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45-588: The seat of the municipality is the town of Mértola, which has around 2800 inhabitants (2011), located on a hill over the Guadiana River . Its strategic location made it an important fluvial commercial port in Classical Antiquity , through the period of Umayyad conquest of Hispania : Mértola's main church (the Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciação ) was the only medieval mosque to have survived

90-601: A mystic and skilled military leader who unified Southern Portugal and fought the power of the Almoravides . The independence of the region, however, was soon ended by an invading Almohad army. The most important remnant from the Islamic period in Portugal is Mértola's ancient mosque, built in the second half of the 12th century and later turned into a church, but keeping original architectural characteristics. In 1238, in

135-467: A new foral to the town in 1512. After a long period of economic stagnation, the discovery of copper in the São Domingos Mine around 1850 led to a new wave of development that would end abruptly in 1965, when the mine was exhausted. In the next decades, the municipality lost much of its population, who emigrated to richer parts of Portugal and other European countries. Starting in the 1980s,

180-704: A period of intensive expansion of the Portuguese Empire owing to the numerous Portuguese discoveries made during his reign. His sponsorship of Vasco da Gama led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese India Armadas , which guaranteed Portugal's monopoly on the spice trade . Manuel began the Portuguese colonization of the Americas and Portuguese India , and oversaw

225-627: A series of archaeological surveys brought to light various remnants of past periods of Mértola, and the town became an important cultural touristic site. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes ( freguesias ): Mértola has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ) with hot to very hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Guadiana River The Guadiana River ( / ˌ ɡ w ɑː d i ˈ ɑː n ə / GWAH -dee- AH -nə , US also / ɡ w ɑː d ˈ j ɑː n ə / gwahd- YAH -nə , Spanish: [ɡwaˈðjana] , Portuguese: [ɡwɐdiˈɐnɐ] )

270-473: A valued nature conservation character to the region. In Spain, three autonomous communities, (Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia) (comprising the provinces of Ciudad Real , Badajoz , and Huelva ) are crossed by the Guadiana. Meanwhile, in Portugal the river crosses the regions of Alentejo and Algarve , and the districts of Portalegre , Évora , Beja and Faro . There are over 30 dams on

315-678: A vast overseas empire. Manuel used the wealth to build a number of royal buildings (in the " Manueline " style) and to attract artists to his court. Commercial treaties and diplomatic alliances were forged with the Ming dynasty of China and the Persian Safavid dynasty . Pope Leo X received a monumental embassy from Portugal during his reign designed to draw attention to Portugal's newly acquired riches to all of Europe. Like Afonso V, Manuel extended his official title to reflect Portugal's expansion. He styled himself King of Portugal and

360-519: A wall dating from Roman times, but the Muslims built new fortifications and, eventually, a castle to protect it from rival Muslim and Christian states. After the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba , in 1031, Mértola became an independent taifa state , until it was conquered by the taifa of Seville in 1044-1045. Between 1144 and 1150 the town was again seat of an independent state led by Ibn Qasi ,

405-641: Is semiarid with an average annual temperature of 14 to 16 °C (57 to 61 °F). The river empties into the Gulf of Cádiz between Ayamonte and Vila Real de Santo António, the two highly touristic regions of the Algarve and the sea-side of Andalusia . There it forms a saltmarsh estuary . The estuary has a maximum width of 550 metres (1,800 ft), and its depth ranges from 5 to 17 metres (16 to 56 ft). Tides are semi- diurnal , ranging from 0.8 to 3.5 metres (2.6 to 11.5 ft); their upriver propagation

450-605: Is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border , separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the eastern portion of Extremadura to the southern provinces of the Algarve; the river and its tributaries flow from east to west, then south through Portugal to the border towns of Vila Real de Santo António (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain), where it flows into

495-587: Is limited by falls situated 76 kilometres (47 mi) from the mouth at Moinho dos Canais. In the lower estuary there are nature reserves covering a total of 2,089 hectares (5,160 acres); in Spain, the Marismas de Isla Cristina and, in Portugal, the Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António (English: Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Marsh Natural Reserve ); they give

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540-747: The Gulf of Cádiz . With a course that covers a distance of 829 kilometres (515 mi), it is the fourth-longest in the Iberian Peninsula , and its hydrological basin extends over an area of approximately 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi) (the majority of which lies within Spain). Ptolemy's Geography recorded the Celtiberian name as Anas , meaning a marshy area or bayou . The Romans adapted this name as [Flumen Anās ] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |links= ( help ) , which

