HISTORY
The oldest traces of prehistoric man in Loja and its surrounding area date back to the Lower Paleolithic period, 150,000 years ago. Aside from the mythological explanations offered by Friar Juan Seco, who recounts how Tubal, grandson of the Biblical Noah, founded the city of Loja in 2163 BC, naming it Alfeia, archaeological evidence places the first occupation of the site around the eleventh century BC. The remains of these prehistoric inhabitants from the Bronze Age lie beneath the surface of the Alcazaba neighbourhood, from their earliest presence until well into the seventh century BC, when the contributions of Phoenician trade and culture led to the first urban flourishing of that original settlement: the mythical Tricolia.
The Iberian and Roman worlds were not foreign to the city; suspicions about the existence of a Hispano-Roman settlement in the central district of Loja were confirmed by the work of the Loja Town Hall’s Heritage, Research and Promotion Service, which in 1991 demonstrated a Roman presence, albeit small, on Cerro del Alcazaba. A year earlier, the same organisation, in connection with the construction of the Casa de la Cultura, investigated what has since become known as the Vinuesas Necropolis, leading to the identification of a Hispano-Roman population centre there.
However, everything suggests that Loja only acquired its true urban dimension with the arrival of Islam, beginning in the ninth century. Arab chronicles mention the construction of Loja Castle in 893, and it later became a city, referred to as Medina Lauxa (Madīnat Lawša) as early as the eleventh century, when it was already a prominent stronghold of significant strategic value in guarding the Vega of Granada.
As a border city, it was involved in numerous military conflicts, including its attack and destruction by Fernando III ‘El Santo’ in 1225. A precursor to the capital of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, the city was surrendered by Boabdil himself to King Fernando de Aragón in 1486, after a gruelling siege lasting several days. By that time, the city already possessed its characteristic architecture and had even been the birthplace of such illustrious figures at the Granada court as the poet Ibn al-Khatib. With the Castilian conquest of Alhama in 1482, the occupation of Loja began, although only after two failed attempts, in 1482 and 1485, was the city finally taken, on May 29, 1486. The Muslims left the city freely and under escort to Granada, and from that moment on, new Christian settlers began to establish themselves. The Catholic Monarchs ordered the distribution of houses, property, and lands among the five hundred new residents with whom they were to populate the city (according to the Charter of Córdoba). The city was administratively incorporated into the Corregimiento de Alcalá la Real (until 1772), to which Alhama was also assigned.
From this point on, Medina Lawsa gradually lost the characteristics of a Hispano-Muslim city and transformed into a settlement adapted to the Castilian-Christian concept. The basic structure of the Nasrid city (Alcazaba, Jaufín, and Arrabal) was maintained, but these spaces were redefined and organized around parishes, while new architectural, spatial, and symbolic landmarks emerged. Mosques were consecrated as churches, so that the town’s three main churches stand on the sites of former mosques. The city’s religious landscape was further developed with the founding of several convents and hermitages. The city’s expansion beyond the walls took place throughout the sixteenth century, driven by population growth.