Roman Empire Fan loyalty was fierce and at times erupted into sports riots. Racing was perilous, but charioteers were among the most celebrated and well-compensated athletes. One star of the sport was Diocles, from Lusitania (present-day Portugal), who raced chariots for 24 years and had career earnings of 35 million sesterces. Horses had their fans too, and were commemorated in art and inscriptions, sometimes by name. The design of Roman circuses was developed to assure that no team had an unfair advantage and to minimize collisions ("naufragia," "shipwrecks"), which were nonetheless frequent and spectacularly satisfying to the crowd. The races retained a
Lusitania 28-24 BC). With Lusitania (and Asturia and Gallaecia), Rome had completed the conquest of the Iberian peninsula, which was then divided by Augustus (25–20 BC or 16-13 BC) into the eastern and northern Hispania Tarraconensis, the southwestern "Hispania Baetica" and the western "Provincia Lusitana". Originally, Lusitania included the territories of Asturia and Gallaecia, but these were later ceded to the jurisdiction of the new "Provincia Tarraconensis" and the former remained as "Provincia Lusitania et Vettones". Its northern border was along the Douro river, while on its eastern side its border passed through "Salmantica" (Salamanca)and "Caesarobriga" (Talavera de la Reina) to