Ilercavonia ( ca, Ilercavònia, es, Ilercavonia) is an ancient

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, ...

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") , i ...

formerly populated by the

ancient Iberian The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...

tribe known as

Ilercavones The Ilercavones were an ancient Iberian (Pre- Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken an Iberian language. History The name Ilercavonia to refer to the territory occupied by this Iberian t ...

. It is a greater comarca made up of smaller ones. The ties between the people of the region transcend ancient kingdom and later provincial borders.

History

The name 'Ilercavonia' to refer to the territory occupied by the Ilercavones Iberian tribe appears in ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

texts and documents. The northern limits of this territory were in

Serra de la Llena Serra de la Llena, also known as Serra la Llena, is a mountain chain straddling the municipal terms of Vilanova de Prades ( Conca de Barberà comarca), La Pobla de Cérvoles ( Garrigues) and Ulldemolins ( Priorat), in Catalonia, Spain , image_ ...

, the northeastern in

Coll de Balaguer The Coll de Balaguer is a mountain pass in Catalonia, Spain. It is located at the point where the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range reaches the sea, in L'Almadrava, within the Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant municipality, Baix Camp. Despite its sc ...

, the western in

Mequinensa Mequinenza (Aragonese and ) or Mequinensa () is a town and municipality of the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is located beside the river Segre, close to its confluence with the river Ebro between the Mequi ...

and the southern in the area of a river mentioned as 'Oduba' in Roman documents, which could be either the

Millars River The Mijares or Millars ( es, Mijares, ca, Millars, an, Millars) is a river in Aragon and the Valencian Community, eastern Spain. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea between Almassora and Burriana. The Mijares River marks the southernmost limit ...

, or another river further south along the coast closer to

Sagunt Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarques of the Valencian Community, comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30&nbs ...

. This geographical zone corresponds roughly to the present-day

Maestrat/Maestrazgo The Maestrazgo () or Maestrat () is a natural and historical mountainous region, located at the eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range, in Spain. It encompasses the north of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, in Castellón provinc ...

, Matarraña/Matarranya and

Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, literally in English 'The Ebre Lands') is one of the seven territories defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It is located in the south-west of Catalonia, in the southern part of river Ebre, and will be formed by four coma ...

comarcas. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

the territory of Ilercavonia found itself located at the confluence of the kingdoms of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

. Since that time, and until the mid-20th century, the

Diocese of Tortosa The Diocese of Tortosa is a Latin Rite Catholic diocese covering the south of Catalonia and the north of the Valencian Country. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Tarragona.ancient region who, despite having had no historic political representation of their own, share common geographic, economic, cultural and linguistic ties. The traditional

ese parishes of the Diocese of Tortosa, however, were segregated during

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

, following the

Concordat of 1953 The Concordat of 1953 was the last classic concordat of the Catholic Church, signed on 27 August 1953 by Spain (under the rule of Francisco Franco) with the Vatican (during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII). Together with the Pact of Madrid, signed ...

between the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. Besides the lack of recognition and effective representation, this greater comarca has suffered much from a lack of development and investment since the mid-20th century, when the only railway line connecting the region with Aragon, the RENFE line from

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

Alcañiz Alcañiz () is a town and municipality of Teruel province in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region. It lies ...

and

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, was terminated in 1973. This line was dismantled as a result of a 1962

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

report advising the Spanish State to concentrate investment in the great lines and to abandon the less profitable railways connecting rural areas. The bulk of the development in eastern and northeastern Spain was henceforward diverted to the cities of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

in detriment of this region. Nowadays the name Ilercavonia is used mainly in academic and scientific circles, as well as in cultural events.La Ilercavònia encara és viva
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*María del Mar Llorens Forcada, María del Mar Llorens & Xavier Aquilué, ''Ilercavonia-Dertosa i les seves encunyacions monetàries'', Institut d'Estudis Catalans. Societat Catalana d'Estudis Numismàtics, *Teofil Pitarch i Vives, ''Fraternitas Saecularis:

Vallibona Vallibona () is a small town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Ports (comarca), Ports comarca, province of Castelló (province), Castelló, part of the Valencia (autonomous community), autonomous community of Valencia, Spa ...

/ Pena-roja de Tastavins'', Diputació de Castelló. 2005,

External links

Historia de la línea de La Puebla de Híjar-Alcañiz-Tortosa-Sant Carles de la RàpitaYale University Library, publications about Ilercavonia
{{coord, 40, 42, N, 0, 30, E, type:adm2nd_source:cawiki, display=title Historical regions in Spain Natural regions

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links