Basque country of northern Spain

The Basque country of northern Spain, which is located along the north coast of Spain, next to the western Pyrenees. The Basques, who are a pre-Roman people, have a proud and unique cultural heritage and language. The origins of the Basques remains shadowed in uncertainty although historians have attempted to link the Basques with Irish Celts, eastern European tribes or even North African peoples. The Basques were the last of the Pre-Roman tribes of Spain to accept Roman culture, laws and languages. However, they revealed no signs of Visigothic or Frankish culture. The Basques remained distinct even after the Arab invasion of 711 because they took refuge in the valleys of the western Pyrenees and waited out the early wave of Arab conquest. As the Christian Reconquest that was launched by Asturias gathered momentum, the Basques became allied with Asturias and Navarre. In 778, Charlemagne entered Spain and sacked the city of Pamplona. In revenge, the Basques attacked and annhilated his forces as they were retreating through the Pyrenean mountain pass of Roncesvalles. These events have been immortalized in the French epic poem "Chanson de Roland". After the 9th century, the Basques were politically aligned with a succession of kingdoms: Asturias, Navarre, and later Castile. Since the end of the Middle Ages and until today, the region was politically dependent on Castile. Nevertheless, the Basque language has never been lost and it is the symbol of this ancient culture that has survived so many centuries of contact and assimilation with other linguistic groups.