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Concept
Salamanca
Summary
Salamanca (salaˈmaŋka) is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes river. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. As of 2018, the municipality has a population of 143,978.
It is one of the most important university cities in Spain and supplies 16% of Spain's market for the teaching of the Spanish language. Salamanca attracts thousands of international students.
The University of Salamanca, founded in 1218, is the oldest university in Spain and the third oldest Western university. Pope Alexander IV gave universal validity to its degrees. With 30,000 students, the university is, together with tourism, a primary source of income in Salamanca. It is on the Vía de la Plata path of the Camino de Santiago.
Timeline of Salamanca
The city originates as a Celtiberian fort of the pre-Roman period, built by the Vaccaei or the Vettones as one of a pair of forts to defend their territory near the Duero river. In 220 BC Hannibal laid siege to the fort and captured it. With the fall of the Carthaginians to the Romans, the city of Helmantica, as it was known, began to take more importance as a commercial hub in the Roman Hispania Lusitania due to its favorable location on a Roman road, known as the Vía de la Plata, which connected it with Emerita Augusta (present-day Mérida) to the south and Asturica Augusta (present-day Astorga) to the north. Salamanca's Tormes bridge, built in the 1st century, was a part of this road.
The origin of the name is unknown. Polybius calls it Helmantike, while Ptolemy has Salmatike. Titus Livius and Plutarchus have Hermandica and Salmatike, respectively. Polyaenus has Salmantida or Salmatis. In a foundational myth, the city was associated with Teucer, mythological king of Salamis.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Alans established in Lusitania. Later, the city was conquered by the Visigoths and included in their territory.
Official source
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