Archidona is a town and municipality in the province of

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...

, part of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It is the center of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) 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, ...

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 Hoya of Antequera (also Antequera Depression or, in Spanish, ''Depresión de Antequera'', ''Hoya de Antequera'' or ''Vega de Antequera'') is a sedimentary basin located in the northern part of the province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. It take ...

. 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 Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central loca ...

. 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 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears i ...

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

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

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 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 ''alc ...

he was proclaimed

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Abd al-Rahman I in 756, leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Cordoba in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...

. 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 style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

urban and architectural heritage. 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