The Romans left a profound mark on the Iberian Peninsula, visible in Latin, Roman law, aqueducts, bridges, amphitheaters, and triumphal arches. Thanks to genetics, we now know that their arrival also changed the population's DNA. A study led by researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and published in the journal iScience has obtained the most complete and precise picture to date of the history and genetic evolution of the Iberian peoples who inhabited the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula from the beginnings of the Iron Age until the Roman conquest, between 2,700 and 2,100 years ago.

In the second century CE, the Roman Empire was at its zenith, boasting some 55 million inhabitants and stretching from the eastern Mediterranean basin to Great Britain. This vast territory covered more than four million square kilometers. Goods, people, knowledge, beliefs, and even epidemics circulated. This was all done through a complex network of roads connecting farms, villages, and cities, allowing emperors to maintain control of the empire.