History of Cartama
By Dianna Sierra
The Phoenicians, once established in Málaga, explored the interior via the Guadalhorce River, founding a settlement called ‘Cartha’.
In 195 BC, the Romans renamed the town 'Carthima'; it flourished as a centre for processing marble and a trading town for the rich supply of raw minerals extracted from the hills around. Carthima became wealthy and fashionable, and was noted for its fine baths and villas, and magnificent statues of the town's preferred deities, Mars and Venus.
Such was Carthima/Cártama's status in Roman times that one member of a prominent local family was appointed to a decemviri (a powerful magistrates' commission of ten). This was one of only three decemvirate appointments in the entire Baetican province, which roughly coincides with present-day Andalucía. As Rome's grip on Spain weakened, Cártama's influence began to wane. It languished through the Visigothic period, but attracted the attention of the Moors, who valued it almost as highly as the Romans. They rebuilt the old castle, which was in ruins, and Cártama was on its way again.
As Rome's grip on Spain weakened, Cártama's influence began to wane. It languished through the Visigothic period, but attracted the attention of the Moors, who valued it almost as highly as the Romans. They rebuilt the old castle, which was in ruins, and Cártama was on its way again.
As Rome lost control of the Iberian Peninsula, Carthima's fortunes declined. In the 8th century, the Arabs arrived and it came under the Moorish Period, first as part of the Umayyad Emirate and later within the Caliphate of Córdoba. Advanced irrigation techniques were introduced, and new crops such as cotton and sugar cane were grown. In the 10th century, the Arabs rebuilt and expanded the ruined Roman fortress, creating a citadel with twin walls, towers, and cisterns. During the Nasrid period (13th to 15th centuries), this fortress served as a key defensive bastion on the inland approaches to Málaga.
In 1485, at the height of the Christian Reconquest, Cártama was one of the last Muslim strongholds in the Malaga region to fall into the hands of the Catholic Monarchs. After its capture, many of the old mosques were adapted or replaced - among them the present-day church of San Pedro, whose foundations were laid on a former Islamic place of worship - while the alcazaba, which was left largely in ruins, underwent only sporadic restoration.
Centuries later, during the Peninsular War (1808-1814), Cártama was once again caught between rival powers. Napoleon's French troops briefly occupied the ruins of the castle, using it as a refuge; however, local guerrillas, especially those led by General Ballesteros, quickly expelled the invaders. The French were unable to gain a foothold, and the town emerged virtually untouched from this episode.
Thus, from its Phoenician origins, through Roman, Arab, and the momentary French occupation, the history of Cártama reflects the ebb and flow of Mediterranean and Iberian politics over more than two millennia.