Editing Empúries (section)

== History ==
{{Further|Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul}}
[[File:Emporiae coins 5th 1st century BCE.jpg|thumb|250px|Emporiae coins, 5th-1st century BC.]]
[[File:Empúries Map.png|thumb|right|200px|Map of the ''Ruïnes d’Empúries''.]]
[[Image:Greek vessel - Empúries - 2005-03-27.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Greek kalyx krater found at Empúries]]

Empúries was founded on a small island at the mouth of the river [[Fluvià]], in a region inhabited by the [[Indigetes]] (at the present time, the mouth of the Fluvià is about 6&nbsp;km to the north). This city came to be known as the ''Palaiapolis'', the "old city" when, towards 550&nbsp;BC, the inhabitants moved to the mainland, creating the ''Neapolis'', the "new city".

After the conquest of [[Phocaea]] by the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] king [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus II]] in 530&nbsp;BC, the new city's population increased considerably through the influx of refugees. In the face of strong pressure from [[Carthage]], the city managed to retain its independent Greek character. Political and commercial agreements were concluded with the indigenous population long settled in the nearby city of Indika. Situated as it was on the coastal commercial route between Greek Massalia ([[Marseille]]) and [[Tartessos]] in the far south of Hispania, the city developed into a large economic and commercial centre as well as being the largest Greek colony in the [[Iberian Peninsula]].

During the [[Punic Wars]], Empúries allied itself with [[History of Rome|Rome]], and [[Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC)|Publius Cornelius Scipio]] initiated the conquest of [[Hispania]] from this city in 218&nbsp;BC by sending his brother [[Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus]] there with Roman troops.

After the conquest of Hispania by the Romans, Empúries remained an independent [[city-state]]. However, in the civil war between [[Pompey]] and [[Julius Caesar]], it opted for Pompey, and after his defeat it was stripped of its autonomy. A ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]'' of Roman veterans, named '''Emporiae''', was established near Indika to control the region.

From that time onwards, Empúries began to decline, obscured by the power of Tarraco ([[Tarragona]]) and Barcino ([[Barcelona]]). At the end of the 3rd century it became one of the first cities in Spain to admit Christian evangelists. In that century, too, the Greek town was abandoned while the Roman town survived as a mint and the largely ceremonial seat of a coastal county, Castelló d'Empúries,<ref>Though they later became separate, the Frankish counties of Empúries and Peralda were always held by a single individual, according to Stephen P. Bensch, ("Lordship and coinage in Empúries," in ''The Experience of Power in Medieval Europe'', [[Robert F. Berkhofer]], Alan Cooper, Adam J. Kosto, eds. 73-, p. 74.</ref> until the [[Viking]] raids of the mid-9th century. Coinage began again under count [[Hugh II of Empúries]] (1078–1117).