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53-629: Cazalla is a village in Murcia , Spain . It is part of the municipality of Lorca . Province of Murcia A jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile since the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Murcia was replaced in the 19th century by territory primarily belonging to the provinces of Albacete and Murcia (and subsidiarily to those of Jaén and Alicante). The former two were henceforth attached to

106-527: A cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ). However, parts of the southern coast of Murcia have a hot desert climate ( Köppen : BWh ). In addition, there are small areas in the interior that have a cold desert climate ( BWk ), a hot summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) and, to a lesser extent, a warm summer Mediterranean climate ( Csb ). Winters are mild (an average of 11 °C (52 °F) in December and January) and summers are hot to very hot (where

159-598: A 'historical region' also named after Murcia. The province of Murcia constituted as the full-fledged single-province autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in 1982. The region is bordered by Andalusia (the provinces of Almería and Granada ), Castile La Mancha (the province of Albacete), the Valencian Community (province of Alicante ), and the Mediterranean Sea. The autonomous community

212-610: A balcony of the Regional Council building, the former Provincial Council of Murcia (now the Ministry of Finance). The same committee established that the coat of arms of the Region of Murcia had the same symbols and distribution as the flag, with the royal crown as a crest above. Flag and shield were specified by Article 4 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia , approved by organic law in 1982. The Day of

265-657: A permanent trading port on its coast that was named Qart-Hadast. For the Carthaginian traders, the mountainous territory was merely the Iberian hinterland of their seacoast empire . In 209 BC, the Romans conquered Qart-Hadast, and the territory belonged to the province of Hispania Carthaginensis . During the Roman era, Carthago Nova was the most important place in the region, and there are still remains of ancient villas in

318-697: Is a single province . The city of Murcia is the capital of the region and the seat of the regional government, but the legislature, known as the Regional Assembly of Murcia , is located in Cartagena . The region is subdivided into municipalities . The region is among Europe's largest producers of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, with important vineyards in the municipalities of Jumilla , Bullas , and Yecla that produce wines of Denominación de origen . It also has an important tourism sector concentrated on its Mediterranean coastline, which features

371-531: Is of uncertain origin. According to Francisco Cascales , it could refer to the Roman goddess Venus Murcia , from the myrtles on the banks of the Segura River. Historical studies conclude that, like the deity, Murcia is of Latin origin deriving most likely from Myrtea or Murtea ('place of myrtles' or 'place where myrtles grow'). Furthermore, Mursiya (already documented in the Islamic period as

424-647: Is the ninth-largest region of Spain by area and constitutes 2.9% of the national area. It extends over the greater part of the hydrographic basin of the Segura River , thus constituting a well-defined geographical unit, except for the comarcas of the Sierra de Segura and the Campos de Hellín which were in the province of Albacete, Los Vélez in Almería and La Vega Baja in the province of Alicante, all belonging to

477-650: The Council of Wise Men of the plain of Murcia and the tamboradas (drumming processions) of Moratalla and Mula , which were declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO . The region is also the home of Caravaca de la Cruz , a holy city in the Catholic Church that celebrates the Perpetual Jubilee every seven years in the Santuario de la Vera Cruz . The toponym (place name) Murcia

530-502: The Crown of Aragon , but in 1304, in virtue of the Treaty of Torrellas , it was finally incorporated as part of the Crown of Castile . From 1012 to around 1049, Murcia was ruled by the rulers of the taifas of Almería, Valencia or Dénia. Throwing off Almoravid authority, Ibn Iyad of Murcia recognized the supremacy of the Hudid ruler Sayf al-Dawla in 1146. Sometime between 1264 and

583-683: The First Republic , this region was one of the 17 member states that were contemplated by the Spanish Draft Constitution of 1873 , proclaiming during that year the so-called Cantón Murciano , as an attempt to form a regional canton in the context of the Cantonal rebellion . In 1978, the Regional Council of Murcia was created as a pre-autonomous body, in effect until 1982, when the Statute of Autonomy of

