
Almeria History
The name of the town "Almería" came from the Arabic word Al-Mariya which stands for- "The Mirror of the Ocean".
Abd ar-Rahman III in 955 was the person who founded the city and added it to his extensive realm with the intension of strengthening his defenses of the Mediterranean.
It is this period when Almería accomplished its historical crest, after the disintegration of the then Caliphate of Cordoba- right under the influential native Muslim emirs such as Jairan, Almotacin and Cartagena. All of them were fearless combatants as well as patrons of arts.
For Almeria, the 16th century was a century full of human and natural catastrophes with as many as 4 earthquakes.
During the 18th century, large iron mines got discovered and with that came the British and the French and British and started to settle in Almeria. It brought renewed affluence and also revived Almeria’s relative importance inside Spain.
In the middle of the 20th century, it witnessed splendid growth economically thanks to its agricultural boom and tourism.
After the death of Franco and with the approval of Spain’s fresh Constitution, southern Spain’s people were called for referendum in order to commend an independent status for this province. The Almeria province voted in favour for this constitution and joined the lately created independent region known as Andalusia.
Almeria History