Valencia

Valencia (/vəˈlɛnsiə/ və-LEN-see-ə or /vəˈlɛnʃ(i)ə/ və-LEN-sh(ee-)ə, Spanish: [baˈlenθja] ^ⓘ), officially València (Valencian: [vaˈlensia]), is the capital of the province and autonomous community of the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula on the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of 824,340, it is the 3rd-largest city in Spain. The urban area of Valencia has 1.6 million people while the metropolitan region has 2.5 million.

Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC as Valentia Edetanorum [es]. As an autonomous city in late antiquity, its militarization followed the onset of the threat posed by the Byzantine presence to the South, together with effective integration to the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in the late 6th century. Islamic rule and acculturation ensued in the 8th century, together with the introduction of new irrigation systems and crops. With the Aragonese Christian conquest in 1238, the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Valencia.

Due to trade with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, Italian ports, and other Mediterranean locations, the city thrived in the 15th century and Valencia had become one of the largest European cities by the end of the century. The emergence of the Atlantic World affected Mediterranean trade in the global trade networks and, along with insecurity created by Barbary piracy throughout the 16th century. Although the 16th century had been notable for the large number of religious foundations which, according to one estimate, suggested that one third of its area had been occupied by religious buildings. The city's economic activity suffered a crisis following the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609.

The city became a major silk manufacturing centre in the 18th century. During the Spanish Civil War, the city served as the provisional seat of the Spanish Government from 1936 to 1937.

The Port of Valencia is one of the busiest container ports in Europe and the Mediterranean. The city is ranked as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Valencia has numerous celebrations and traditions, such as the Falles (or Fallas), which were declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest of Spain in 1965 and an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in November 2016. The city was selected as the European Capital of Sport [Wikidata] 2011, the World Design Capital 2022 and the European Green Capital 2024.

The Latin name of the city was Valēntia (Latin pronunciation: [waˈlɛːntija]), meaning "strength" or "valour", due to the Roman practice of recognising the valour of former Roman soldiers after a war. The Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against a Lusitanian rebel, Viriatus, during the Third Raid of the Lusitanian War.

During the period of Islamic rule, the city was called Medina at-Tarab ('City of Joy') according to one transliteration, or Medina at-Turab ('City of Sands') according to another, since it was located on the banks of the River Turia. It is not clear if an Arabised variant of the Latin name (Balansiyya) referred to the greater Taifa of Valencia, or just the city itself.

Via gradual phonetic changes, Valentia became Valencia Spanish pronunciation: [baˈlenθja] in Spanish and València [vaˈlensia] in Valencian. In Valencian, an e with a grave accent (è) indicates [ɛ] in contrast to [e], but the word València is an exception to this rule, since è is pronounced [e]. The spelling "València" was approved by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) based on tradition after a debate on the matter. The name "València" has been the only official name of the city since 2017. In 2023, the Commission of Culture of the municipal corporation agreed in principle on a dual official denomination Valencia/Valéncia, with the far right managing to impose^{[editorializing]} a non-standard acute accent in the e of the Valencian-language name.