Murcia

Murcia, city, Spain

Murcia, city (1990 pop. 322,911), capital of Murcia prov., SE Spain, on the Segura River. The city lies in one of the finest irrigated garden regions in Spain. The silk industry, a traditional occupation for many years, has declined. There are food-processing, tanning, textile, and other light industries. Lead, silver, sulfur, and iron are mined nearby and aluminum is produced. Murcia rose to prominence under the Moors, when it was for a time the capital of the independent kingdom of Murcia (see separate article). The Gothic cathedral (14th–15th cent.) and the episcopal palace are landmarks. Murcia is the see of a bishop and has a university (founded 1915).

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Murcia, region and former kingdom, Spain

Murcia (Span. mr`thyä), autonomous region and former Moorish kingdom (1990 pop. 1,062,066), 4,370 sq mi (11,321 sq km), SE Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the present province of Murcia. It became an autonomous region in 1982. The area has a generally rugged terrain, except along its coastal plain, and it is one of the hottest and driest regions of Europe, resembling N Africa in climate and vegetation. However, an irrigation system (dating from Moorish times) and several fertile valleys (especially that of the Segura River) permit the growing of large crops of citrus and other fruits, vegetables, almonds, olives, grains, and grapes. Hemp, esparto, and minerals (lead, silver, zinc) are exported. Sericulture was long a traditional occupation. There is some small-scale industry, including a petrochemical center, and coastal tourism is important. The region was settled by the Carthaginians, who founded there (3d cent. B.C.) the port of Cartago Nova (modern Cartagena). It was taken (8th cent. A.D.) by the Moors and emerged as an independent kingdom after the fall (11th cent.) of the caliphate of Córdoba. Later occupied by the Almoravids and Almohads, the kingdom of Murcia also included parts of the modern provinces of Alicante and Almería. In 1243 it became a vassal state of Castile, which in 1266 annexed it outright.

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Murcia

Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 1,197,646), province, and historic region, southeastern Spain. It covers 4,368 sq mi (11,314 sq km), and its capital is the city of Murcia. It was an independent Moorish kingdom until its annexation by Castile in 1243. The autonomous community was established in 1982. The Segura River flows through its centre, irrigating rich farmland and orchards. The ports of Cartagena, Mazarrón, and Aguilas have grown with the development of shipping and mining along the coastal plain. Principal crops are grain, olives, grapes, and melons.

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Murcia

City (pop., 2001: 370,745), capital of the autonomous community of Murcia, southeastern Spain. The site was settled before the Roman occupation of Spain in the 3rd century BC. It became the Muslim city of Mursiyah in AD 825, when it was made a provincial capital by the emir of Córdoba. It was the birthplace of Ibn al-'Arabi (1165). The Segura River divides the city into older and newer parts. The 14th-century cathedral was restored in the 18th century. It is a communications and agricultural-trade centre for surrounding areas. Its silk industry dates from Moorish times.

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Murcia

1. a region and ancient kingdom of SE Spain, on the Mediterranean: taken by the Moors in the 8th century; an independent Muslim kingdom in the 11th and 12th centuries

2. a city in SE Spain, capital of Murcia province: trading centre for a rich agricultural region; silk industry; university (1915). Pop.: 391 146 (2003 est.)