History of Bentarique

HISTORY OF BENTARIQUE

The origins of the village lie in the times of Roman domination, an era when baths were the main focus. The twelfth century Muslim geographer and chronicler, Idrisi, links the town to Roman hot springs at a health spring, known as the Poznilla fountain. However, the village had to wait for the arrival of the Muslims to acquire its current appearance, with clear characteristics of being a bourgeois town.

During the Al-Andalus period, at the end of the ninth century, Bentarique was part of the new territory of Urs al Yaman that consisted of twenty Castles for the defense of the area. From the thirteenth century, it is part of the Taha de Marchena within the Kingdom of Granada. During this time there was a great agricultural activity creating a network of pipes and ditches that are still maintained today.

The Christian conquest was carried out with the interpretation of Baza and the Capitulations of Almería. The Taha de Marchena became part of Don Gutiérrez de Cárdenas in 1494. With the Moorish rebellion and its expulsion in the year 1570, Bentarique was depopulated until its repopulation in 1574 by 44 affected residents of Castilla, Western Andalusia and Levante. The new settlers brought new types of rainfed crops such as cereals and legumes, which joined traditional vine crops for raisins and olive trees.

In 1835 its independence as a municipality was successful with the abolition of the señoríos (manors). Towards the middle of the century there is an economic and demographic recovery with the implantation of the cultivation of the Ohanes grape for export. In 1896 a treasure of Muslim goldsmithing was found.

In the twentieth century, with the warlike conflicts they harmed the grape trade, which caused an economic and demographic recession until the end of the 1950s. In the sixties, the substitution of citrus for the cultivation of grapes began, and today Alhabia is one of the quintessential orange municipalities in the region, also focusing its agricultural activity on horticulture and fruit trees.

Booking.com

Destinations

Living in Andalucia