Archidona is a town and municipality in the province of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

in southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is the center of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

of Nororiental de Málaga and the head of the judicial district that bears its name. It earned the title of city in 1901. It covers an area of 187 km² extending from the east side of the Hoya of Antequera. The city is located at a height of 666 meters in the foothills of the Sierra de Gracia. With 8,858 inhabitants, Archidona is the most populous municipality in the comarca. The population is concentrated in the main urban centers of the same name and in Salinas, Estación de Archidona and Huertas del Río. The municipality is situated approximately 50 kilometers from the city of

and 20 km from

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

. Archaeological finds confirm the presence of settlers in the area from the

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...

. The oldest permanent settlement correspond to Escua, founded by the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns, and Ulisis, inhabited by Turduli and Romans. During the Muslim period, ''Medina Arxiduna'' achieved notoriety by becoming the capital of Rayya Cora. In his alcazaba he was proclaimed

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

Abd al-Rahman I Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (; 7 March 731 – 30 September 788), commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, ...

in 756, leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Cordoba in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

. After the Christian conquest in 1462, the town remained under the seigniorial jurisdiction of the House of Osuna. The city was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1980 for

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

urban and

architectural heritage ''Architectural Heritage'' is an academic journal published by Edinburgh University Press on behalf of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland in November each year. It was founded in 1991. The journal focuses on architectural history an ...

. The municipality is home to several archaeological sites from different periods and areas of ecological interest such as the Natural Lagoons Reserve of Archidona and Hoz de Marín. It is also the headquarters of the Andalusian and Mediterranean Cinema Displays. The natives are called ''Archidoneses''.

History

Origin of name

There are different hypotheses about the etymological origin Archidona. According to J. H. Xavarino, the current name come from the pre-Roman expression ''arri-exi-dun-a'', which means "the one with stone fence." He also pointed to a Latin origin of the expression ''Arx Domina'' or ''Arcis Domina'', which means "lady of the heights", but no evidence has been found that supports this.

References

Municipalities in the Province of Málaga {{Andalusia-geo-stub

History

Origin of name

See also

References