Middle Ages
The Arabs, taking advantage of the Segura River,
which currently runs through the city, created a complex network formed by
water ditches. The main channels of the network are Alquibla and Aljufia.
This system of ditches gave prosperity to the city and is
the predecessor of the current irrigation system of the Huerta del Segura.
It was not until the second half of the 11th century when Murcia’s first lead Murcia was of an independent
kingdom under the rule of Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Tahir.
Murcia
capitalized a second taifa kingdom from the hand of Ibn Mardanis, known by
Christians as King Lobo. During this period (1147–1172) the city of Murcia experienced a
moment of glory that turned it into a political and cultural center comparable
to the major capitals of the Islamic times.
During the 14th century, there was a deep crisis that
affected agricultural activities in the garden of Murcia and, therefore, the
city because of the context of insecurity that was experienced throughout the
kingdom of Murcia, as it was affected by a triple border (with the crown of
Aragon, with Mediterranean pirates, and especially with Muslims from Granada).
In the mid-15th century an economic recovery began through
the end of the threat of Granada.
In 1452 troops from the city of Murcia
with those of the Lorca won the battle of the Alporchones to Muslim armies from
the kingdom Nasrid. Since 1482 both Murcia
and Lorca became the base of operations for the military campaigns that the
Catholic Monarchs dropped on the eastern part of the kingdom of Granada.
The city of Murcia
became the residence of the monarchs in 1488.
Origins
There are many doubts about the origins of the city of Murcia. There is evidence
that it was given the name of Mursiya Madina in the year 825 by the emir of
Al-Andalus Abderraman II, but Rodriguez Llopis historians argue that what
occurred that year was the relocation of the capital of the cora Tudman of a
Murcia.
In any case, it appears that there was a small settlement
whose origins date back to a Roman villa called Murti, referring to the
existence of wetlands and myrtles in the area.
The city and its gardens were repopulated by Christians,
many of them home arriving with Jaime I and Catalan and Aragonese troops.
Since the second half of the 13th century, Murcia consisted of three
populations—Christians, Jews, and Moors. Alfonso X the Wise, who frequently
visited the city, established the socioeconomic bases of the municipality,
became the new Christian capital of the kingdom of Murcia, making headquarters
“Adelantado Mayor of the Kingdom” and voting in city courts.
The headquarters of the Episcopal Diocese of Cartagena
became official in the year 1291.
In the context of the dynastic crisis of the Spanish crown,
James II of Aragon
took the city between 1296 and 1300, subsequently returning it to Castilian
control under the award of Torrellas (1304).
Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuries
In 1520 Murcia joined the movement but with some nuances
that were totally different from the rest of Castile by its clear sense that
it’s oligarchy connected with the conflicts that occurred in the region during
the late 15th century. The Murcian communards introduced a board of trustees
with some elected by popular representation and parishes.
In the reign of Philip II, Murcian troops under the command
of Luis Fajardo, Second Marques de los Velez, advanced the kingdom of Murcia
and helped quell the rebellion in the Moorish Kingdom of Granada.
Following the great Christian victory at Las Navas de Tolosa
(1212), Castilla spread southward toward the taifa kingdom of Murcia
and, in the third period, was ruled by the dynasty of the Banu Hud.
The future Alfonso X el Sabio underwent vassalage in 1243
through the treaty Alcaraz, incorporating the city and his kingdom to the crown
of Castile
in the form of protectorate. In 1264 the Mudejar revolted against the
Christians.
Alfonso X, then employed in the siege of Niebla (Huelva), requested emergency aid for his son Jaime I of Aragon.
Aragonese troops crushed the rebellion in 1265–1266, removing the remains of
Muslim autonomy.
This led to the title of Murcia, which means very noble and
very loyal. The conflict in Nevada also meant
the collapse of the silk industry of Granada
and, hence, the rise of silk, allowing the city and the kingdom to avoid the
effects of the crisis at thee end of the 16th century. In fact, the crisis did
not come to Murcia
until the second decade of the 17th century.
In 1651 the city was ravaged by an avenue of the Segura River,
known as Riyadh San Calixto, which caused over 1,000 deaths.
