Valencia | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 809267 |
Valencia (Spanish: [baˈlenθja]), officially València (Valencian: [baˈlensia] (locally) or [vaˈlensia]), is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, surpassing 800,000 inhabitants in the municipality. The wider urban area also comprising the neighbouring municipalities has a population of around 1.6 million. Valencia is Spain's third-largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million depending on how the metropolitan area is defined. The Port of Valencia is the 5th-busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 714, Moroccan and Arab Moors occupied the city, introducing their language, religion and customs; they implemented improved irrigation systems and the cultivation of new crops as well. Valencia was the capital of the Taifa of Valencia. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon conquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it, as witnessed in the Llibre del Repartiment.
Burgos | |
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State | Castile and León |
Country | Spain |
Capital | |
Population | 178574 |
Burgos (UK: BOOR-goss, US: BOOR-gohss, Spanish: [ˈbuɾɣos]) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
It is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries, at the edge of the central plateau. The municipality has a population of about 180,000 inhabitants. It forms part of the Camino de Santiago.
Founded in 884 by Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, Burgos soon became the leading city of the embryonic County of Castile. 11th century chieftain Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid) is connected to the city, as he was born near Burgos and was raised and educated there. In a long-lasting decline since the 17th century, following the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Burgos became the headquarters of the Francoist proto-government.