Galera, Granada
Encyclopedia
Galera is a municipality
in the comarca
of Huéscar, province
of Granada, autonomous community
of Andalusia
, Spain
, roughly 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) from the provincial capital, Granada
.
Argaric culture
, at "El Castellón Alto" or "Castellón de Arriba", where archeologists have excavated many tombs in several artificial terraces on a hill of vertical walls.
The other excavation is the Iberian Necropolis of Tútugi (in the Cerro del Real) which has several types of tombs. The most numerous of those types consists of a rectangular chamber, covered by a circular tumulus
and reached through a long passage. Various objects have been found in these tombs, such as ornaments, Ancient Greek
and Iberian
vases, weapons, and such funerary goods as alabaster
clay figures. These have been dated between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE.
The "Lady of Galera" or "Goddess of Galera" (see image at left) was found in the 5th century BCE tomb number 20, zone 1 of the Necropolis. It is a Phoenicia
n figurine from the 7th century BCE (similar to another that was found in Carthage
, North Africa), made of alabaster, and probably represents the goddess Astarte
. The "lady" or "goddess" is seated between two sphinx
es and has an opening through which liquid can be poured into it, which will emerge from small holes corresponding to the nipples of the breasts. The robust forms of the figure suggest Mesopotamia
n influences; the stylization of the clothing and hair suggest Egyptian
influences. It is believed that this sacred object was passed down for many generations before being used as part of a burial.
The city maintained its importance in the Roman
era as "TVTVGI", but fell somewhat in population during the Visigoth
ic period and the era of Muslim
-ruled Al-Andalus
.
Galera was conquered in 1230 by Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
, archbishop of Toledo
; recovered in 1319 by Ismail I of Granada
, and conquered definitively by Castile
in 1488, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs
Isabella
and Ferdinand
. The people of Galera participated in the Morisco Revolt
of 1568. In Galera, the revolt was personally suppressed by Don John of Austria, who made a house-by-house assault of the city and salted the fields to make it impossible to grow crops. In the 16th century, Galera was repopulated by families coming principally from Valencia, Murcia
, and La Mancha
.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
of Huéscar, province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of Granada, autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, 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...
, roughly 150 kilometres (93.2 mi) from the provincial capital, Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
.
Demographics
The population of the municipality is distributed among the districts in the following manner (2008):| District | Inhabitants. |
|---|---|
| Buenavista | 15 |
| Cortijos del Cura | 35 |
| Galera | 979 |
| La Alquería | 105 |
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 1360 | 1309 | 1281 | 1243 | 1197 | 1152 | 1127 | 1119 | 1135 | 1134 | 1106 |
- Source
History
Near Galera are two important archeological excavations. One is from the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Argaric culture
El Argar
El Argar is the type site of an Early Bronze Age culture called the Argaric culture, which flourished from the town of Antas, in what is now the province of Almería, south-east of Spain, between c. 1800 BC and 1300 BC....
, at "El Castellón Alto" or "Castellón de Arriba", where archeologists have excavated many tombs in several artificial terraces on a hill of vertical walls.
The other excavation is the Iberian Necropolis of Tútugi (in the Cerro del Real) which has several types of tombs. The most numerous of those types consists of a rectangular chamber, covered by a circular tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
and reached through a long passage. Various objects have been found in these tombs, such as ornaments, Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
vases, weapons, and such funerary goods as alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
clay figures. These have been dated between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE.
The "Lady of Galera" or "Goddess of Galera" (see image at left) was found in the 5th century BCE tomb number 20, zone 1 of the Necropolis. It is a Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n figurine from the 7th century BCE (similar to another that was found in Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, North Africa), made of alabaster, and probably represents the goddess Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
. The "lady" or "goddess" is seated between two sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
es and has an opening through which liquid can be poured into it, which will emerge from small holes corresponding to the nipples of the breasts. The robust forms of the figure suggest Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
n influences; the stylization of the clothing and hair suggest Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
influences. It is believed that this sacred object was passed down for many generations before being used as part of a burial.
The city maintained its importance in the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
era as "TVTVGI", but fell somewhat in population during the Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic period and the era of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-ruled Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
.
Galera was conquered in 1230 by Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada was a Navarrese-born Castilian Roman Catholic bishop and historian....
, archbishop of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
; recovered in 1319 by Ismail I of Granada
Ismail I, Sultan of Granada
Ismail I was the grandson of Muhammed II al-Faqih and the fifth Nasrid ruler of the Moorish Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula in 1314–1325....
, and conquered definitively by Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
in 1488, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
Isabella
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Ferdinand
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
. The people of Galera participated in the Morisco Revolt
Morisco Revolt
The Morisco Revolt , also known as War of Las Alpujarras or Revolt of Las Alpujarras, in what is now Andalusia in southern Spain, was a rebellion against the Crown of Castile by the remaining Muslim converts to Christianity from the Kingdom of Granada.-The defeat of Muslim Spain:In the wake of the...
of 1568. In Galera, the revolt was personally suppressed by Don John of Austria, who made a house-by-house assault of the city and salted the fields to make it impossible to grow crops. In the 16th century, Galera was repopulated by families coming principally from Valencia, Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, and La Mancha
La Mancha
La Mancha is a natural and historical region or greater comarca located on an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Serrania de Cuenca. It is bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north...
.