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636-977: The Loire River . The Visigothic kingdom became independent of the Roman Empire in 476. In 555 AD, the Byzantines, under the emperor Justinian the Great , conquered the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and established the province of Spania . Part of the current Region of Murcia belonged to the province and therefore to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire . The current of Campo Cartagena-Mar Menor (Cartagena, La Unión, Fuente Álamo, Torre-Pacheco, Los Alcázares, Mazarrón) and Alto Guadalentín (Lorca, Águilas, San Javier and Santiago de la Ribera, and Puerto Lumbreras) also belonged to

689-517: The Mar Menor saltwater lagoon. Industries include the petrochemical and energy sector (centered in Cartagena) and food production. Because of Murcia's warm climate, the region's long growing season is suitable for agriculture; however, rainfall is low. As a result, in addition to the water needed for crops, there are increasing pressures related to the booming tourist industry. Water is supplied by

742-700: The Middle Paleolithic era. The Argaric culture flourished in the region from the Chalcolithic era until the early Bronze Age . La Bastida is a site in the Totana municipality, in the southwestern quarter of the region, that references the civilization. Later, the Iberians were present in this territory during the Middle and Late Bronze Age and remained until very early in ancient history, before

795-730: The Segura River and, since the 1970s, by the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer , a major civil-engineering project that brings water from the Tagus River into the Segura under environmental and sustainability restraints. Notable features of the region's extensive cultural heritage include 72 cave art ensembles, which are part of the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin , a World Heritage Site . Other culturally significant features include

848-476: The Spanish transition , when the president of the Regional Council of Murcia , Antonio Pérez Crespo , established a commission in 1978 to study the future flag of the Region of Murcia. The commission was formed by historians Juan Torres Fontes and José María Jover and senators Ricardo de la Cierva and Antonio López Pina. The project was approved on 26 March 1979 and the flag was first hoisted on 5 May 1979 on

901-560: The house sparrow , European greenfinch , European robins , common blackbirds , and European turtle doves . Some amphibians found in the Region of Murcia are Perez's frog , common parsley frog , European toads , and Natterjack toads . Reptile species in the region are Montpellier snakes , ladder snakes , horseshoe whip snakes , viperine water snakes , Iberian worm lizards , Spanish pond turtles , Iberian wall lizards , Spanish psammodromus , Tarentola mauritanica , loggerhead sea turtles , and Greek tortoises . Fish species in

954-517: The 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. After the Christian conquest of Murcia between 1243 and 1266, the Kingdom of Murcia emerged, a territorial jurisdiction that formed its own institutions until its demise in 1833. After the provincial administrative reform of 1833, the first Region of Murcia was formed from the provinces of Albacete and Murcia. In the first attempt at decentralization, during

1007-544: The Campo de Cartagena. The Romans built a salt factory and settled in a little town called Ficaria, in the current municipality of Mazarrón. Altiplano and Noroeste comarcas (a kind of region) both contain surviving dwellings of the Romans. In the early 5th century, the Vandals , Suebi , and Alans began to invade the Iberian Peninsula, settling in different provinces. The Vandals acquired Lusitania and Carthaginensis,

1060-661: The Mar Menor a unique place and the largest saltwater lake in Europe. With a semicircular shape, it is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a sand strip 22 kilometres (14 mi) in length and between 100 and 1,200 metres (330 and 3,940 ft) wide, which is known as La Manga del Mar Menor (the Minor Sea's Sandbar). The lagoon has been designated by the United Nations as a Specially Protected Zone of Importance for

1113-467: The Mediterranean. Its coastal perimeter accounts for 73 kilometres (45 mi) of coast, along which beaches follow one another beside crystal clear shallow water (the maximum depth does not exceed 7 metres (23 ft)). The lake has an area of 170 square kilometres (66 sq mi). There are more than 30 tree species, over 50 species of shrubs, and more than 130 herbaceous plant species in

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1166-641: The Moors, who introduced the large-scale irrigation upon which Murcian agriculture relies, the province was known as Todmir . According to Idrisi , the 12th century Arab cartographer based in Sicily , it included the cities of Orihuela , Lorca , Mula , and Chinchilla . In the early 11th century, after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba , a territory centered on the city of Murcia became an independent principality, or taifa . At one point,

