History History

Legend attributes the foundation ofHispalis to Hercules, but many historians agree on the date and on what could have been its first settlement, the left bank of the Guadalquivir. Opinions differ, however, on whether the founders were Tartessians or Phoenicians. From this century onwards, the ancient Seville was successively conquered by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians.

In order to cut off the supplies of the Carthaginians, Scipio the African, a Roman general, started the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and founded the city of Itálica, a few kilometers from Seville, in 206 BC. Giving this city a residential function. Reconstructed and renamed Hispalis, Seville will experience a major economic influence in the peninsula during the Roman period. It was fortified in 49 B.C. by order of Julius Caesar and elevated to the rank of Roman colony in 45 B.C. It also gave two emperors to the Roman Empire: Trajan and Hadrian. The remains of the old forum from the Roman imperial era can be found in the current Calle Mármoles, in the Santa Cruz neighborhood

Declared optimus princeps, the best of the emperors, by the Roman Senate, he succeeded Nerva at the age of 45 and reigned for 20 years. With him, the Roman Empire will know the biggest extension but also very big works

The Visigoths dominated the entire peninsula after the decline of Roman domination. They assimilated the Hispano-Roman culture by converting to Catholicism. In 461, they madeHispalis, renamed Spali, their capital, which became a great Western intellectual center thanks to two archbishops of Seville, San Leandro and San Isidro, who contributed to the influence of Latin culture throughout the West. But the internal quarrels between Visigoths will facilitate the conquest of the region by the Moors

He succeeded Trajan and reigned until his death. Breaking with his predecessor, he was especially concerned with structuring the empire. But like him, he was generous with his native city by continuing the construction of a nova urbs including an amphitheater with 2,500 spectators, one of the 5 largest in the empire

After crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, the Moorish troops, under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad, won the battle of Guadalete, in the south of the peninsula, thus giving victory to the Umayyads and precipitating the fall of the Visigothic kingdom. They will conquer very quickly Andalusia which passes under the domination of the Caliph of Damascus and the Umayyads. This will be the case of Seville, conquered from 712 and renamed Isbylya.

After the death of the Caliph Al-Mansur, problems of succession lead to the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba and the splitting of Al-Andalus, gradually divided into several small kingdoms, the Taifas. It was Abu Al-Qasim who took power in Seville and gave birth to the Abbadid dynasty. This was a period of great literary and artistic apogee for Seville

To face the advances of the Christian Reconquista carried out in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, the Abbadids will call upon the Almoravids, coming from the current Morocco. After two victorious campaigns, they decided to submit all the Taifas. Conquered in 1091, Seville was integrated into this Almoravid group

Seville is now invaded by the Almohads who will invest all Al-Andalus. The city became their capital and reached a great influence which will be translated in particular in the architectural plan by the construction of a very large mosque whose minaret is always present in the current Giralda the extension of the Alcazar and the rebuilding of the wall endowed with a defensive element: the torre del Oro

The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa marked a decisive step in the reconquest of al-Andalus. After a siege of more than a year, Ferdinand III, king of Castile, conquered Seville in 1248, established his court there and made it the capital of reconquered Andalusia. The city will acquire a growing importance and will become the capital of Alfonso X, the wise, son of Ferdinand III, at the end of the XIII century

The first period was marked by noble quarrels and conflicts of succession as well as the Black Death of 1348. The reign of Peter I the Cruel began in 1350, but he did not take up residence in the Alcázar of Seville until 10 years later. It was not until the 16th century that Seville once again shone. Spain had been unified since 1469, but to the detriment of the Jewish and Muslim minorities and the^first court of the Inquisition was established in Seville in 1480. The 15th century also saw the beginning of the construction of the cathedral of Seville which was completed in 1509.

King of Castile and Leon, son of King Alfonso XI and Queen Maria of Portugal, he was born in Burgos but raised in Seville. He was given the nickname "Cruel" when, once on the throne, he decided to have his father's wife (Leonor de Guzmán) murdered. In 1353, he married a French princess, Blanche de Bourbon, but soon abandoned her for María de Padilla. Both wife and mistress died the same year, in 1362, and the question of succession arose. He convinced the Cortes of Seville to validate his union with María de Padilla so that the four children she gave him could accede to the throne. This will be done. But Peter I, while trying to save Toledo, was assassinated in 1369 by his brother Henry who betrayed him.