585-507: The Lisbon massacre of 1506, people murdered thousands of accused Jews. The leaders of the riot were executed by Manuel. In addition, Manuel also ordered the expulsion of Muslims from Portugal, and he is known to have pressured Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to end the toleration of Islam in their own kingdom. Isabella died in childbirth, thus putting a damper on Portuguese ambitions to rule in Spain, which various rulers had harbored since

630-511: The Monastery of Jerónimos . Manuel also endeavoured to promote another crusade against the Turks. At the outset of his reign, Manuel relaxed conditions that had kept Jews in virtual slavery under John II. However, in 1496, while seeking to marry Infanta Isabella of Aragon , he relented to pressure from her parents, Ferdinand and Isabella, and decreed that Jews who refused baptism must leave

675-496: The villae nearby and valuable minerals (silver, gold and tin) obtained from the lower Alentejo region were sent from the fluvial port of Mértola via the Guadiana to Southern Hispania and the Mediterranean. Between 1st and 2nd century, Myrtilis, was part of the larger Pacensis region (under the capital Beja/Pax Julia), acquired a great importance, as a dynamic commercial centre, permitting it to mint its own coin. The town

720-667: The Algarves, on this side and beyond the Sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and the Lord of Conquest, Navigation and Commerce in Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India . In Manuel's reign, royal absolutism was the method of government. The Portuguese Cortes (the assembly of the kingdom) met only four times during his reign, always in Lisbon , the king's seat. He reformed the courts of justice and

765-602: The Elder , was that the river originated from the Lagunas de Ruidera and divided into two branches: the Upper Guadiana (Spanish: Guadiana Viejo ) and the Guadiana, while separated by a subterranean course. This legend developed from a misguided belief (which persisted until the 19th century) that the river appeared and disappeared over time, because of its subterranean tributary. In fact, no subterranean course exists, and

810-413: The Guadiana is the highest waterfall is Southern Portugal called Pulo do Lobo . The ecosystem has Mediterranean hydrological characteristics, including high variation in intra- and inter-annual discharge, large floods and severe droughts. This variability is a consequence of considerable variation in rainwater supply averaging around an annual mean of 400 to 600 millimetres (16 to 24 in). The climate

855-696: The Persian Gulf by Afonso de Albuquerque. The capture of Malacca in modern-day Malaysia in 1511 was the result of a plan by Manuel I to thwart the Muslim trade in the Indian Ocean by capturing Aden , blocking trade through Alexandria , capturing Ormuz to block trade through the Persian Gulf and Beirut , and capturing Malacca to control trade with China . All these events made Portugal wealthy from foreign trade as it formally established

900-561: The Portuguese noble families and King John II. In 1483, Fernando II, Duke of Braganza , leader of Portugal's most powerful feudal house, was executed for treason. Later, Manuel's older brother, Diogo, Duke of Viseu , was accused of leading a conspiracy against the crown and was stabbed to death in 1484 by the king himself. After the death of his son Prince Afonso and failed attempts to legitimise his illegitimate son, Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra , John II named Manuel heir to

945-461: The belief that the Lagunas de Ruidera is the source is also controversial. toponymically and traditionally the Upper Guadiana, which runs from Viveros ( Albacete ) until Argamasilla de Alba ( Ciudad Real ) had been identified as the main branch of the Guadiana. But even hydro-geological characteristics indicate that the Upper Guadiana may not be the principal river within the system. Another of

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990-535: The castle, including its mighty keep , and a letter of feudal rights ( foral ), granted in 1254.The economic importance of Mértola and the Guadiana faded after that period. In the 15th-16th centuries, when the Portuguese conquered several cities in the Maghreb, Mértola experienced a brief revival in its economic relevance, supplying Portuguese troops in Northern Africa with cereals. King Manuel I granted

1035-757: The context of the Reconquista , the town was conquered by Portuguese King Sancho II , putting an end on several centuries of Islamic rule in the Mértola region. The town was donated to the Knights of the Order of St. James , a Military Order that played a vital role in the Christian conquest of Southern Portugal. The seat of the Order was established in Mértola until 1316. From the Reconquista time date most of

1080-442: The country. Then, before the deadline for their expulsion he converted all Jews to Christianity by royal decree. That period of time technically ended the presence of Jews in Portugal. Afterwards, all converted Jews and their descendants would be referred to as " New Christians " and were given a grace period of thirty years in which no inquiries into their faith would be allowed, which was later extended to end in 1534. During

