Roman expansion through the Iberian Peninsula. Its foundation as a city took place in 25 B.C., under the rule of Emperor Augustus, from whom the first name of the city, Emérita Augusta, was taken.
There, discharged soldiers from the 5th and 10th Legions settled, after being rewarded by Rome for their participation in the Cantabrian Wars with lands on the fertile plains of the Guadiana River. At the same time, this incipient city had great strategic value, since two different Roman routes met there: the Silver Route (Vía de la Plata), which linked Merida and Astorga and the Roman road that linked Toledo and Lisbon.
Mérida was the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania and it became one of the most flourishing cities of the Empire. Likewise, it wasan important religious centre during the first years of the spread of Christianity.
Under Visigothic rule, the city stayed on the centre stage as capital of the kingdom, but this title was later assigned to Toledo. With the arrival of the Arabs, Merida became a fortress, until the Christian King Alfonso IX reconquered the city in the 13th century, when it then became the base for the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.The Roman Legacy
The splendorous history of Merida can be observed in the monumental and archaeological ensemble that it keeps, one of the best preserved in Spain.
Thus, the Roman legacy is still present in almost every little corner of town, the Roman Theatre being one of the most emblematic constructions. Erected in the first century B.C.,