History

The ancient Augusta Emerita was founded by Augustus shortly after the establishment in Rome of the imperial government in 27 B.C. It became the prosperous capital of the Roman province of Lusitania and one of the landmarks of the Conquest in the Iberian peninsula. In the 1st century B.C., Agrippa constructed major monuments on the site. During the 2nd century, under Emperors Trajan and Hadrian, both of whom were descendants of the Roman bourgeoisie in Spain, important public buildings were erected. At the end of the 3rd century, the administrative, fiscal and economic reforms of Diocletian increased Merida's prosperity. The Vicarius seat of the Hispanic diocese and the seat of Arch-Bishop were established there. The city continued to grow when it became the capital of the Swabiens, then of the Visigoths, in the 5th century. Conquered by the Moors in 713, Merida resisted Arab domination. In order to protect the Guadiana Bridge Adb-al-Rahman II, the Caliph of Córdoba, razed the walls and in 834 erected a fortress, the Alcazaba, at the entrance of the city. Merida began to decline. The arrival of the Catholic kings led to a brief revival at the end of the 15th century. Portuguese and Catalanian revolts followed in the 17th century, and the Succession War and the war of the peninsula, both in the 18th century, contributed to Merida's further decline. Urban