1219-617: The Region of Murcia  [ es ] is celebrated on 9 June, commemorating the promulgation of the Statute of Autonomy. The Region of Murcia is located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula , on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea . It ranges from 38º 45' in the north to 37º 23' in the south, and from 0º 41' in the east to 2º 21' in the west. With an area of 11,313 square kilometres (4,368 sq mi), it

1272-544: The Region of Murcia was approved. The province of Murcia was then granted autonomy under the official name of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia in the framework of the political process in place during the Spanish transition to democracy. The flag of the Region of Murcia is rectangular and contains four castle battlements in gold in the upper hoist canton , distributed two over two (symbolizing

1325-518: The Romans conquered a large part of the Iberian Peninsula. A shrine, necropolis, and an ancient settlement for these people can be found at the El Cigarralejo  [ es ] site. Another site that consists of the remains of an Iberian shrine is Santuario Ibérico de la Luz, located in the Murcia municipality. In 227 BC, Carthaginians settled in what is now Cartagena and established

1378-585: The Segura river basin's insufficient water capacity, contributions to this river basin are made from the basin of the Tajo River by means of the Tajo–Segura Water Transfer. The greatest natural lake of Spain can be found in the region: the Mar Menor (Small Sea) lagoon. It is a salt water lagoon, adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea . Its special ecological and natural characteristics make

1431-739: The Suebi took the Gallaecia, and the Alans settled in Baetica. The Romans wanted to recover their land and requested assistance from the Visigoths , to which they would provide goods and territory in return. With that, the Alans and Vandals were defeated by the Visigoths and fled to North Africa. Consequently, the Visigoths became federated to the Roman Empire in a kingdom that stretched from Gibraltar to

1484-670: The Taifa of Murcia). In 1245, a Castilian army and a fleet from the Cantabrian Sea conquered Qartayanna. Consequently, the rest of the rebellious towns were also taken by the Castilians. Following the support of local Muslims for the Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266 , in 1266 Alfonso X of Castile annexed the territory outright with critical military support from his uncle Jaime I of Aragon . The Castilian conquest of Murcia marked

1537-447: The area to assert a sovereignty which, in any case, was not stable but characterized by the typical skirmishes and ever changing alliances of a frontier territory. The Castilians , led by King Alfonso X , took the Kingdom of Murcia at the end of this period, when large numbers of immigrants from north Catalonia and Provence settled in the town; Catalan names are still not uncommon. In 1296, Murcia and its region were transferred to

1590-404: The borders of the ancient Kingdom of Murcia and the four borders that it had at some point in its history), and seven royal crowns in the lower fly canton (these being the escutcheon of the historical coat of arms of the Kingdom of Murcia), arranged in four rows, with one, three, two and one elements, respectively; all on the crimson background of Cartagena. The flag's origin dates back to

1643-463: The calcaric fluvisol, the calcaric regosol, and the calcic xerosol. Regosol soils form about a quarter of the region's surface; and calcic horizons (B horizons [third layers of the soil] being formed by calcium carbonate deposits and 15 cm thick at least, and containing a minimum 15% of CaCO 3 besides more features) occur in almost half of the surface. Murcia predominantly has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSh ) and

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1696-524: The constituent kingdoms of the Crown of Castile . In the year 713, only two years after the Moorish invasion of the Peninsula, the emir Abd al Aziz occupied the province. Murcia was founded with the name of Medīnah Mursīyyah in A.D. 825 by Abd ar-Rahman II , emir of Al-Andalus . The Moors , taking advantage of the course of the river Segura, created a complex network of irrigation channels that made

1749-454: The daily maximum regularly exceeds 40 °C (104 °F)). The average annual temperature varies from 10 °C (50 °F) to more than 19 °C (66 °F). Precipitation varies from more than 550 millimetres (22 in) to less than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) per year, making this autonomous community the driest in Spain . The region has between 120 and 150 days in the year where

