MURCIA

History of MurciaBy: Valerio Branchina, Alejandro

Font, Adelino Font, Ignacio Martínez and Julia Pineda

Origin of the name and founding Carthage

Is widely believed that Murcia's name is derivedfrom the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea,meaning land of Myrtle (the plant is known to growin the general area), although it may also be aderivation of the word Murtia, which would meanMurtius Village (Murtius was a common Romanname). Other research suggests that it may owe itsname to the Latin Murtae (Mulberry), whichcovered the regional landscape for many centuries.The Latin name eventually changed into the ArabicMursiya, and then, Murcia.About 230 BC, the Carthaginans founded a tradingport at Cartagena, naming. The Romans calledit Cartago Nova, New Carthage, and when theytook it in 209 BC it was considered one of therichest cities in the world. The basis of this wealthwas the locally mined silver.

Teatro romano en Cartagena

The Muslim MurciaThe city in its present location was founded with the name Medinat Mursiya (city of Murcia) in AD 825 by Abd ar Rahman II, who was then the emir of Córdoba. Muslimsplanners, taking advantage of the course of The river Segura, created a complex network of irrigation channelsthat made the town's agricultural existence prosperous. In the 12th century the traveler and writer Muhammad alIdrisi described the city of Murcia as populous andstrongly fortified. After the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba in1031, Murcia passed under the successive rules of thepowers seated variously at Almería, Toledo and Sevilla. After the fall Of Almoravide empire, Muhammad IbnMardanis made Murcia capital of an Independent kingdom. At this time, Murcia was a very prosperous city, famous for itsceramics, exported to Italian towns, as well as for silk andpaper industries, the first in Europe. The coinage of Murcia was considered as model in all the continent. The mysticIbn Arabi (1165 - 1240), and the poets Ibn al Jinan and Hazmun borned in Murcia at this period. In 1172 Murcia was taken by the Almohades, and from 1223 to 1243 it briefly served as the capital of an independent kingdom.

Noria para el regadío en Abarán

The Christian MurciaBy the Treaty of Alcaraz, in 1243, Alfonso X of Castilla made Murcia aprotectorate, getting access to Mediterrannean sea while Murcia wasprotected against Granada and Aragon. But the town became rapidlycolonized by Christians fom almost all parts of the Iberian Peninsula. TheseChristian populations were brought to the area with the goal of establishing aChristian base here, one that would be loyal to the Crown of Castilla and whoseculture would supplant that of the subjugated Muslim peoples. During the processof Christianization, many of the city’s mosques were destroyed or converted intoCatholic churches. That is why a revolt spread in 1264-6. In 1296, James II ofAragon conquered the city. In 1304, it was finally incorporated into Castilla underthe Treaty of Torrellas.aty

Torre Alfonsina en Lorca

From the XVIII century Prosperity of thedisasters

 of the XIX centuryMurcia lost then its prosperity but flourished again in the 18th century, benefiting greatly from a boom in the silk industry.

Many of the modern city's landmark churches andmonuments date from this period of nascent mercantilism.

However, this was to be followed by nearly a century of mishap. In 1810, Murcia was looted by Napoleonic troops; it then suffered a major earthquakee in 1829. According to contemporaneous accounts, an estimated 6,000 people died from the disaster's effects across the province.

Plague and cholera followed. Cardenal Belluga. Figura clave en la

historia de Murcia.

Murcia nowadays The town and surrounding area suffered badly from floods in1651, 1879, and 1907, though the construction of a leveehelped to stave off the repeated floods from the Segura.

A popular pedestrian walkway, the Malecon, runs along the top of the levee.Murcia has been the capital of the province of Murcia since1838 and, with its creation by the central government in 1982, capital of the autonomous community (which includes onlythe city and the province).

Since then, it has become the seventh most populated nicipality in Spain, and a thriving services city.

Recreación paseo del malecón