1125-597: The establishment of a vast trade empire across Africa and Asia. Manuel established the Casa da Índia , a royal institution that managed Portugal's monopolies and its imperial expansion. He financed numerous famed Portuguese navigators, including Pedro Álvares Cabral (who discovered Brazil ), Afonso de Albuquerque (who established Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean ), among numerous others. The income from Portuguese trade monopolies and colonized lands made Manuel

1170-985: The first feitoria in Brazil by Fernão de Loronha and of a fort in the allied Kingdom of Cochin in India by Afonso de Albuquerque . 1505 – The construction of forts at Kilwa , Sofala , Angediva , and Cannanore by Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of India . 1506 – The capture of Essaouira in Morocco by Diogo de Azambuja. 1507 – The capture of Socotra by Tristão da Cunha and Oman by Afonso de Albuquerque. 1508 – The capture of Safi in Morocco by Diogo de Azambuja . 1510 – The capture of Goa in India by Afonso de Albuquerque . 1511 – The capture of Malacca in Malaysia by Afonso de Albuquerque. 1513 – The capture of Azamor in Morocco by Dom Jaime Duke of Braganza . 1515 – The capture of Ormus in

1215-531: The first individual to receive more than one Golden Rose after Emperor Sigismund von Luxembourg . In December 1521, while Lisbon was dealing with an outbreak of the Black Plague , Manuel and his court remained at Ribeira Palace . On 4 December, Manuel began displaying symptoms of an intense fever which incapacitated him by the 11th. He died on 13 December 1521, at the age of 52, and was succeeded by his son, John III of Portugal . The next day, his body

1260-501: The king. Manuel was born in Alcochete on 31 May 1469, the ninth child of Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and Beatriz of Portugal . His father, Ferdinand, was the son of Edward, King of Portugal and the brother of Afonso V of Portugal , while his mother, Beatriz, was granddaughter of King John I of Portugal . In addition, his sister Eleanor of Viseu was the wife of King John II of Portugal . Manuel grew up amidst strife between

1305-509: The municipal charters with the crown, modernizing taxes and the concepts of tributes and rights. During his reign, the laws in force in the kingdom were recodified with the publication of the Manueline Ordinances . Manuel was a very religious man and invested a large amount of Portuguese income to send missionaries to the new colonies, among them Francisco Álvares , and sponsor the construction of religious buildings, such as

1350-630: The origin theories, postulated that the Cigüela and Záncara rivers were the sources of the Guadiana. Today, they are considered integral parts of the river's headwaters and important tributaries, but not necessarily the exact origin. The Ciguela's source is in Altos de Cabreras ( Cuenca ) and pertains to the Sistema Ibérico , at an elevation of 1,080 metres (3,540 ft). Its course is 225 kilometres (140 mi) long, receiving contributions from

1395-689: The period in Portugal. In 2017 Mértola started the process to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Mértola was inhabited at least since the Iron Age at least by Conni and Cynetes settlements, was influenced by the Phoenicians and finally named Myrtilis Iulia by the Romans . The strategic location of Mértola, on a hill by the northernmost navigable part of the Guadiana river , was crucial in its early development. Agricultural products grown in

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1440-735: The prefix guad- such as the hydronyms Guadalquivir , Guadalete , and Guadarrama . The Guadiana flows east to west through Spain and south through Portugal, then forms the Spanish-Portuguese border; it flows into the Gulf of Cádiz , part of the Atlantic Ocean, between Vila Real de Santo António (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain). It is 818 kilometres (508 mi) long, of which 578 kilometres (359 mi) are within Spanish territory, 140 kilometres (87 mi) within Portugal, while 100 kilometres (62 mi) are shared between

1485-602: The presence of Byzantine merchants in the town. Around the year 711, Hispania was invaded by the Moors from the Maghreb , inaugurating a period of great influence of Islamic culture in the Alentejo region that would last over 400 years. Mértola and its port played an important economic role in the commerce of agricultural and mineral goods between the Alentejo and other parts of Al-Andalus and Northern Africa . Mértola had

