(islands) , image_name = , image_caption = , image_size = , map_image = Localització de les Pitiüses respecte les Illes Balears.svg , local_name = , native_name_link = Spanish/Catalan language , nickname = , location =

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, coordinates = , archipelago =

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

, total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 655.8 , highest_mount =

Sa Talaiassa Sa Talaiassa (), also known as Sa Talaia or Sa Talaia de Sant Josep, is the highest mountain on the island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It is located in the southwest of the island. ''Talaia'', the name of the mountain, means "watch ...

, elevation_m = 475 , country = Spain , country_admin_divisions_title =

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 ...

, country_admin_divisions =

, country_admin_divisions_title_1 =

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

, country_admin_divisions_1 =

, country_largest_city =

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

, country_largest_city_population = 49,783 , population = 160,025 , population_as_of = 1 January 2019 , density_km2 = 244.0 , ethnic_groups = , additional_info = The Pityusic Islands, often referenced simply as the Pityuses ( ca, Pitiüses , es, Pitiusas; from the

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 ...

πιτύα ''pitýa'',

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...

), or commonly but informally (and ambiguously) as the Pine Islands, is the name given collectively to the

(Catalan: ''Eivissa''),

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area ...

S'Espalmador S'Espalmador (, es, Espalmador) is a small, privately owned uninhabited island located in the Balearic Islands. Features The island is just to the north of Formentera, from which it is separated by a shallow sandbar. During low tide, it is ...

and other small islets in the

Geography

The islands are situated approximately southwest of the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

, and approximately east of the

Cap de la Nau The Cap de la Nau () or Cabo de la Nao (), literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located central-eastern coastal Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, Mediterranean Sea. In English, it is also known as Cape Nao. Geography Cap de la Nau is in the m ...

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, def ...

History

The first known name of the islands was the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

geonym Πιτυοῦσσαι ''Pityûssai'' ("covered in

s").Numerous places were given names like ''Pityûssai'', ''Pityussa'', ''Pityusa'', or similar names by the Ancient Greek
especially in Anatolia and Greece
: the pre-Hellenic name of

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' ( exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ...

of the

Leleges The Leleges (; grc-gre, Λέλεγες) were an aboriginal people of the Aegean region, before the Greeks arrived. They were distinct from another pre-Hellenic people of the region, the Pelasgians. The exact areas to which they were native are u ...

was also ''Pityussa'' (

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, 14.1.3);

Spetses Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...

' ancient name was Pityoussa; during the Roman Civil Wars

Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the ...

with some Cilician pirates effected a landing at an island of Pityussa on the North African coast of

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants ...

, and was driven off
Plutarch, ''Life of Sertorius'' 7
. From about 200 BCE, the islands were used as a base by

Cilician pirates Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the ter ...

. They and a renegade Roman general,

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...

, who had formed an alliance with the pirates, were driven out by a large Roman fleet, commanded by

Caius Annius Luscus Caius is a masculine given name and a surname. It is also an alternate spelling of the Latin prenom Gaius (and verso). G and C are not exclusive in Latin and the correct pronunciation is debatable. It is most commonly pronounced by native English ...

. The two largest of the islands, under the names ''Ebyssus'' (Ibiza) and ''Ophiusis'' (Formentera), were listed in

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...

's ''Geography'' (2nd century CE). Ptolemy noted that ''Ebyssus'' had a town by the same name.

Administration

The Pine Islands are sometimes grouped together as part of the

, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...

(which together with their islets form the

Gymnesian Islands The Gymnesians ( ca, Illes Gimnèsies , es, Gimnesias ), or Gymnesic Islands ( ca, Illes Gimnèsiques), is a collective name given to the two largest (and easternmost) Balearic Islands, Mallorca and Menorca, distinguishing them from the Pityu ...

). Politically, they are 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 ...

of the Balearic Islands. Initially, they were administratively part of the same insular council (of Ibiza and Formentera), but since 2007 they are now separated between the insular council of

and the insular council of

(each one is also assimilated to a single comarca), which are two of the four main administrative subdivisions of the province (and autonomous community) of the Balearic Islands.

Gallery

File:Ibiza Bay 2005.jpg, Beach on

File:ForbysIbizaTown_03.jpg,

Ibiza Town Ibiza (; officially in Catalan: Eivissa ) is a city and municipality located on the southeast coast of the island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands autonomous community. Overview Although called Ibiza in English and Spanish, the official name ...

File:Platja de s'Alga.jpg, Beach on

Flags and coats of arms

File:Ibiza flag.svg, Flag of

File:Bandera de Formentera.svg, Flag of

File:Official Emblem of Ibiza Island Council.svg, Emblem of the Island Council of Ibiza File:Escudo de San Antonio Abad (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of

Sant Antoni de Portmany Sant Antoni de Portmany (, es, San Antonio Abad) or San Antonio is a town on the western coast of Ibiza. It is the second-largest town and municipality in Ibiza; an island described by ''Time Out'' magazine as "arguably the clubbing capital o ...

File:Escudo de San Juan Bautista (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of Sant Joan de Labritja File:Escudo de Santa Eulalia del Río (Islas Baleares).svg, Coat of arms of

Santa Eulària des Riu Santa Eulària des Riu (, es, Santa Eulalia del Río) is a coastal town on the south eastern seaboard of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The town is located on the designated road PM 810."579 Regional Map, Spain, Islas Baleares." Pub:Michelin Ed ...

File: Escut_d%27Eivissa.svg, Coat of arms of

External links

{{Authority control Islands of the Balearic Islands