Castulo in Hispania, 200-100 BC., As, Burgos 550.

Castulo in Hispania, (mint - ceca: Cazlona, Linares (Jaén)), ca. 200-100 BC.,
Æ As (27-28 mm / 14,74 g),
Obv.: diademed male head right - cabeza viril diademada con ínfulas a derecha.
Rev.: Iberian letters KASTILO (in exergue) , griffin standing right, left paw raised; star before - esfinge a derecha, delante estrella; en el exergo, inscripción ibérica KASTILO .
Burgos 104, 550 ; SNGuk_0902_1230 (http://www.s110120695.websitehome.co.uk/SNG/sng_reply2a.php?verb=SNGuk_0902_1230) .

Castulo is an Iberian town located 7 km from Linares, in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia, Spain. Evidence of human presence of since the neolithic period has been found there. Oretans was the name of the Iberian tribe which settled in the vicinity in the north of the Guadalquivir river beginning in the 6th century BCE. A local princess named Himilce married Hannibal as part of an alliance of the city with the Carthaginian Empire. In 213 BCE, Castulo was the site of a Hasdrubal Barca's crushing victory over the Roman army with a force of roughly 40,000 Carthaginian troops alongside a force of local Iberian mercenaries. The Roman Empire concluded a pact with the residents of city who betrayed the Carthaginians, and the city thus achieved the status of foederati (ally) of Rome.

Castulo began to lose importance in the Middle Ages when Spain fell under Islamic rule. In contrast, the nearby village now known as Linares grew in prominence due to its strong castle.