spanish seville history

Spanish SEVILLA, ancient Hispalis, city and capital of the provincia of Seville, in the Andalusia comunidad autónoma ("autonomous community") of southern Spain. Seville lies on the left (east) bank of the Guadalquivir River at a point about 54 miles (87 km) north of the Atlantic, and about 340 miles (550 km) southwest of Madrid. An inland port, it is the chief city of Andalusia and the fourth largest in Spain. It was important in history as a cultural centre, as a capital of Muslim Spain, and as a centre for Spanish exploration of the New World. Seville was originally an Iberian town. Under the Romans it flourished from the 2nd century BC onward as Hispalis, and it was an administrative centre of the province of Baetica. The Silingi Vandals made it the seat of their kingdom early in the 5th century AD, but in 461 it passed under Visigothic rule. In 711 the town fell to the Muslims, and under their rule Ixvillia, as it was now called, flourished. It became a leading cultural and commer...