Cuenca, Spain

Cuenca (Spanish: [ˈkweŋka] ^ⓘ) is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha and the capital of the province of Cuenca.

The primitive urban core developed on a narrow escarpment caged between the Júcar and the Huécar rivers, on the western fringes of the Iberian System mountains. It was probably founded towards the 10th century CE, becoming a stronghold of the Arabised Berber lineage of the Banū Zennum, featuring a fortress, Qal'at Kūnka, which was conquered for the Kingdom of Castile in 1177. In the early modern period, the city boasted of a thriving textile and tapestry industry.

Its name may derive from the Latin conca meaning "river basin", referring to the gorge of the rivers Júcar and Huécar. It may also be derived from the now-ruined Arab castle, Kunka. Other alternative original names have been suggested, including "Anitorgis", "Sucro" or "Concava". The city of Cuenca is also known as the "Eagle's Nest" because of its precarious position on the edge of a gorge.

When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire, there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segobriga, Ercavica and Gran Valeria. However, the place where Cuenca is located today was uninhabited at that time.

When the Muslims captured the area in 714, they soon realized the value of this strategic location and they built a fortress (called Kunka) between two gorges dug between the Júcar and Huécar rivers, surrounded by a 1 km-long wall. Cuenca's economy soon became dominated by agriculture and textile manufacturing, enjoying growing prosperity.

In the early 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba broke into several rump states (taifas). Cuenca was ruled by the taifa of Toledo—possibly the largest one—whose jurisdiction roughly spanned across the bulk of the Middle March of Al-Andalus. In 1076, Cuenca was besieged by Sancho Ramírez of Aragon, who failed to conquer the place. In 1080 King Yahya al-Qadir of Toledo lost his taifa, and his vizier signed in Cuenca a treaty with Alfonso VI of León and Castile by which he ceded him some fortresses in exchange for military help.

Following the Christian defeat at the battle of Sagrajas (1086), Cuenca was captured by the taifa king of Seville, Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad. However, when his lands were attacked by the Almoravids, he sent his daughter-in-law Zaida to Alfonso, offering him Cuenca in exchange for military support. The first Christian troops entered the city in 1093.

However, the Almoravids captured it in 1108. Their governor in Cuenca declared independence in 1144, followed by the whole of Murcia the following year. In 1147 Muhammad ibn Mardanis became King of Cuenca, Murcia and Valencia. He defended his lands from the Almohad invasion until his death in 1172, after which his son had to sign a pact of tributes with the newcomers. A 17-year-old Alfonso VIII of Castile tried to conquer the place, but after five months of siege, he had to retreat after the arrival of troops sent by the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf. Alfonso signed a seven-year truce but when, in 1176 the Cuenca locals occupied some Christian lands in Huete and Uclés, Alfonso intervened at the head of a coalition including also Ferdinand II of León, Alfonso II of Aragon and the Military Orders of Calatrava, Santiago and Montegaudio, besieging Cuenca for months starting from 1177's Epiphany. The Cuenca's commander, Abu Bakr, again sought the support of Yaqub Yusuf, but the latter was in Africa and did not send any help. After an unsuccessful sortie against the Christian besiegers' camp on 27 July, Cuenca was conquered by Alfonso's troops on 21 September 1177, while the Muslim garrison took refuge in the citadel. The latter fell in October, putting an end to Arab domination.