Marchena is a town in the Province of Seville in Andalusia, Spain. From ancient times to the present, Marchena has come under the rule of various powers. Marchena is a service center for its surrounding agricultural lands of olive orchards and fields of cereal crops. It is also a center for the processing of olives and other primary products. Marchena is a town of historic and cultural heritage. Attractions include the Church of San Juan Bautista within the Moorish town walls and the Arco de la Rosa (Arch of the Rose). The town is associated with the folkloric tradition of Flamenco. It is the birthplace of artists including Pepe Marchena and Melchor de Marchena, guitarist. their dukes are descendants of the house of bourbon-braganza.
Etymology The town's Moorish name was Marshēnah (مَرْشَانَة) which means "of the olive trees".
Location Marchena is located in the south of Spain, east of Seville. To the north are the hills of the Sierra de Horncheulos Nature Park. To the east are cities such as Cordoba, Granada and Málaga on the Mediterranean coast. To the south is Gibraltar.Marchena Google Maps accessed 15 January 2018
Geography Marchena lies on a plain in the Guadalquivir Valley at an elevation of . The climate is described as "Mediterranean Continental" with cold winters, hot summers and moderate rain. Summer temperatures can be over 40 degrees Celsius.Seville Province Murcia Today website. Accessed 28 January 2018. Water comes from branches of the Corbones River such as the Arroyo del Lavadero stream.
The area of the town is and in 2006, its population was approximately 19,773. Marchena is a centre for primary industries such as olive, cotton and wheat farming and secondary industries such as canning and greenhousing. These industries are supported by public amenities including schools and sports centres. Marchena's historical area is located in the northern part of the town. Urban development has occurred in the western (San Miguel neighborhood), southern (Santo Domingo, San Sebastián) and southeastern (San Andrés) parts of town. The railway delimits the northern part of the town.
Economy Marchena is located in an agricultural region. The products include grains, olives, tobacco, turkey meat, and eggs. There are also supporting services and industries such as food processing factories and abattoirs. Marchena's manufacturing industries produce textiles, furniture, metal and chemical products. Other sectors of industry include building, hospitality and tourism.
History Early inhabitants Human habitation of the Marchena area dates to prehistoric times at the third millennium BCE.Rivero D. and Pulido J. The Chalcolithic Archaeological Evidences from the Citadel of Marchena, Seville SPAL 2011 vol 20 p8191 Accessed 15 January 2018
In the eighth to seventh century BCE, a Phoenician community lived at Montemolin near Marchena.Beroccal M. et al. (Ed) The Prehistory of Iberia: Debating Early Social Stratification and the State Routledge 2013 p345 Accessed 15 January 2018 Neville A. Mountains of Silver and Rivers of Gold: The Phoenicians in Iberia Oxbow books 2007. Accessed 15 January 2018. .
From the first millennium BCE, the Tartessian civilization gathered metals such as tin and gold from the waters of the Guadalquivir River and brought their culture to the area of Marchena. This may have included centres of ceremony and ritual.Gale T. Iberian Religion Encyclopedia of Religion 2005. Accessed 15 January 2018
Roman era Around the 6th century BCE, the Carthaginians occupied Seville. Products of the area were transported to Carthage.de Mena J. Art and History of Seville Casa Editrice Bonechi, 1992 p3 In the late 3rd century BCE, forces of the Roman Empire under Publius Cornelius Scipio reached Seville. The region flourished under Roman rule for centuries. However, records of the time do not clearly identify the archaeological ruins about Marchena. Local authorities suggest they may include Castra Gemina, Cilpe and Colonia Marcia.History of Marchena Andalucia.org Accessed 16 January 2018 Marchena fell into the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior and within that, in Hispania Baetica and within that, Hispalis (Seville).
Germanic tribes As the Roman Empire declined, in the early 5th century CE the Vandals (a Germanic people), the Alans (an Iranian nomadic people of the North Caucasus), and the Suebi (another Germanic tribe) entered Spain from the north. In their division of Spain, Hispania Baetica fell to the Vandals.Ferreiro A. The Visigoths: studies in culture and society BRILL 1999 p221. The Visigoths also invaded Spain from the north. They ruled Baetica from 497 CE to 711 CE. However, in comparison to the flourishing economy under Roman rule, under the Visigoths, the population decreased, agricultural endeavours were abandoned and once trading towns became small forts.Kennedy H. Muslim Spain and Portugal Routledge 2014 Evidence for this change comes from the archaeological surveys of the kilns used for manufacturing amphora, and of olive presses and basins.Carr K. Vandals to Visigoths: Rural Settlement Patterns in Early Medieval Spain University of Michigan Press, 2002 p89
Muslim era From 711 CE, in its weak state, the Visigoth Kingdom gave way to Muslim invaders from North Africa. In July 712 CE, Musa bin Nusayr, the provincial governor of northwest Africa, brought 18,000 men across the Strait of Gibraltar, paused at the fortress of Carmona, approximately northwest of Marchena, and then took Seville.Routledge Library Edition: Muslim Spain Taylor and Francis 2016 p168 Iberia became part of the greater Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Rahman I (731 CE 788 CE).
