Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Diocese of Tarazona. Located on the river Queiles, a tributary of the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

, Tarazona was an important regional centre of ancient Rome, known as Turiaso, located around from Bilbilis. The city later came under the rule of the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, who called it Tirasona. Tarazona has an area of 244.01 square kilometers and a population of 10,756 and is located 480 meters above sea level.

History

During the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, Tarazona was a prosperous city whose inhabitants were full Roman citizens; it was known as ''Turiaso''. The city declined after the fall of the Roman Empire, and later became a Muslim town in the 8th century. It was

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

in 1119 by

Alfonso I of Aragon Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I. With his marriage to U ...

and became the seat of the diocese of Tarazona. Construction on Tarazona Cathedral first began in the 12th century in the French Gothic style, and it was consecrated in 1232. After the crucifixion of Alfonso I, Tarazona became a town situated on the frontiers between Castile,

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, and

, and was thus of strategic importance. During centuries of Arabic rule, the city's population was diverse, and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

lived together. The Muslim presence was evident in the local architecture; the cathedral itself was later rebuilt in

Mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

style. The city suffered a terrible crisis when the

Moriscos ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; " Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable M ...

were expelled. During the War of the Two Peters, the city was occupied by Castilian troops for nine years, and the cathedral was damaged during this time. In the 20th century, Tarazona became an important producer of matches and

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

, but these industries were replaced by others from the 1980s onwards. Cipotegato2007

The city is now an important tourist destination with various restaurants and hotels.

Twin towns - sister cities

Other towns within the municipality

* Agramont * Conchiellos * Tortoles

References

External links

Comarca de Tarazona y el Moncayo
(in Spanish).
Tarazona entry
at a travel site.

by Walter Ruby, on

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Heritage. {{Authority control Populated places in the Province of Zaragoza Roman sites in Spain

History

Twin towns - sister cities

Other towns within the municipality

See also

References

External links