In 197 BC, Rome divided the territory it had wrested from the Carthaginians into Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior (present-day Andalusia), with its capital at Córdoba.
Crossing the Guadalquivir at its highest navigable point, the massive foundation of the Roman bridge at Córdoba still survives, replacing a wooden one built by Caesar. Seneca was born in Córdoba, as was his nephew, Lucan, author of Pharsalia, an account of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. Both were implicated in a plot against Nero and forced to commit suicide in AD 65.