At the time of Muslim rule, Marchena was called Marsenah or "Marshana".Maqqari and Gayangod P. (trans.) The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain Johnson reprint corporation 1843 p. 306. Despite infighting between Arab clans and their associated Barber supporters, resident Arabic speaking Christians and Jews, Muslim Spain flourished. For example, Banu Jahwar Al-Marshaniyyun of the Hawwara clan lived in Marchena and was very wealthy. By the 12th century, Marchena was a medina (township) with a strong fortress and well defined systems of governance.Equippo S. The Route of Washington Irving: From Seville to Granada Fundación El legado andalusì, 2000 p62 Glick T. From Muslim Fortress to Christian Castle Manchester University Press, 1995 p87 It was part of the Almohad Caliphate until 1247 when the Christian forces of Ferdinand III of Castile (1199 CE 1252 CE) took Marchena before laying Siege to Seville. Some Muslims were allowed to keep their homes and possessionsO'Callaghan J. A History of Medieval Spain Cornell University Press, 2013 p353. while others, including some poets and writers, were forced to emigrate.O'Callaghan J. Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013 p116
Christians Until his death in 1309, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256 1309) was the local ruler of Marchena.de Pidal M. et al. Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos para la Historia de Espana 1861 p111. On 18 December 1309, Ferdinand IV of Castile (1285 1312) made Fernando Ponce de Leon the new local ruler of Marchena. He was the great-grandson of the king, Alfonso IX of León. Fernando's son, Pedro Ponce de León the Elder (died 1352) became the next Lord of Marchena. Pedro's son, Juan was the Lord of Marchena till his death by execution in Seville in 1367. Juan's brother then inherited the position but died in 1387.
In 1482, Queen Isabella I of Castile created the title of "Duke of Arcos" which was bestowed on Rodrigo Ponce de León, Duke of Cadiz (1443 1492). Rodrigo was the seventh Lord of Marchena.Salcedo J Nobleza española : grandeza inmemorial, 1520 Editorial Visión Libros p478
Ponce de Leon family In the late part of the 15th century and the early part of the 16th century, southern Spain was afflicted with epidemics of plague.Garza R. Understanding Plague: The Medical and Imaginative Texts of Medieval Spain Peter Lang, 2008 p48. Nonetheless, Marchena remained a prosperous town from the 15th to the 18th centuries due to the patronage of the Ponce de Leon family and their descendants.
Peninsular War Between 1807 and 1814, Spain was consumed in the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1808, the first volunteer infantry regiment of Marchena was raised.Esdaile C. The Spanish Army in the Peninsular War Manchester University Press, 1988 p205. In 1809, Brigadier General John Downie in command of the Royal Extremadura Legion liberated Marchena from the French.Southey R. History of the Peninsular War, Volume 3 Murray, 1832 p536.
19th century In the 19th century, Marchena as part of Andalusia, went through an era of poverty. This was due to the loss of trade of produce with Spain's colonial lands; the giving of land to war heroes; and political unrest.Cowans J. (ed.) Modern Spain: a documentary history University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003 p65. In 1857, the population of Marchena was 13,005.Klusakova L. Small Towns in Europe Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press, 2017 p125. Workers from agrarian centres like Marchena, moved to industrialised areas.Hoggart K. The City's Hinterland Routledge, 2016
20th century On the background of the weak military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870 1930) the Spanish Constitution of 1931 was ratified. However, Seville province became a focus of communist and anarchist activity.Payne S. Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931-1936 Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1993 p55 In Marchena, the premises of the town's branch of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour) were paid for by local landowners. The CNT worked to organise the various trade unions. Local labour arbitrators accepted the CNT conditions for maintaining working conditions and protecting day labourers. One of the leaders of the socialist movement in the region was Mariano Moreno Mateo (a lawyer and forensic psychiatrist) of Marchena.Vera J. Socialismo, república y revolución en Andalucía (1931–1936) Universidad de Sevilla, |2000 p321 and 499 In the general elections of 1931, the socialist, republican and leftist parties defeated the monarchist and right wing parties.
From 1936, Francisco Franco (1892 1975) led the Bando nacional through the Spanish civil war to become dictator until his death. Franco made Seville his first base of operations.Nash E. Seville, Cordoba, and Granada: A Cultural History Oxford University Press, 2005 p151 Suspected opponents in the area, including those in Marchena, were rousted and killed.Photography Project Huffington Post. Accessed 25 January 2018Marchena 1936, summer of terror Marchena Dignity and Memory Association (DIME) on YouTube 25 January 2018
Historic buildings Marchena is a tourism site due to its historical and cultural heritage.Marchena Spain.info website
Church of San Juan Bautista The Church of San Juan Bautista of Marchena on Calle Cristobal de Morales is a gothic mudejar style religious monument of the late 15th century that venerates John the Baptist.Michelin green Guide to Andalucia Michelin Italiana 2001. The church has a number of seignoral entrances. One uses brick and another is decorated in wood ornaments showing evangelical scenes in relief, paintings of Alejo Fernandez (circa 1475 1545), a marble bust of John the Baptist and the shields of Diego Deza (1444 1523) the Grand Inquisitor.
Cristóbal de Medrano was the Maestro de capillo of the church in 1585. The Epistle organ (on the left when facing the choir) was built by Francisco Rodríguez a pupil of Jordi Bosch i Bernat. It was made in 1802. In the 17th century the Baroque choir was carved in cedar wood by Juan Valencia on designs by Jerónimo Balbás. Within, there are also sculptures by Alonso Cano (1601 1667). Ornaments in gold were made by Francisco Alfaro.