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Madrid Community History
As part of the Roman Empire, Madrid was in the region known as the province of Citerior Tarraconese. It contained two key Roman roads and various urban areas such as Titulcia and Miaccum and so was itself an important region. By the time the Roman Empire had collapsed and the Visigoths sought to stake a claim over the region it took on a lesser degree of importance.
The region was perhaps under populated by the Moors during their rule of the area, but by the 11th century they decided to use it more for military purposes in particular and so a number of fortresses and towers were built in an attempt to stem any attacks from the north.
In the same century Madrid was captured from the Moors as the strength of Alfonso IV of Castile shone through. He also went on to take control of nearby Toledo, then, 35 years later, Alcada de Henares also fell. This marked the beginning of a period of repopulation of so-called Christians into the former so-called Muslim areas which went on for another four centuries.
A couple of centuries later the ruling kings of Spain had begun to enjoy the central parts of the country, particularly the forest and the game it brought. Additionally Madrid was growing in political and cultural importance and so in 1561 Phillip II made the city of Madrid the Spanish capital. By the 18th century it had also acquired a number of grand buildings and monuments as well as a growing population.
In 1833 with the political reshuffle that occurred in Spain at the time, the province of Madrid was created, which at that stage belonged to the region of New Castile (today’s Castile La Mancha). And then 150 years later Madrid reached the state it finds itself in today; after the advent of the new constitution in 1978 it received the right to self-rule.