I
Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 1,197,646), province, and historic region, southeastern Spain.
It covers 4,368 sq mi (11,314 sq km), and its capital is the city of Murcia . It was an independent Moorish kingdom until its annexation by Castile in 1243. The autonomous community was established in 1982. The Segura River flows through its centre, irrigating rich farmland and orchards. The ports of Cartagena , Mazarrón, and Aguilas have grown with the development of shipping and mining along the coastal plain. Principal crops are grain, olives, grapes, and melons.
II
City (pop., 2001: 370,745), capital of the autonomous community of Murcia , southeastern Spain.
The site was settled before the Roman occupation of Spain in the 3rd century BC. It became the Muslim city of Mursīyah in AD 825, when it was made a provincial capital by the emir of Córdoba . It was the birthplace of Ibn al-Arabī (1165). The Segura River divides the city into older and newer parts. The 14th-century cathedral was restored in the 18th century. It is a communications and agricultural-trade centre for surrounding areas. Its silk industry dates from Moorish times.