Guadix (; Local pronunciation: aˈðih is a city and municipality in southern Spain, in the

province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical). ...

. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, on the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern foothills of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. It is located on the Madrid- Valdepeñas- Almería railway. The city was once famous for its cutlery; but its modern manufactures (chiefly earthenware, hempen goods, and hats) are relatively unimportant. It has some trade in wool, cotton, flax, corn and liqueurs. The warm mineral springs of Cortes y Graena, much frequented during the summer, are 6 miles west.

History

Ancient

Guadix el Viejo, 6 km northwest, was the Roman Acci (also ''Accitum'') mentioned in

Pliny's Natural History The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

and as Akki by Ptolemy, who placed it among the Bastetani, whose capital was

Basti Basti may refer to: People Surname *Básti, a Hungarian surname Given name *Abderraouf El Basti (born 1947), Tunisian politician *Basti Vaman Shenoy (born 1934), Indian Kolkani activist * Yagi Basti (died 1344), a ruler of Shiraz, Iran *B ...

. It is not known for certain whether it is of Phoenician or of early Spanish origin. According to

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

, the primitive inhabitants paid homage to Mars under the name of Neton.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

established the Roman colony called Julia Gemella. According to tradition, it was the seat of the first bishopric in Hispania, in the 2nd century.

From the Moors to the ''Reconquista''

After 711 it rose to some importance as a Moorish fortress and trading station, renamed Wadi 'Ashi ("the Wadi of Acci"). During this period, Guadix was home to Ḥamda bint Ziyād, one of medieval Granada's foremost women poets. Guadix was the site of the

Battle of Guadix The Battle of Guadix was an engagement between Castilian and Granadan forces at Guadix, then in the Emirate of Granada and now in Spain, that took place in January 1362. The Castilians were routed by forces loyal to Muhammed VI, Sultan of Gran ...

in January 1362 in which a small Castilian army was routed by the forces of Muhammed VI, Sultan of Granada. It was surrendered without a siege to the Spaniards, under

Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...

, in 1489.

Modern

The novelist Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, author of '' El sombrero de tres picos'', was born in Guadix in 1833. The 19th and 20th centuries saw a period of economic crisis for the town. Currently Guadix is a center of production of fruit (strawberries), cereals, vegetables, as well as a minor tourist center.

Main sights

* Guadix Cathedral (16th-18th centuries), built over a Moorish mosque in Gothic-Renaissance style. The façade is in Baroque style. *Church of St. Augustine (18th century), *Church of Santiago (1540), with a Plateresque portal *Convent and church of the Conception *

Alcazaba A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...

, a Moorish fortress commanding the town *Barrio de Santiago, a neighborhood characterized by troglodyte houses carved in tuff rocks. Andalucía Guadix LasCuevas1 tango7174

Notable people

* Pedro de Mendoza *

Antonio Mira de Amescua Antonio Mira de Amescua (1578?1636?), Spanish dramatist, was born at Guadix ( Granada) about 1578. He is said, but doubtfully, to have been the illegitimate son of one Juana Perez. He took orders, obtained a canonry at Guadix, and settled at Mad ...

Gaspar de Ávalos de la Cueva Gaspar de Ávalos de la Cueva (1485–1545), also named Gaspar Dávalos de la Cueva, was a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Gaspar Dávalos de la Cueva was born in Guadix, Spain, in 1485, the son of Rodrigo Dávalos a ...

* Pedro Antonio de Alarcón * Ibn Tufayl

International relations

;Twin towns — Sister cities Guadix is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Celanova, Spain (since 2006). * L'Arboç, Spain (since 2019). Guadix has also reached a "green-twinning" agreement with Piaseczno, Poland.

References

External links

Ayuntamiento de GuadixCartography and aerial pictures of Guadix and Surroundings
{{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of Granada