Acinipo was a city created for retired soldiers from the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 legions more than 2,000 years ago, about 20 kilometers from Ronda

Ronda

Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...

, near Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, southern Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The Acinipo ruins include a Roman theater still in use today. Acinipo is known locally as Ronda la Vieja, Arunda or Old Ronda, though it has a separate origin and history from Ronda.

History

Some historians assert that Acinipo was created after the battle of Munda

Battle of Munda

The Battle of Munda took place on March 17, 45 BC in the plains of Munda, modern southern Spain. This was the last battle of Julius Caesar's civil war against the republican armies of the Optimate leaders...

 (45 BC

45 BC

Year 45 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday and the first year of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

), fought between the armies of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 and the army of Pompey's two sons, Gnaeus

Gnaeus Pompeius

Gnaeus Pompeius should not be confused with his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as "Pompey the Great."Gnaeus Pompeius , also known as Pompey the Younger , was a Roman politician and general from the late Republic .Gnaeus Pompeius was the elder son of Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius should...

 and Sextus

Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Roman general from the late Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate...

. To Caesar, Munda was supposed to be a mop-up action after Pompey's main forces were defeated in Greece. But Munda was no mop-up exercise. Tens of thousands of Romans were killed on both sides; there was no decisive victory for Caesar's armies; and one of Pompey's sons, Sextus, fled to fight another day as a famous rebel pirate against Caesar's successor, Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

.

Some Spanish historians state that Munda is the Roman name for Ronda, where the battle of Munda may have been fought. According to Pliny, the battle of Munda was fought in Osuna, about 50 km north of Ronda in the province of Seville. But there is general agreement that Acinipo was created for retired veterans of Caesar's legions, while Arunda (Ronda) would be a separate Roman outpost, perhaps created before the Munda conflict for the veterans of Pompey's legions.

External links

• Information about Acinipo, visiting and directions