Tarazona
Encyclopedia
Tarazona is a municipality (pop. 10,667) in the Spanish province of Zaragoza
Zaragoza (province)
Zaragoza is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon.Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also the capital of the autonomous community. Other towns in Zaragoza include Calatayud, Borja, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Ejea de los Caballeros and Tarazona.Its...

, in the autonomous community of Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona
Diocese of Tarazona
The Diocese of Tarazona is a Roman Catholic bishopric located in north-eastern Spain, in the provinces of Zaragoza, Soria, Navarre and...

 and the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo
Tarazona y el Moncayo
Tarazona y el Moncayo is a comarca in Aragon, Spain. The most important town is Tarazona.This comarca is located at the western end of Aragon, bordering Navarre, Soria Province and La Rioja...

 Aragonese comarca.

History

During the Roman era
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

, Tarazona was a prosperous city whose inhabitants were full Roman citizens; it was known as Turiaso. The city declined after the fall of the Roman Empire, and later became a Muslim town in the 8th century.

It was reconquered
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

 in 1119 by Alfonso I of Aragon and became the seat of the diocese of Tarazona. Construction on Tarazona Cathedral
Tarazona Cathedral
Tarazona Cathedral is situated in Tarazona, Zaragoza province, Spain...

 first began in the 12th century in the French Gothic style, and it was consecrated in 1232.

After the death of Alfonso I, Tarazona became a town situated on the frontiers between Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

, Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

, and Aragon
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...

, and was thus of strategic importance.

During centuries of Arabic rule, the city's population was diverse, and Christians, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, and Muslims lived together. The Muslim presence was evident in the local architecture; the cathedral itself was later rebuilt in Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...

 style. The city suffered a terrible crisis when the Moriscos were expelled.

During the War of the Two Peters
War of the Two Peters
The War of the Two Peters was a war fought from 1356 to 1375 between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Its name refers to the two rulers of these countries: Peter of Castile and Peter IV of Aragon, respectively...

, the city was occupied by Castilian troops for nine years, and the cathedral was damaged during this time.

In the 20th century, Tarazona became an important producer of matches and textiles, but these industries were replaced by others from the 1980s onwards.

The city is now an important tourist destination with various restaurants and hotels.

External links

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