Madrid

Although the site of modern-day Madrid (Spain) has been occupied since prehistoric times, and there are archeological remains of a small visigoth village near the modern location, [1] the first historical data from the city comes from the 9th century, when Muhammad I of Cordoba ordered the construction of a small palace in the same place that is today occupied by the Palacio Real. Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudayna, was built. Near that palace was the Manzanares, which the Muslims called al-Majrīṭ (Arabic: المجريط, "source of water"). From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which was later rendered to the modern-day spelling of Madrid). The citadel was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI of Castile in his advance towards Toledo. He reconsecrated the mosque as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison's granary). In 1329, the Cortes Generales first assembled in the city to advise Ferdinand IV of Castile. Sephardic Jews and Moors continued to live in the city until they were expelled at the end of the 15th century.