From the 3rd century BC, the Carthaginians occupied the area but they were defeated by the Roman, Scipio Africanus in 206 BC. From then on, Seville entered into an age of splendor. This was even truer when Julius Caesar gave Seville the status of colony in 45 BC. The surprising fact is that, nowadays, there is little rest of this flourishing roman period.

In 712 started the domination of the Arabs over Sevilla, that they called at that time Isbiliah. The Betis river was also renamed Guad el Kevir. Those two names are the origin of the current names of Seville and Guadalquivir river. Under the Arab ruling, Seville entered into another age of splendor. When the Almohades arrived in 1147, they transferred the center of the power from Cordoba to Seville and made it their capital. From this last period of the Arab-Andalusian domination remain the Giralda, the Torre del Oro, the Alcazar (later rebuilt by the Christian kings) and the Macarena wall (Muralla de la Macarena).

In 1248, Ferdinand III The Saint conquested Seville for Christianity. Muslims were forced to leave whereas Mudejars and Hebrews stayed. Seville was repopulated with some 24.000 Castilians who grouped together in different neighborhoods according to their occupations. This led to the creation of brotherhoods that still exist nowadays and to the attribution of patron saints for each.

A lot of churches were built to replace the mosques. Ferdinand III transferred the Kingdom of Castile Court to the Alcazar of Seville. He stayed there until he died in 1252 and is considered as Seville’s patron saint.

The overtaking of Granada in 1492 marked the end of the Reconquest process; the Jews were expelled and Seville became the headquarters of the Inquisition. In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America. From then on, Seville experienced its apogee. Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce was created to deal with the trade relations between Spain and the overseas territories.

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