1802-550: The end of the Aragon's southward expansion along the Iberian Mediterranean coast. The kingdom of Murcia was repopulated with people from Christian territories by giving them land. Taifa of Murcia The Taifa of Murcia ( Arabic : طائفة مرسية ) was an Arab taifa of medieval Al-Andalus , in what is now southern Spain . It became independent as a taifa centered on the Moorish city of Murcia after

1855-481: The fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (11th century). The Moorish Taifa of Murcia included Albacete and part of Almería as well. The taifa is apparently the one that existed the greatest number of separate time periods (five): from 1011 to 1014, from 1065 to 1078, in 1145, from 1147 to 1172 and finally from 1228 to 1266 when it was absorbed by Castile , becoming the Kingdom of Murcia , one of

1908-621: The high plateaus are the Campo de San Juan and the Altiplano murciano. Some of the valleys and plains are the coastal depression of the Campo de Cartagena -Mar Menor; a little farther inland is the Valle del Guadalentín (also called the Murcian pre-coastal depression ), which crosses the region from southwest to northeast. The fertile plains lie along the Segura River (among the most famous ones

1961-478: The latter's advance in the 1170s. Conversely, when the Almohads receded after their defeat in the 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa , another taifa-prince based in Murcia, Ibn Hud , rebelled against Almohad rule and briefly controlled most of Al-Andalus . Ferdinand III of Castile received the submission of the Moorish king of Murcia under the terms of the 1243 Treaty of Alcaraz  [ es ] and made

2014-522: The name of the city of Murcia), was the adaptation in the Arabic of the pre-existing Latin. According to Bienvenido Mascaray, it is also possible that the name originates from the Iberian language in the form m-ur-zia , meaning 'the water that empowers or moistens.' The use of "Murcia" to define the present region has its origin in the Taifa of Murcia , an Arab kingdom that existed at different times in

2067-514: The opposite-leaved saltworts), rosemary , lentisks , black hawthorns , Neptune grass , shaggy sparrow-wort , and Retama sphareocarpa . There are also species which have been introduced, such as the tree tobacco and Opuntia maxima . In regards to herbaceous plants, some native species are slender sowthistles , false sowthistles , mallow bindweeds , wall barleys , fennels , Brachypodium retusum (close to false-bromes), Thymus hyemalis (close to broad-leaved thymes), Asphodelus ayardii (of

2120-521: The precipitation level is higher (up to 600 millimetres (24 in)). The city of Murcia holds the Spanish record high temperature in the 20th century. It reached 46.1 °C (115.0 °F) on July 4, 1994. The winter of 2005 was the coldest in a long time, with snow falling even on the Murcian coast. The region's hydrographic network consists mainly of the Segura river and its tributaries: Due to

2173-546: The province. In the early 8th century there was a disputed succession to the Visigothic throne. The king Wittiza wanted his son Agila to be his successor, but the nobles of the court elected Roderic , duke of Baetica , as king. The people in favour of Agila conspired to overthrow Roderic. They asked the Moors for help and promised spoils of war in return. The Moors began conquering the Iberian Peninsula in 711. Roderic

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2226-426: The region include the Atlantic horse mackerel , Spanish toothcarp , gilt-head bream , greater amberjack , sand steenbras , and flathead grey mullet . Since the Lower Paleolithic era, the Region of Murcia has been inhabited by humans. In the Torre-Pacheco municipality in the southeast of the region is a noteworthy paleontological site, the Sima de las Palomas , which contains bone remains of Neanderthals from

2279-449: The region. Some species have been introduced but are now part of the landscape. Indigenous tree species in the region are Aleppo pines , Mediterranean buckthorns , tamarisk trees , and field elms . There are also some species that have been introduced, such as the Mediterranean cypress . Native shrubs found in several parts of the region are esparto grass , a species of the genus European fan palm , Salsola genistoides (close to