This is a key date for Spain and Andalusia as it marks the end of the Reconquest, with the capture of Granada, and the discovery of the New World during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus. This discovery will make Seville, during part of the 16th century, the economic center of the Spanish Empire (see zoom)

Despite the policies of repopulation, the expulsion of Jews, Moors and then Moriscos (Moors converted to Christianity) would lead Spain, Andalusia and Seville into a deep economic crisis. Moreover, as navigation on the Guadalquivir became increasingly difficult, the commercial monopoly towards the new continent and its institutions were transferred to Cadiz. Seville also suffered another great plague epidemic that killed almost half of its population. The "counter-reformist" spirit of the city also made it a convent-city (45 monasteries of friars and 28 convents of women were listed in 1671) which saw the blossoming of religious Baroque art in monuments and in painting. As a counterpoint to this crisis, Seville benefited from the installation of a tobacco factory that employed approximately 5,000 women workers.

The appointment of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, as King of Spain in 1808 marked the beginning of the War of Independence and from 1809 to 1810, Seville was the capital of free Spain, before being occupied by the French army on February¹, 1810. This occupation was accompanied by the looting of many works of art (more than a thousand, including many paintings by Murillo), which were sent to Madrid and France. The city was liberated by an Anglo-Spanish contingent after the battle of Puente de Triana (August 1812).

After the secularization of the property of the religious orders(desamortización de Mendizábal), many of the works from the convents and monasteries were taken to a painting museum, which today is the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville. In 1841, Carlos Pickman founded a ceramics factory in one of the monasteries that had suffered the most from the confiscation, La Cartuja, which is now in Salteras

The railroad arrived in Seville, which inaugurated a line with Cordoba in 1859 and Jerez de la Frontera (1860) and Cadiz in 1861.

Several times postponed by the First World War and the dictatorship of General Rivera, the Ibero-American Exhibition opens its doors on May 9 in Seville, considered the cradle of the discovery of the New World by a Spain that wishes to renew ties with this continent after the loss of its colonies. For Seville, which will focus on art, culture and historical heritage, this year-long event will be the most important of the early 20th century. If it has increased the city's debts, it has also contributed to making it a modern city. With the construction of emblematic sites such as the Plaza de España, work of Anibal González, but also the Hotel Alfonso XIII or the Plaza de América, the Prado San Sebastián, or the Lope de Vega Theater...

On July 17, 1936, in Melilla (Morocco), the first military garrison rose up, preparing the offensive of the national movement and the beginning of the civil war opposing nationalists and republicans until 1939. In July 1936, General Queipo de Llano took control of Seville, which became a bridgehead for the occupation of the rest of the country by the African Army (more than 3,000 deaths were recorded in Seville from July 1936 to January 1937).

After thirty-six years of dictatorship, the death of General Franco marked the beginning of the country's democratic transition, a process that ran, for the most part, from the government of Adolfo Suárez until the Socialists came to power in 1982

Ratification by the king of the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia after its approval by the Andalusians in the referendum of October 21, 1981. It is the third Spanish region to accede to this status, which allows the exercise of the right to self-government. And in 1982 Seville became the capital of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.

From April to October, Seville hosted a World's Fair that allowed it to modernize its infrastructure considerably: construction of a new airport, new Santa Justa train station to accommodate Spain's^first high-speed train (AV) Madrid-Seville, construction of highways. Part of the Expo facilities were converted into the Cartuja 93 technology park, the most important in Andalusia. Other buildings from this period include the Isla Mágica theme park and the Puente del Alamillo (by Santiago Calatrava).

Like all of Andalusia, Seville was affected by the economic crisis of 2008 and experienced very high unemployment rates, especially among young people. But after the impetus given by the 1992 World Expo, it continued its urban transformation: inauguration of a metro line and a tramway, multiplication of bicycle lanes, pedestrianization of many areas of the center, development of the western bank of the Guadalquivir. The avant-garde silhouette of the Setas de Sevilla in 2011 and the impressive verticality of the Pelli Tower (the tallest in Andalusia) in 2016 have also made it a city of the 21st century