© Mark Wade
| Merida © Mark Wade |
Town 61 km from Badajoz, founded in 25 BC as Augusta Emerita, capital of Rome's Lusitania province. The town retains Roman elements integrated with later constructions, including the Moorish Alcazaba of the Cid's time.
The town has immense Roman aqueducts, amphitheaters, baths, a 30,000-seat circus for chariot racing, monumental arches, theaters, churches, and on and on. Visigothic, Moorish, and Medieval superimpositions are everywhere. Latitude: 38.92. Longitude: -6.34.
Now the greater part of these Moors had been they of Merida, Badajoz, Beja and Evora, and the King was minded to requite them in their own land according to their deeds; and he entered into the heart of their country, carrying with him fire and sword, and pressed them sorely so that they yielded vassalage.