Seville

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Seville

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 commercial centre under the 'Abbadid dynasty and the subsequent Almoravid and Almohad confederations. As the Almohad capital in the 12th century, Seville enjoyed great prosperity and ambitious building programs. But after the Muslim possession of Seville was ended in 1248 by Spanish Christians under Ferdinand III, the substantial Moorish and Jewish minorities were driven into exile, and the local economy temporarily fell into ruin.

The Spanish discovery of the Americas brought new prosperity to the city. Seville became the centre of the exploration and exploitation of America through the House of Trade, which was established there in 1503 to regulate commerce between Spain and the New World. For two centuries Seville was to hold a dominan...

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More spacious and regular planning is found beyond the walls of the old city centre, where there are residential and industrial districts. Maria Luisa Park is a particularly beautiful park in the southern part of the city. Five miles (8 km) northwest of Seville are the ruins of the large Roman town of Itálica, which was the birthplace of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. The remains of its amphitheatre are especially imposing.

Modern Seville is the most important inland port of Spain. The port's principal exports are wines, fruit, olives, cork, and minerals. The city's industries include the manufacture of tobacco, armaments, porcelain, and agricultural machinery. Shipbuilding became a major industry after World War II, as did the manufacture of textiles from locally grown cotton. Tourism is a chief economic mainstay of the city. Pop. (1988 est.) 663,132.

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