Editing Granada (section)

===Pre-Umayyad history===
{{See also|Hispania}}
[[File:Arqueológico 03 (42189174461).jpg|thumb|[[Roman mosaic|Mosaic]] from a [[Roman villa]], dating from 1{{nbsp}}AD, discovered in the district of Los Mondragones in Granada (now kept at the [[Archaeological Museum of Granada|Archaeological Museum]])<ref name=":5" />]]
The region surrounding what today is Granada has been populated since at least 5500{{nbsp}}BC.{{sfn|RingSalkinLa Boda|1995|p=296}} Archeological artifacts found in the city indicate that the site of the city, including the area around the present-day avenue of ''Gran Vía de Colón'', was inhabited since the [[Bronze Age]]. The most ancient ruins found in the area belong to an [[oppidum]] called ''Ilturir'', founded by the [[Iberians|Iberian]] [[Bastetani]] tribe around 650{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Drayson |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DvtDwAAQBAJ&dq=ilturir+granada&pg=PT58 |title=Lost Paradise: The Story of Granada |publisher=Head of Zeus Ltd |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-78854-744-4 |language=en }}</ref> The name Elibyrge is also attested in reference to this area.{{sfn|RingSalkinLa Boda|1995|p=296}} This settlement became later known as ''Iliberri'' or ''Iliberis''.{{sfn|RingSalkinLa Boda|1995|p=296}}{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}}<ref name=":5" /> In 44{{nbsp}}BC ''Iliberis'' became a [[Colonia (Roman)|Roman colony]] and in 27{{nbsp}}BC it became a Roman ''[[municipium]]'' named ''Florentia Iliberritana'' ('Flourishing Iliberri').<ref name=":5" />{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}}

The identification of present-day Granada with the Roman-era ''Iliberis'' and the historical continuity between the two settlements has long been debated by scholars.<ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=García-Arenal |first=Mercedes |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2014 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter= |issn=1873-9830 |quote=During the Roman period, there was a township named Iliberris on the slopes of the Sierra de Elvira, where archaeological remains of Roman, Visigothic, and Arab origin have been found. The existence of a Roman settlement in the same place as Granada—or rather, the identification of Granada with Iliberis—has been a bone of contention among historians of Granada since the 10th century. In the era of the so-called Christian "reconquest" of southern Spain, the notion of such continuity allowed the conquerors to speak of a “restoration” of Christianity in Granada. Some experts argue strongly for continuity between the Roman city and Granada, as against the possibility (supported by the Arabic sources) that Granada was, in fact, a Muslim foundation: archaeological evidence has not been decisive either way. |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Carvajal López |first=José C. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MureDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Medina+Elvira%22&pg=PT526 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Muslim Iberia |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-317-23354-1 |editor-last=Fierro |editor-first=Maribel |pages=490, 505 (see note 18) |language=en |chapter=Material culture |quote=The location of the town of Ilbīra was a burning issue in Granada since the 16th century. The Catholic propaganda after 1492 pushed the identification of Ilbīra with Granada, and also with the Roman municipium Illiberis, where the first Church Council of Iberia took place in the early 4th century. If Granada was indeed Illiberis, the town was associated with one important early Christian centre and the right of the kings of Spain to take it over was providentially justified. However, there were enough mentions in the written sources, not only in Arabic, and even material evidence that suggested that Ilbīra, the first Islamic capital, was located near the village of Atarfe, about 15 kilometres north-west of Granada. The similarity in names suggested that Illiberis had been in Ilbīra and that Granada was a town founded by Muslims, ideas which implicitly supported the notion that Islam was an integral part of Spain rather than merely an enemy against which the nation had been built. After a debate four centuries long, M. Gómez Moreno compiled cases of the material evidence collected around the area of Atarfe by spoilers and even undertook an excavation in 1872 in which he found the mosque of the town, finally proving without any doubt that Ilbīra was located there. [p. 490] (...) See Gómez Moreno, Medina Elvira for the description of the debate and of the different interventions. It is interesting to note that this solves the question of the location of Ilbīra, but not of Illiberis, at least in the time of the Council. Excavations in Granada have uncovered strong evidence that suggests that the Iberian and Roman towns of the same name were located there (e.g. Sotomayor Muro, “¿Donde estuvo Iliberri?”). It seems that at some point in late Antiquity, possibly before the Islamic conquest, the town of Illiberis was moved to the location where it later became Madīna Ilbīrah (e.g. Adroher et al., “Discusión”, pp. 202–206). To a certain extent, the debate still continues. [p. 505, note 18] }}</ref>{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}} Modern archeological digs on the [[Albaicín]] hill have uncovered finds demonstrating the presence of a significant Roman town on that site.{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}} Little is known, however, about the history of the city in the period between the end of the [[Hispania|Roman era]] and the 11th century.{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}} An important Christian [[synod]] circa 300 AD, the [[Synod of Elvira]], took place near this area (the name ''Elvira'' being derived from the name ''Iliberri''), but there is no concrete archeological or documentary evidence establishing the exact location of the meeting. It may have taken place in the former Roman town or it may have taken place somewhere in the surrounding region, which was known as Elvira.{{Sfn|Rodgers|Cavendish|2021|pp=6–10}}