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The city was founded by the Romans in 137 BC on the site of a former Iberian town, by the river Turia. (The river flooded in the 1950s killing many Valencians. The river was re-routed and the dry river bed was converted to a park that runs through the city.)
The city has been occupied by the Visigoths, Moors and the Aragonese. In 1094, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid) conquered Valencia (this victory was immortalised in the Lay of the Cid), but the city returned to the Almoravids in 1102. The king James I of Aragon reconquered the city in 1238 and incorporated it to the new formed Kingdom of Valencia, one of the kingdoms forming the Crown of Aragon.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Valencia was one of the major cities in the Mediterranean. The writer Joanot Martorell, author of Tirant lo Blanch, and the poet Ausias March are famous Valencians of that era.
The first printing press in the Iberian Peninsula was located in Valencia. The first printed Bible in a Romance language, Valencian, was printed in Valencia circa 1478, attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer.
Valencian bankers loaned funds to Queen Isabella for Columbus' trip in 1492.
War of the Germanies 1519–1522.
Expulsion of Moriscos in 1609.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, Valencia sided with Charles of Austria. After the victory of the Bourbons at the Battle of Almansa (April 25, 1707), the city lost its privileges or furs.
After the fall of Madrid in the Spanish Civil War, the capital of the Republic was moved to Valencia. The city suffered from the blockade and siege by Franco's forces. The postwar period was hard for Valencians. During the Franco years, speaking or teaching Valencian was discouraged (nowadays it is compulsory for every children studing in Valencia, even if their parents don't wish).
Valencia was granted Autonomous Statutes in 1982.
Valencia was selected in 2003 to be the first city in Europe ever to host the historic America's Cup regatta, to take place in 2007.
Extract from Wikipedia
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