Early History
Although the site of modern-day Madrid (Spain) has been occupied since prehistoric times, and there are archeological remains of a small Visigoth village near the modern location, the first historical data from the city comes from the 9th century, when Muhammad I of Córdoba ordered the construction of a small palace in the same place that is today occupied by the Palacio Real. Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudayna, was built. Near that palace was the Manzanares river, which the Muslims called al-Majrīṭ (Arabic: المجريط "source of water").
From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which was later rendered to the modern-day spelling of Madrid. The citadel was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI of León and Castile in his advance towards Toledo. He reconsecrated the mosque as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison's granary). In 1329, the Cortes Generales first assembled in the city to advise Ferdinand IV of Castile. Sephardic Jews and Moors continued to live in the city until they were expelled at the end of the 15th century.
Read more about this topic: History Of Madrid
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or history:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)
“In the history of the human mind, these glowing and ruddy fables precede the noonday thoughts of men, as Aurora the sun’s rays. The matutine intellect of the poet, keeping in advance of the glare of philosophy, always dwells in this auroral atmosphere.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)