa, defeats the Suevi and establishes Visigothic rule throughout Spain (except the north-west). The oldest Germanic code of law, the Codex Euricianus, written in Latin, is compiled during his reign. |
| 507-711 | After the fall of the kingdom of Tolosa the Visigoths continue to rule Spain, with their capital at Toledo. |
| 551 | Under Justinian the Byzantines conquer the south coast of Spain, but lose it again in 624 |
| 587 | The conversion of the Arian Visigoths to orthodox Catholicism is followed by their rapid amalgamation with the Romanised population. |
| 711 | The Arab general Tarik defeats a Visigothic army led by Roderick at Jerez de la Frontera. |
