The area of Girona was populated well before the arrival of the Romans by the ancient Iberian indigenous tribe, but it was during the Sertorian war between Pompey and Sertorius (82-72 BC) when the settlement of Girona was really created. The city of Gerunda, as it was called by the Romans, was in a key position along the via Augusta – and ensured the arrival of reinforcements and supplies from the capital.