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Vegueria The ''vegueria'' (; pl. ''vegueries'') was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the Crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. The ve ...

of Tarragona was a historical territorial entity of

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 ...

(in what is now

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 ...

) that agglutinated the counties of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

. In all the moments of validity of this territorial division, the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona has been the city of

. This city has been the genesis of all the territory.

History

Tarraco Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republic ...

constituted, since the republican period, a Roman site of first order on the territory as the capital of the

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

Citerior (the biggest province of all the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

). The city accommodated the ''Concilium Provinciae'', in imperial period integrated by the representatives of the seven ''conventi'', or districts, that formed the province: Tarraco, Cartago Nova, Caesar Augusta, Clúnia, Astúrica Augusta, Lucus Augusta and Bràccara Augusta. In 26-25 BC

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

moved in Tarragona to direct the war against the Cantabri and the Astures. From the year 259 AD a Christian bishopric is documented in the city, and in 385 the Pope Siricius gave the metropolitan bishop of Tarragona authority over all the Hispanic provinces. At the beginning of the 5th century the ''commes hispaniarum '' resided in

. In the Middle Ages, due to archbishop of Tarragona Bernat Tort the territory was organized. Parishes were created in the current counties of the Tarragonès, Baix Camp, Alt Camp, Priorat, Conca de Barberà, Urgell and Garrigues that depended on the Tarragonese mitre.

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...

(1162–96) named Tarragona the "capital of my kingdom". Since then, Tarragona has always been the capital of the

in mediaeval and modern periods. From 1716 the city was the capital of the ''corregimiento'' of Tarragona, and with the establishment of the territorial division in provinces, from 1822, Tarragona has always been the capital of the counties of Tarragona. In this last decision two essential reasons had a huge weight. On the one hand, the fierce defense that in 1811 the city of Tarragona against the French armies in the called

War of Spanish Independence The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...

. Tarragona accommodated women and men of all the territory and protected them in its walls. The stairs of the cathedral were the last bastion of defense of the Tarragona territory and thousands of defenders died.

References

* Adserà Martorell, Josep: ''Tarragona. Capital de provincia'', Tarragona, by author, 1986. * Ferré i Bosch, Maria Antònia: ''Història de Tarragona una ciutat mediterrània'', Tarragona, Arola, 2006. * Jordà Fernandez, Antoni M.: ''Història de la ciutat de Tarragona'', Valls, Cossetània, 2006. * Recasens i Comes, Josep M.: ''La ciutat de Tarragona'', Barcelona, Barcino, 1966. * Rovira i Gomez, Salvador-J.: ''Breu Història de Tarragona'', Tarragona: Òmnium Cultural del Tarragonès, 1984. Geography of Catalonia