Beginning in the ninth century BC, Phoenicians, [[Greeks]], Carthaginians, and Celts entered the Iberian Peninsula. The [[Roman]]s followed in the second century BC and laid the groundwork for Spain's present language, religion, and laws. Although the Visigoths arrived in the fifth century AD, the last Roman strongholds along the southern coast did not fall until the seventh century AD. | Beginning in the ninth century BC, Phoenicians, [[Greeks]], Carthaginians, and Celts entered the Iberian Peninsula. The [[Roman]]s followed in the second century BC and laid the groundwork for Spain's present language, religion, and laws. Although the Visigoths arrived in the fifth century AD, the last Roman strongholds along the southern coast did not fall until the seventh century AD. |