It is best known for the remains of the ancientIberian and Roman city ofSaguntum. Thesiege of Saguntum in 219 BC was the trigger of theSecond Punic War between the Carthaginians and the Romans.
The municipality includes three differentiated urban nuclei: Ciutat Vella (Sagunto),Grau Vell [es] andPuerto de Sagunto.[3] Over half of the population lives in the coastal settlement of Puerto de Sagunto.[3]
Gaspar Juan Escolano, in hisDecades of the History of Valencia (1610–11), writes that the first settlers of Sagunto were Armenian families, the Sagas, who came to the peninsula withTubal and laid the first foundations of the city[4] naming it Sagunt (Armenian: of Saga). There is also speculation that Achaeans, probably from the Greek island ofZakynthos, could have founded Saguntum as one of the 5 colonies of the Greeks on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the 5th century BC.[5]
During the 5th c. BC theIberians built a walled settlement on the hill overseeing the plain; a stretch ofcyclopean limestone slabs from the former Temple ofDiana survives, close to the modern church of Santa Maria. The city traded withcoastal colonies in the western Mediterranean such asCarthage and, under their influence, minted its owncoins. During this period, the city was known asArse (Iberian:Arsesken)[6][7]
By 219 BC, Saguntum was a large and commercially prosperous town, which sided with the local colonists andRome against Carthage, and drewHannibal's first assault, hissiege of Saguntum, which triggered the Second Punic War, one of the most important wars of antiquity. After stiff resistance over the course of eight months[8][9] Saguntum was captured by Hannibal.
Seven years later, the town was retaken by the Romans. In 214 BC, it became amunicipium, was rebuilt and flourished.Hispania was not easily pacified and Romanized, as the Iberian career ofQuintus Sertorius makes clear.[citation needed] Saguntum minted coins under his protection, and continued to house a mint in later Roman times. The Romans built a great circus in the lower part of the city and a theatre seating 8,000 spectators. Texts found indicate that the city had an amphitheatre and had about 50,000 inhabitants. This prosperity lasted for most of the empire, and is attested by inscriptions and ruins (notably atheatre, demolished by Napoleon's marshalLouis Gabriel Suchet, who also destroyed the Roman tower of Hercules).
Sagunto kiln, 1951Saguntum ForumSaguntum TheatreSaguntum rear wall of ancient theatre
Under theArianVisigothickings, Saguntum received its Catholicpatron saint, a bishop namedSacerdos, "the priest", who died peacefully of natural causes about AD 560.
In the early 8th century, the Muslim Arabsconquered Hispania and the city became part of theCaliphate of Cordoba and at that time the city reached an era of splendor, with baths, palaces, mosques and schools open for its cosmopolitan population. Then, the town was known asMorvedre in latin (Morviedro in Spanish).Morvedre was also the origin of the Arabic name of the cityمُرْبَاطَرُ orمُرْبِيطَرُ (Morbāṭar or Morbīṭar), furthermore, the latin name was derived frommuri veteres "ancient walls." However, asValencia grew, Saguntum declined.
In 1098, the city was conquered byEl Cid but the Muslims recovered it shortly thereafter. The city had been under the Muslim Arab rule for over 500 years whenJames I of Aragon conquered it in 1238.
During thePeninsular War, a Spanish attempt to raise the French siege of the castle failed in theBattle of Saguntum on 25 October 1811. In the weeks before the battle, the Spanish garrison made a valiant and successful defense; but it surrendered the day after the battle.[10] HistorianCharles Oman stated that the site was converted into a fortress in 1810–1811 by GeneralJoaquín Blake at the suggestion of British officerCharles William Doyle. At that time, much of the largely intact Roman theater was dismantled to provide stone for restoring the old walls.[11]
Saguntum was badly damaged in warfare, but has retained manyValencian Gothic structures. In the late 19th century, a steel-making industry grew up that supported the modern city, which extends in the coastal plain below the citadel hill. The last steel oven closed in April 1984. It has been restored and is now a tourist attraction.
Sagunto was once home to aJewish community. According to a Jewish legend, a tombstone was found in Sagunto with the inscription "Adoniram, treasurer ofKing Solomon, who came to collect the tax tribute and died." Jews were already living in the city during Muslim rule. After theMassacre of 1391, the Jewish community in Sagunto became the only surviving community in Valencia. During the 1492expulsion of the Jews, there is documentation that 500 Jews left Sagunto toNorth Africa and other parts of Europe.
TheJudería is one of the most well-preserved Jewish quarters in Spain. The entrance of the quarter is through an arch called "Portal de la juheria," which lies between Sang Vella Street and Castillo Street.[12][13]
The remains ofSagunto Castle may be seen on top of the hill. It preserves much of its walled ramparts, of Roman and Moorish origin.
A Roman theater, partly restored in late 20th century. It is found on the northern slope of the citadel hill. It was the first official National Monument declared in Spain (1896).
The GothicEsglésia de Santa Maria (St Mary's Church), in thePlaça Major(Main Square).
ThePalau Municipal (City Palace), or town hall; a beautiful 18th century building with a neoclassical façade.
The early GothicEsglésia del Salvador (Church of Our Savior).
The narrow streets of theJuderia (Old Jewish Quarter), on the hillside on the way up to the citadel.
The 13th century Santa Ana convent adjacent to thePlaça de Pi.
TheSagunto History Museum, located in the house ofMestre Peña, a building in the Jewish quarter dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The largest collection is from the Ibero-Roman Period.
^Hill, G. F. (1931).Notes on the ancient coinage of Hispania Citerior. ANS Digital Library: Notes on the ancient coinage of Hispania citerior. http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan86651
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