Barcelona
is one of the most ancient cities in Spain, and certainly it is rich with
history. Here I offer a Barcelona History Timeline, from 2000BC to the
12th century.
2000 BC
The legend of its creation
is that in 2000 BC Hercules, the mythical Greek hero, set sail from Africa
in nine boats. During the voyage, one of the ships is lost to a storm by
the Catalan coast. Searching for the ninth boat, Hercules and his men eventually
find it, stranded on a new land, surrounded by a beautiful hill. The men
survived, and so struck by the beauty of the place, named it Barca Nona,
'Ninth Ship'.
First Century BC
Towards the end of
the first century BC, the Romans established a city called Barcino around
what was then called the Taber mountain. The Romans used the same spot
as their political and administrative base as they do today; Plaza Sant
Jaume.However, the Romans showed little interest in what is now the capital
of Catalunya. Instead they focused on Barcelona's neighbor, Tarragona.
The Romans enclosed the city with looming walls, which still remain very
much visible today. Excellent examples can be found in the Plaza del Rei
and the Plaza Ramon Berenguer.
Early 5th century
The Visigoths (Western
Goths; one of the main branches of the Goths, an eastern Germanic tribe)
conquered Barcelona in the early 5th century. Barcino, as Barcelona was
known so long ago, was an important center of the Visigoth kingdom, attributed
to its insurmountably defensive walls. So highly important was Barcino
that it was made the capital of the kingdom, after it's predecessor, Toulouse
in France.
711
The Muslim inhabitants
of Al-Andulus, the Moors, arrived to the Iberian peninsula in 711. Under
the rule of 'Taric el Tuerto' (Taric the one-eyed), they reigned over most
of Spain, conquering the Visigoths. Tarragona, in 717 was invaded and largely
destroyed. When the Moors entered Barcelona after such damage caused to
Tarragona, they met with little resistance. The reign of the Moors lasted
less than a century.When in...
...801...
...Louis the Pious,
under Charlesmagne, conquered the city, and Barcelona fell under Frankish
rule. From 878 to 897, Guifré el Pelós, Catalan for Wilfred
the Hairy, was the count of Barcelona, Girona and Besalu.
11th Century
In the 11th century,
Barcelona invaded Cordoba, which ended in success for Barcelona, bringing
with it a significant gain of wealth and economy. The city developed rapidly.
At this time, other Catalan counties united, with Barcelona as their capital.
During the 12th Century...
...Barcelona prospered.
The then count, Ramon Berenguer IV married the daughter of the King of
Aragon, Petronila of Aragon, uniting the two territories. This brought
vast increase of political and economical power. Upon the death of Petronilas
father, Berenguer became King of Aragon.Helped by commerce from the Mediterranean
sea and tariffs collected from the 'Moorish Taifa Kingdom', Barcelona's
conquest increased to include Valencia, the Balearic islands, Sicily and
Sardinia.
In this period, two
new sections of the city wall were built. One to encompass annexed towns,
the other to include an agricultural area which is now known as the Raval.
The city flourished
and grew, attracting merchants from around the world. Guilds were formed,
concentrated in different areas around the cities political center, Plaza
Sant Jaume. Street names still reflect these guilds which existed so long
ago, e.g. Flassaders (blanket makers) or Sombrerers (hat makers).
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