Discover Peñiscola
Old City
A city with a lot of history
Peñíscola is a name in the History, present in her from the most remote civilizations. Fortaleza that, for his extraordinary natural conditions: strategic emplacement rocky promontory encircled by the sea, except by a sandy language and providential abundance of springs, place has been coveted for any of the peoples come to our Peninsula.
The former Chersonesos
There are abundant the archaeological vestiges found in the surroundings of the tómbolo, in the deposits of Poaig and Els Barrancs that confirm the poblamiento of these lands for some Iberian people (ilercavones), as well as the relation between these and the Phoenician merchants who came by sea (s. VII - I SAW a.de C.). In Peñíscola the Phoenicians proceeding from Tyro settled themselves, probably, and little later the Greeks of Zacinthos. Later there will come by sea Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantine and Arabic.
The most ancient written and credible testimonies it brings over of Peñíscola's knowledge in the ancient orb, it is necessary to look for them, nevertheless, in Hecateo's appointments (s. The VIth a.de C.) Estrabón (s. I a.de C.) and Rufo Festo Avieno (s. The IVth) that in his descriptions of the coast mention Chersonesos's city. Name that the Greeks would give to the city and which translation means, peninsula.
Peñíscola, Greek and Roman colony, will be an important port across which they will enter products manufactured (ceramics, fabrics, weapon, etc.) that the settlers will exchange for the valued wine and olive oil of the Iberians who populate the saws of the littoral. They will be likewise the Romans, who on having translated the Greek name of the city into the Latin (according to prestigious philologists, in the vulgar form peñiscola,
Banáskula, the arabic city
From the year 718 in which Tarik concludes the conquest until 1233, Peñíscola's city lives under Moslem domain. There are known scanty details of this epoch. The Arabic geographers allude to Peñíscola (whom they will be call Banáskula or Baniskula for adjustment of the toponym to his alphabet) as impregnable castle close to the sea, which is populated, it has farm-houses, cultures, abundance of waters and important salt mines. From the strength, which will be a border with the Christianity, the Moors pirate the littoral and realize incursions in the Kingdom of Aragon. Peñíscola will be a cradle of illustrious prominent figures as the King Lobo ' Mohamed ben San, Mardanis Abuses ' (1124) that it will achieve Moor supports unreino in the southeast españolfrente the African invaders, and the writer Alí Albata who will intervene in the negotiations with Jaime I.
The reconquest
Though already it had tried it in 1225 surrounding her for two months, it will not be until 1233 when the king Jaime I will take possession of Peñíscola's city, recovering also the domain over the sea. It will be a pacific conquest. After Burriana's fall that makes the Arabic castles of the north isolated, the city will submit without fight and under certain agreements that respect the laws and Saracen customs.
On January 28, 1251, nevertheless, Don Jaime I will grant letter of population to the city to jurisdiction of Valencia, by virtue of which it will dispossess the Moors of all his goods properties that it will deliver to the new Christian settlers. This measure will propitiate the demographic and economic consolidation of the city, beginning a stage of prosperity