2332-433: The same basin. Approximately 27% of the Murcian territory consists of mountainous reliefs, 38% intermountain depressions and corridor valleys, and the remaining 35% of plains and high plateaus. The region is located at the eastern end of the Baetic System , being affected climatologically by an orography that isolates it from the Atlantic influence. These mountain ranges are divided in turn from north to south into: Among

2385-671: The same genus as field voles). In addition, some species of bats are the common pipistrelle , Kukhl's pipistrelle , the common bent-wing bat , the soprano pipistrelle , the greater horseshoe bat , the meridional serotine (which only inhabits southern Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia), the lesser horseshoe bat , and the European free-tailed bat . In regard to birds, there are some raptor species, such as Bonelli's eagles , golden eagles , peregrine falcons , little owls , and Eurasian eagle-owls . There are also waterbirds, such as yellow-legged gulls , mallards , black-winged stilts , little grebes , and garganeys . Other bird species are

2438-523: The same genus as onionweeds). Non-native species include the African wood-sorrel and the flax-leaf fleabane . In the region, there are over 10 species of land mammals (not counting bats), 19 bat species, over 80 bird species, 11 species of amphibians, 21 reptile species, and 9 species of fish. Mammals inhabiting the area include barbary sheep , European badgers , beech martens , Eurasian otters , red foxes , wild boars , red squirrels , European wildcats , garden dormice , and Cabreras vole (of

2491-420: The sky is totally clear. April and October have the most precipitation, with frequent heavy downpours in a single day. The distance to the sea and the relief causes a thermal difference between the coast and the interior, especially in winter, when the temperature rarely dips below 10 °C (50 °F) on the coast, while in the interior regions the minimum usually does not rise above 6 °C (43 °F) and

2544-450: The so-called Valle de Ricote), and tributaries of the Segura, such as the Mula basin. To explain this complex relief, it is important to highlight the existence of significant faults throughout the area—such as Alhama de Murcia, Bullas - Archena , or the Cicatriz Nor-Bética—which, along with intersections with other minor faults, generate numerous earth movements, such as the 2011 Lorca earthquake . The most widely present soil types are

2597-424: The taifa included parts of the present-day provinces of Albacete and Almería , as well. After the 1086 Battle of Sagrajas , the Almoravid emirate swallowed up the taifas . When Almoravid rule ultimately declined, Abu ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Mardanīš established a taifa—including the cities of Murcia, Valencia, and Dénia—that opposed for a time the spread of the Almohads , but ultimately succumbed to

2650-430: The territory a protectorate of the Crown of Castile. There were towns that rejected compliance with the treaty, such as Qartayanna-Al halfa (Cartagena), Lurqa (Lorca) and Mula. There were also towns where governors accepted the treaty but the inhabitants did not, such as Aledo, Ricote, Uruyla (Orihuela), and Medina La-Quant (Alicante), (although the two last do not belong to the present-day Region of Murcia; they were part of

2703-439: The town prosperous and is the predecessor of the modern irrigation system. The traveller Muhammad al-Idrisi described it in the 12th century as populous and strongly fortified. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, Murcia passed successively under the rule of Almería , Toledo and Seville . From 1078 until 1091 it was under the forcible control of Seville , by Abbad II al-Mu'tadid . In 1165, Ibn Mardanish

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2756-547: Was defeated in the Battle of Fahs al-Jullab by the Almohads . In 1172 Murcia was taken by the Almohades, and from 1223 to 1243 it became the capital of an independent kingdom. James II called Jaume II el Just or the Just, a grandson of James I, initiated in 1296 a final impulse of his army further southwards than the Biar-Busot pacts. His campaign aimed at the fertile countryside around Murcia whose local Muslim rulers were bound by pacts with Castile and governing by proxy on behalf of this kingdom; Castilian troops often raided

2809-416: Was killed, and the Visigothic kingdom disappeared. Consequently, the Moors quickly conquered much of the peninsula. Theodemir led a nucleus of resistance in almost all the current region and the south of Alicante province. In 713, he signed the Treaty of Orihuela , because the resistance could no longer endure. The territory came under Muslim rule, but the conquerors granted it political autonomy. Under

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