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Murcia Community History
Many years ago the Carthaginians made Cartagena into a trading port which the Romans subsequently called Carthago Nova once they had taken control of the area. During the Roman rule today’s entity of Murcia did not exist, however the region was part of the province of Hispania Carthaginensis. Later, the Moors conquered the region, as they did with all of southern Spain. They helpfully introduced an irrigation system which has long affected Murcia’s agricultural system. At this stage the province was named Todmir.
What became the Kingdom of Murcia was then placed under the Moorish taifa system after the Caliphate of Cordoba’s rule over the Iberian Peninsula began to waver. However in 1086 after the Battle of Sagrajas the taifas were reunited into Islamic Spain. The year 1245 marked a turning point as Ferdinand III of Castile took control of Murcia, although this unfortunately brought about a time of eviction and suppression of the Muslims who had made their homes there.
Shortly after, Alfonso X of Castile divided the region of Murcia into three distinct components. He annexed the taifa of Murcia in 1266 to bring it fully under Spanish control. And it remained this way until 1812 when a new constitution was brought into being. By 1982, after the death of dictator Franco and the advent of a new constitution, Murcia was issued with a Statute of Autonomy which allows it its own self-government and rule.