Medina Sidonia is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province of Cádiz Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of conti ...

in 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 communities of Spain, 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 ...

, 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") , i ...

. Considered by some to be the oldest city in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. Locals are known as Asidonenses. The city's name comes from

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

(

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

for "city") and Sidonia (of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

) and means "City of Sidon". Medina-Sidonia, one of Spain's most important

ducal Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

seats in the 15th century, produced an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% of Mexico (1:83 ...

, who led the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1588. The title of

Duque de Medina Sidonia Duke of Medina Sidonia ( es, Duque de Medina Sidonia) is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1380.Guzmán El Bueno Guzmán or de Guzmán ( or ) is a Spanish surname. The Portuguese language equivalent is Gusmão. Origins The surname is of toponymic origin, ''de Guzmán'' ("of Guzmán"), deriving from the village of Guzmán ( es) in the region of Burgos. Th ...

for his valiant role in taking the town. The line continues and was led until March 2008 by the controversial socialist

Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo y Maura, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, GE (21 August 19367 March 2008) was the holder of the Dukedom of Medina Sidonia in Spain. She was nicknamed or ''The Red Duchess'' due to her lifelong left-wing, anti-Fra ...

(born 1936).

History

This city was most likely ancient '' Asido'', an Iberian settlement which may have been founded by the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

, hence the later name ''Sidonia'' reflecting its foundation by

. Its earliest phase is known through its coinage and its 2nd and 1st centuries BC issues bear the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription ''Asido'' but also

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

inscriptions such as sdn'' or ''b'b'l'', with

Herakles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

and

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

being notable

obverse and reverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, '' ...

designs. The ''

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard Talbert, Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from Archaic Greece, ...

'' equates this site with modern Medina Sidonia - lying within the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

province of

Turdetania Baeturia, Beturia, or Turdetania was a region in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (in modern Spain) between the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir rivers. In the Iron Age, it was inhabited by Celts and the Turdetani. The territory was conquered ...

some inland from the southern Spanish coast, this site lay upon a hill c. to the east of Gades (modern Cadiz), and to the west of the ''Besilus'' river. MurallasMedina-BarrantesMaldonado

By the 3rd century BC the Romans had gained control over much of southern Spain; once coming under Roman

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

this site was later referred to as Asido Caesarina.[Richard J. A. Talbert et al (2000). ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' Princeton University Press. Map 26, E5. See CD ROM entry by R.C. Knapp and F.H. Stanley, Jr. on Lusitania-Baetica; see also A. Tovar, Iberische Landeskunde: die Völker und die Städte des antiken Hispanien: Baetica, Zweiter Teil, Band 1, Baden-Baden, 1974.] In 712 the town was Islamic conquest of Spain, conquered by the Muslims, Muslim commander Musa ibn Nusayr, and became the capital of the province of Sidonia in the emirate of Spain. It returned to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

hands with

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

, in 1264, becoming a stronghold along the frontier with the last Muslim country in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, the

Kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman C ...

. It was also the seat of several military orders. In 1440, it became part of the lordship of the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia.

Main sights

The town is characterized by medieval walls and tidy, narrow cobbled streets flanked by rows of

reja A reja ("grille") is a decorative screen of iron.Milliken, William M. "Decorative Ironwork." ''World Book Encyclopedia.'' 10th ed. 1972. 365-66. Rejas can be found in cathedrals located in Spain and Portugal."reja." ''Encyclopædia Britannica. ...

-fronted houses. Sights include: *The

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

(13th-15th centuries) *Roman archaeological complex (1st century AD) *Town Hall (16th century) *La Alameda (16th century) *Ducal Stables (16th century) * Church of Saint Mary the Crowned ( es, Iglesia de Santa María la Coronada) * Castle of Torre-estrella (13th century)

Gallery

file:CaballerizasDuque.JPG, The Ducal Stables File:Medina sidonia1.jpg File:Parque eólico Los Almeriques, Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz, España (17).JPG, Wind farm File:VistaDesdeMedinaSidonia.jpg File:MedinaSidonia-Vista carretera.JPG File:MedinaSidonia-Vistas001.JPG File:CastilloMedinaSidonia 001.JPG, Medina-Sidonia castle File:IglesiaSantaMaria frontal.JPG, Santa María la Coronada church File:Agripina Maior (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg, Official portrait of

Agrippina the Elder Agrippina "the Elder" (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) and ...

(14 BC–33 AD), found in Medina-Sidonia File:PortadaFeria08.JPG, Feria y Fiestas de Medina-Sidonia 2008 File:IglesiaSantaMaria-Retablo.JPG, Santa María la Coronada church altarpiece File:PatioMedinaSidonia.JPG, Asidonian Patio, Casa Rural Sidonia File:AlfajorGrande-Medina.JPG, Large size Alfajor, Andalusian Christmas pastry

History

Main sights

Gallery

See also