Barcelona History Timeline 2000BC to the 12th century

2000 BCThe legend of its creation is that in 2000 BC Hercules, the mythical Greek hero, set sail from Africa in nine boats. During the voyage, one of the ships is lost to a storm by the Catalan coast. Searching for the ninth boat, Hercules and his men eventually find it, stranded on a new land, surrounded by a beautiful hill. The men survived, and so struck by the beauty of the place, named it Barca Nona, ‘Ninth Ship’.First Century BCTowards the end of the first century BC, the Romans established a city called Barcino around what was then called the Taber mountain. The Romans used the same spot as their political and administrative base as they do today; Plaza Sant Jaume.However, the Romans showed little interest in what is now the capital of Catalunya. Instead they focused on Barcelona's neighbor, Tarragona.The Romans enclosed the city with looming walls, which still remain very much visible today. Excellent examples can be found in the Plaza del Rei and the Plaza Ramon Berenguer. Early 5th centuryThe Visigoths (Western Goths; one of the main branches of the Goths, an eastern Germanic tribe) conquered Barcelona in the early 5th century. Barcino, as Barcelona was known so long ago, was an important center of the Visigoth kingdom, attributed to its insurmountably defensive walls. So highly important was Barcino that it was made the capital of the kingdom, after it’s predecessor, Toulouse in France.711The Muslim inhabitants of Al-Andulus, the Moors, arrived to the Iberian peninsula in 711. Under the rule of ‘Taric el Tuerto’ (Taric the one-eyed), they reigned over most of Spain, conquering the Visigoths. Tarragona, in 717 was invaded and largely destroyed. When the Moors entered Barcelona after such damage caused to Tarragona, they met with little resistance. The reign of the Moors lasted less than a century.When in…...801......Louis the Pious, under Charlesmagne, conquered the city, and Barcelona fell under Frankish rule. From 878 to 897, Guifré el Pelós, Catalan for Wilfred the Hairy, was the count of Barcelona, Girona and Besalu.11th CenturyIn the 11th century, Barcelona invaded Cordoba, which ended in success for Barcelona, bringing with it a significant gain of wealth and economy. The city developed rapidly. At this time, other Catalan counties united, with Barcelona as their capital.During the 12th Century……Barcelona prospered. The then count, Ramon Berenguer IV married the daughter of the King of Aragon, Petronila of Aragon, uniting the two territories. This brought vast increase of political and economical power. Upon the death of Petronilas father, Berenguer became King of Aragon.Helped by commerce from the Mediterranean sea and tariffs collected from the ‘Moorish Taifa Kingdom’, Barcelona’s conquest increased to include Valencia, the Balearic islands, Sicily and Sardinia.In this period, two new sections of the city wall were built. One to encompass annexed towns, the other to include an agricultural area which is now known as the Raval.The city flourished and grew, attracting merchants from around the world. Guilds were formed, concentrated in different areas around the cities political center, Plaza Sant Jaume. Street names still reflect these guilds which existed so long ago, e.g. Flassaders (blanket makers) or Sombrerers (hat makers).This is just the beginning of the Barcelona History Timeline. Of course, Barcelona’s history encompasses so much more. Click the following link to read the whole history on “Barcelona History Timeline” at BarcelonaExplore.com.