Spain is a country that has witnessed and experienced battles and wars throughout its history. Alicante Spain, being an important part of the country, has had its share of wars.
A city with roots dating as far back as 7000 BC, Alicante is a city bursting with history. The city of Alicante is the capital of the province with the same name. The province is a part of the community of Valencia in the South and is one of the most populous and frequently visited areas of Spain.
For almost 3000 years before the city was created, Alicante was home to Iberian tribes who populated its mountains and plains sparsely. Although the Greeks founded this city in 324 BC, they had already begun establishing trading posts along with the Phoenicians since 1000 BC. The Carthaginian and Roman armies began a struggle for control in the sixth century BC, thus beginning a series of wars that would continue in Spain for a long time to come. In time, Hamilcar Barca, the Greek general, conquered the area and founded the city naming it “Akra Leuke” meaning “White Peak”.
Even though the Carthaginians won the city the first time round, the Romans captured it during the Punic Wars and gave it a new, Roman, name: “Lucentum”. Until the first century AD, Lucentum was a prominent city in the Roman Empire of Hispania Tarraconensis. After that, the city declined due to competition and was abandoned.
The Arabs, who conquered the area in the 8th century AD, named the city Alicante, which means “City of Lights” in Arabic. From the Arabs, Alicante moved into the hands of Castilians, then into Valencia under King James the Second of Aragon. Despite being ravaged by wars for most of the 13th century, Alicante finally managed to make a place for itself as an important trading post.
However, due to the actions of its rulers, Alicante faced a sharp decline from the 17th to the 19th centuries. By the beginning of WW1, Alicante had begun to rise again due to its neutral position. Fated never to be at peace, Alicante became a site for political unrest, civil wars and bombings for most of the years until early 1950. After that, Alicante began to ascend the popularity ladder due to its tourism developments.
Today, Alicante’s popularity as a tourist hotspot is also in part due to the historical sites still present in the city. Tourists can visit the ruins of Lucentum and admire the details of Roman archeology or peek into the Castillo de Santa Barbara, the most noticeable feature of this adventurous city.
