Aragon

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Comunidad Autónoma de
Aragón
Flag of Aragón
Image:Locator map of Aragon.png
Capital Zaragoza
Area
 – Total
 – % of Spain		 Ranked 4th
 47 719 km²
 9,4%
Population
 – Total (2003)
 – % of Spain
 – Density		 Ranked 11th
 1 217 514
 2,9%
 25,51/km²
Demonym
 – English
 – Spanish
 Aragonese
 aragonés
Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982
ISO 3166-2 AR
Parliamentary
representation
 – Congress seats
 – Senate seats		  13
 
President Marcelino Iglesias Ricou (PSOE)
Gobierno de Aragón
Languages distribution in Aragon
Enlarge
Languages distribution in Aragon
This article is about the geographical region. For the poet, see Louis Aragon. For the Olympic medallist, see Aragon (horse). For the commune in the Aude département of France, see Aragon, Aude.

Aragon (Spanish and Aragonese: Aragón; Catalan: Aragó) is an autonomous community of north-eastern Spain. It has an area of 47,719 km² with a population of 1,217,514 (2003).

Aragon is bounded on the north by France, on the east by Catalonia, on the south by Valencia, and on the west by Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon, La Rioja, and Navarre (Spanish: Navarra). It comprises the provinces of Zaragoza (English: Saragossa or Caesaraugusta), Huesca, and Teruel. It is traversed by the Ebro, mountainous in the north; with beautiful fertile valleys, rather barren, in the south.

Its capital is Zaragoza.

In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas (counties).

Contents

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Language

In addition to Spanish, there is an original Aragonese language, still spoken in some valleys of the Pyrenees.

Catalan is spoken as well in some comarques (counties) adjacent to Catalonia; in particular: the Ribagorzan dialect in Ribagorza (capital Benabarre) and Litera (capital Binefar), and a dialect similar to that of Terra Alta in Matarraña (capital Valderrobres) and Bajo Cinca (capital Fraga).

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History

Aragón was a Frankish feudal county (Jaca) before becoming a self-proclaimed kingdom, which was united with the kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre) in 925. The kingdom of Pamplona included the counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza, and the duchy of Castilla. After king Sancho´s death, the kingdom was divided between his sons. Ramiro I was initially named king of Aragon; later, after his brother Gionzalo´s death, also of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza. The new kingdom grew quickly, and incorporated Navarra. This kingdom conquered the city of Zaragoza in 1118. Split from the kingdom of Navarre, the kingdom of Aragón was re-established in 1035 and lasted until 1707. Aragón was also the name of the crown, because of the dynastic union of a Count of Barcelona (Ramon Berenguer IV) with a Queen of Aragón (Petronila of Aragon), their son inheriting all their respective territories. This Crown was effectively disbanded after the dynastic union with Castile (see below). The Kings of Aragón (called by some present-day historians, to not inadvertently ignore the role of Catalonia in the crown, "Catalan Kings of Aragón", "Catalan Kings", "Count-Kings", or "Counts of Barcelona and Kings of Aragón") ruled territories that consisted of not only the present administrative region of Aragón but also Catalonia, and later the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia (see Aragonese Empire).

The King of Aragón was the direct King of the Aragonese region, and held also the title of King of Valencia, King of Mallorca (for a time), Count of Barcelona, Lord of Montpellier, and, only temporarily, Duke of Athens and Neopatria. Each of these titles gave him sovereignty over a certain region, and these titles changed as he lost and won territories.

The real centre of this kingdom was Barcelona, since it had a seaport and was near the geographical centre of the Crown of Aragon, while Valencia was the most important seaport for trade until approximately the 18th century. Present-day historians usually call the Crown the Crown of Aragón, the "Catalan-Aragonese Confederation" or simply "Catalonia-Aragón", typically depending upon whether that historian lives in Aragón or in Catalonia. The Kingdom of Aragón is called simply Kingdom of Aragón. Saying just "Aragón" is ambiguous and should be avoided. Barcelona was the center of what was in many ways a Mediterranean Empire, ruling the Mediterranean Sea and setting rules for the entire sea (for instance, in the Llibre del Consolat del Mar, in Catalan).

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List of Chancellors

See list of Kings of Aragón.

See list of Lieutenants of the Kingdom of Aragón

The dynastic union of Castile and Aragon in 1479, when Ferdinand II of Aragon wed Isabella I of Castile, led to the formal creation of Spain as a single entity in 1516. See List of Spanish monarchs and Kings of Spain family tree.

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See also

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External links

Commons
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


Autonomous Communities of Spain Flag of Spain
Andalusia | Aragon | Asturias | Balearic Islands | Basque Country | Canary Islands | Cantabria | Castile–La Mancha | Castile–Leon | Catalonia | Extremadura | Galicia | Madrid | Murcia | Navarre | La Rioja | Valencia | Ceuta | Melilla | Plazas de soberanía


Pre-Spain Rulers of Zaragoza
Banu Tujibi
Al-Mundhir I ibn Yahya al-Tujibi - Yahya ibn al-Mundhir - Al-Mundhir II ibn Yahya ibn al-Mundhir - Adb Allah ibn al-Hakam al-Tjibi
Banu Hud
Al-Mustain I, Sulayman ibn Hud al-Judhami - Ahmad ibn Sulayman al-Muqtadir - Yusuf ibn Ahmad al-Mutamin - Al-Mustain II, Ahmad ibn Yusuf
Murabitun
Aragonese
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