Écija (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈeθixa]) is a city andmunicipality ofSpain belonging to theprovince of Seville, in the autonomous community ofAndalusia. It is in the countryside, 85 km east of the city ofSeville. According to the 2008 census, Écija had a total population of 40,100 inhabitants, ranking as the fifth most populous municipality in the province. The riverGenil, the main tributary of the riverGuadalquivir, runs through the city.
The economy of Écija is based on agriculture (olives,cereals and vegetables), cattle (cows and horses) andtextile industry.
The most distinctive feature of the urban landscape of Écija are the city'sBaroque bell towers.[2]
The so-called wounded amazon, a sculpture from theColonia Firma Astigi found in the Plaza Mayor de Écija on 7 February 2002,[3] exhibited at theMunicipal History Museum of Écija.
Ancient Iberian finds date back to the 8th century BC, and there are several archaeological remains of laterGreek andRoman settlements. In Roman times the town was at first known asAstigi. During theRoman civil war Écija stood "firmly" at the side ofJulius Caesar in theBattle of Munda. As a reward Caesar ordered the town's fortification and refounded it as a Julian colony, possiblyColonia Iulia Firma Astigitana. Under the reign ofOctavian, the later emperor Augustus, the colony was strengthened according to Caesar's construction plans, and its name was finalised asColonia Iulia Augusta Firma Astigitana.[4] According toPliny the Elder andPomponius Mela, who both wrote in the 1st century AD, it was the rival ofCordova andSeville.[5]
Astigi was an important town ofHispania Baetica, as well as the seat of the Astigitanus, one of the fourconventi where the chief men met together at fixed times of the year under the eye of the proconsul to oversee the administration of justice. It was also, from an early date, the seat of a diocese.Fulgentius of Cartagena (died before 633) was named to the see by his brotherIsidore of Seville. With theReconquista, thearchdiocese of Seville was restored, leading to the overshadowing of nearby Astigi, whose territory was joined to that of the archdiocese in 1144. Astigi thus ceased to be a residential diocese and is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[6]
After the Romans, it was ruled by successively bySuevs andVisigoths.
In 711, Écija was conquered by an Islamic army on its way to Córdoba, meeting strong opposition from the population,[7] who offered a 6-month-long resistance before capitulating.[8] Capital of an extensiveKūra, Écija (known asIstiǧǧa during the Muslim era) preserved its condition as a centre of high agricultural productivity,[9] featuring a cereal-based production (wheat,barley,sorghum).[10] Due to its productive agricultural systems able to sustain several harvests a year, Écija served as a food provider for Córdoba and Seville.[10] The city walls were demolished in the early 10th century as punishment for the local support to the rebellion againstUmayyad rule led byUmar ibn Hafsun.[8] New walls, enclosing a smaller area than the Roman eraAstigi were built byAlmohads, tightening the size of themedina.[8]
The place was seized by Christians on 3 May 1240.[11] The proximity to the newly bornNasrid Kingdom of Granada turned Écija into a border town for years to come.[11] Écija soon became arealengo,[12] a territory directly dependent on the Crown (ofCastile). Most of themudéjar population was expelled in 1263.[13] The countryside of Écija greatly suffered from theMarinidrazzias in the Guadalquivir Valley initiated in 1275.[14] The Jewish population of Écija apparently suffered theantisemitic revolt initiated after the assault on the jewry of Seville in June 1391, that spread across Andalusia and much of the Iberian Peninsula.[15] Écija consolidated its status as border town during the 14th century.[16] Écija was granted the title of city in 1402.[17] It was not until 1410, with the conquest ofAntequera, that Écija stopped being the head of a borderland territory.[18] During the 15th century, Écija was the third most important urban centre of the Kingdom of Seville after Seville and Jerez, progressively evening the distance with the latter.[19] Estimations for the 15th century yield a population of about 18,000.[20]
View of Écija circa 1567 byJoris Hoefnagel, published in theCivitates orbis terrarum.[21]
During the transition from the late middle ages to the early modern period, Écija remained integrated, within the Crown of Castile, in theKingdom of Seville.[22] A significant community of "new christians" of Portuguese origin settled in Écija in the Early Modern period, acquiring a notable influence in the city.[23] Olive oil production grew at the expense of the relative dominance of the traditional cereal crops starting by the 17th century.[24]
Strategically located in between Seville and Córdoba, Écija remained one of the most important Andalusian cities, economically thriving in the 17th and 18th centuries.[25] It also stood out for its wool trade,[25] with thelavaderos in control of Flemish merchants.[26] Écija featured a relatively multicultural society, allowing for Peninsular and European denizens, and even from the Americas, to share a common space of interchange.[27]
The effects of the1755 earthquake forced a deep urban renewal in Écija.[28] The city had an urban population of 29,343 circa 1786–1787.[29]
Although Astigi was one of the most complete Roman cities to have been discovered, the city council decided in 1998 tobulldoze Écija's Roman ruins, including "a well-preserved Roman forum, bath house, gymnasium and temple as well as dozens of private homes and hundreds of mosaics and statues" and replace them with a 299-carparking lot.[30]
The urban nucleus of Écija lies on the left bank of theGenil, over the river's fluvial terraces, built in the Roman era on a location apt for the control of the river and its meadows.[31]
Écija has ahot summer mediterranean climate, with mild wet winters and very hot, dry summers. Écija is one of the cities considered to be "the frying pan" of Spain, due to its location on theguadalquivir valley.[32] Precipitation is relatively low compared to the other regions on the valley. However, Écija suffered several floods in December 2010.[33]
Climate data for Ecija (2001-2024), extremes (2001-present)
^Clarke, Jon (30 April 2006)."Spain destroys lost Roman city for a car park".Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved21 March 2021.They discovered a well-preserved Roman forum, bath house, gymnasium and temple as well as dozens of private homes and hundreds of mosaics and statues, one of them considered to be among the finest found. But now the bulldozers have moved in. The last vestiges of the lost city known as Colonia Augusta Firma Astigi "one of the great cities of the Roman world" have been destroyed to build an underground municipal car park... Much of the site has been hurriedly concreted over: the only minor concession to archeologists and historians is to leave a tiny section on show for tourists. The rest will be space for 299 cars
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