Denia (Dénia in
Valencian), is a city in the
province of
Alacant,
Spain, on the
Costa Blanca halfway between
Alacant and
Valencia, the judicial seat of the
comarca of
Marina Alta. As of 2007
[update], it had a population of 42,704
.
Nearby is the popular resort town of
Xàbia.
Dénia (port)
Mountains behind Dénia
Now something about history. There is evidence of human habitation in the area since prehistoric times and there are significant
Iberian ruins on the hillsides nearby. In the 4th century BC it was a
Greek colony of
Marseille or
Empúries, being mentioned by
Strabo as
Hemeroscòpion. It was an ally of
Rome during the
Punic Wars, and later was absorbed in the Roman possessione with the name of
Dianum. In the 1st century BC
Quintus Sertorius established a Roman naval base here
.
In 636-696, during the
Visigothic Kingdom of Iberia, it was the seat of a bishop depending from
Toledo. After the
Muslim conquest of Iberia and the dissolution of the
Caliphate of Córdoba, Dénia (known as
Deniyya or دانيا in Arabic which means lowland) became the capital of a
taifa kingdom that reigned over part of the Valencian coast and
Ibiza. The
Slavic slaves,
saqaliba, managed to free themselves and run the taifa. The taifa lost its independence in 1076, when it was captured by
Ahmad al-Muqtadir, lord of
Zaragoza, under which it remained until the
Almoravid invasion in 1091. The Muslim Arabs originally built the castle fortress, and the
French, who occupied the city for four years during the
War of the Spanish Succession, re-built it in the early 19th century.
The town was captured by the Christians in 1244. This caused a decline for the city, which remained nearly unhinabited after the exile of most of the Muslim population. It was later repopulated by the
Valencian government. Created a fief in 1298, it was held by the de Sandoval family from 1431, although the city itself was returned to
Aragonese crown in 1455. A marquisate from 1487, Dénia gained many privileges thanks to
Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma, a favorite of
Philip III of Spain. It suffered a further period of decay after the decree of
Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609), by which 25,000 people left the marquisate, leaving the local economy in a dismal state.
It was reacquired by the Spanish crown in 1803, after which Denia gained an increasingly important role as trading port. A community of
English raisin traders lived in Denia from 1800 until the time of the
Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.
Denia is home to a castle located on on a rocky crag overlooking the city. It t was built in the 11th and 12th century and offers views around the sea, the city and the backlands. Within the castle is the
Palau del Governador with its museum.
Dénia (castle)
Denia is also home to the Museo Etnologico with further details on the history and culture of the city.
Legoman and Anita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denia
Posts
