History of Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (also called Saragossa in English). The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a historic nationality of Spain.

Covering an area of 47720 km2 (18420 sq mi),[3] the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppe plains of the central lowlands. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west-east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the highest mountains of the Pyrenees.

As of January 2016, the population of Aragon was 1308563,[3] with over half of it living in its capital city, Zaragoza. During the same year, the economy of Aragon generated a GDP of €34687 million, which represents 3.1% of Spain's national GDP,[4] and is currently 6th in per capita production behind Madrid, Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia and La Rioja.[5]

In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas or counties. All comarcas of Aragon have a rich geopolitical and cultural history from its pre-Roman, Celtic and Roman days, and four centuries of Islamic period as Marca Superior of Al-Andalus or kingdom (or taifa) of Saraqusta, and as lands that once belonged to the Frankish Marca Hispanica, counties that later formed the Kingdom of Aragon and eventually the Crown of Aragon.