 This marked the first incursion of the Roman Republic into the peninsula and possibly the first clash between Lusitanians and Romans, as the Lusitanians fought, during the Punic Wars, on the Carthaginian side as mercenaries.In 194 BC, a war broke out between the Romans and the Lusitanians, who were an autonomous people.By 179 BC, the Romans had mostly succeeded in pacifying the region and signed a peace treaty.