
Baetica was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania, bordering Lusitania to the west and Hispania Tarraconensis to the northeast; Corduba (Cordoba) was its capital. The region was originally inhabited by Iberian tribes, the partly Hellenized Turdetani, and Phoenician traders, but it was conquered by the Roman Republic in 206 BC during the Second Punic War. Hispania was Romanized after the defeat of the Turdetani in 197 BC, and Baetica became rich and utterly Romanized. During the 5th century AD, the Vandals and Alans conquered the region. The Byzantines reconquered the region during the 6th century AD, and it became a part of the Exarchate of Africa. The Visigoths later conquered the region, and, after 711, the Muslim Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula and quickly overran it, bringing a final end to Roman and barbarian rule.