1530-562: The reign of King Ferdinand I (1367–1383). Manuel and Isabella's young son, Miguel da Paz , was named Prince of Asturias , Prince of Portugal , and Prince of Girona , making him heir apparent of Castile, Portugal, and Aragon until his death in 1500, at the age of two years, ended the ambitions of the Catholic Monarchs and Manuel. Manuel's next wife, Maria of Aragon , was his first wife's younger sister. Two of their sons later became kings of Portugal. Maria died in 1517 but

1575-578: The river basin. The following are the dams on the Guadiana river itself: Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I ( European Portuguese: [mɐnuˈɛl] ; 31 May 1469 – 13 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( Portuguese : O Venturoso ), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz , Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal , as monarch. Manuel ruled over

1620-464: The rivers Jualón, Torrejón, Riánsares, Amarguillo and Záncara . The union of the rivers Ciguela and Záncara permits the replenishment of the waters in the Tablas de Daimiel National Park , a wetland that was designated for protection by the Spanish government in 1973 (situated in the municipalities of Villarrubia de los Ojos and Daimiel , in the province of Ciudad Real). From its origin/spring runs from

1665-520: The southern Iberian plain in a direction east to west, to near the town of Badajoz , where it begins to track south leading to the Gulf of Cádiz. The Guadiana marks the border of Spain and Portugal twice as it runs to the ocean: first, between the River Caia and Ribeira de Cuncos , then later from the River Chança until its mouth. The river is not used to completely mark the boundary between

1710-659: The throne. Manuel succeeded John as king of Portugal in 1495. Manuel would prove a worthy successor to his cousin John II for his support of Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and development of Portuguese commerce. During his reign, the following achievements were realized: 1498 – The discovery of a maritime route to India by Vasco da Gama . 1500 – The discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral . 1501 – The discovery of Labrador by Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real. 1503 – The construction of

1755-659: The two nations. About 82 percent, 55,444 square kilometres (21,407 sq mi), of its basin is in Spain, while about 17 percent, 11,560 square kilometres (4,460 sq mi) is in Portugal. The exact source of the river in Castilla-La Mancha is disputed, but it is generally believed to spring in the Ojos del Guadiana  [ es ] , Villarrubia de los Ojos municipal term, Ciudad Real Province , Castile–La Mancha, about 608 metres (1,995 ft) in elevation. A classic theory introduced by Pliny

1800-597: The two sisters were survived by two other sisters, Joanna of Castile , who was born in 1479 and had married Archduke Philip ( Maximilian I 's son) and had a son, Charles V who would eventually inherit Spain and the Habsburg possessions, and Catherine of Aragon , first wife of Henry VIII . After Maria's death, Manuel married her niece, Eleanor of Austria . Manuel I was awarded the Golden Rose by Pope Julius II in 1506 and by Pope Leo X in 1514. Manuel I became

1845-512: The two states; between the Olivenza ravine and the Táliga ravine, the border still remains a disputed section claimed de jure by both countries and administered de facto by Spain (as part of the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura ). For the most part, the Guadiana is navigable from the Atlantic Ocean until Mértola , a distance of 68 kilometres (42 mi). North of Mértola on

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1890-536: The wealthiest monarch in Europe, allowing him to be one of the great patrons of the Portuguese Renaissance , which produced many significant artistic and literary achievements. Manuel patronized numerous Portuguese intellectuals, including playwright Gil Vicente (called the father of Portuguese and Spanish theatre ). The Manueline style , considered Portugal's national architecture, is named for

1935-550: Was etymolygised as the "River of Ducks." After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , the name was extended and referred to as Wadi Ana , later passed on to Portuguese and Spanish settlers as the Ouadiana , and later just Odiana . Since the 16th century, the name slowly evolved to take on the form Guadiana , a cognitive variation that developed from many Andalusi river place-names beginning in wadi using

1980-608: Was raised to the status of a Municipium in times of Emperor Augustus and was connected to important Roman cities ( Beja , Évora ) through a road system. During the Migration Period , Mértola was invaded by Germanic tribes of the Sueves and the Visigoths . In this period (5th-8th centuries) commerce was reduced but still active, as evidenced by Greek tombstones from the 6th-7th centuries found in Mértola which suggest

2025-566: Was transported to the Belém district of Lisbon, in a black velvet-draped coffin, followed by masses of mourners. He was provisionally buried at Restelo Church, while the royal pantheon of the House of Aviz was furnished inside Jerónimos Monastery . His coffin was buried by four of the most prominent nobles of the kingdom, the Duke of Braganza , the Duke of Coimbra , and the Marquis of Vila Real , in

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