History

Ibiza is one of the oldest urban environments in Western Mediterranean, and the first in the Balearic archipelago. Its past is stunning and fundamental to understand its present, its cultural and social reality, through the mosaic of cultures that have steadily occupied it since 2700 AC. 

There is an important historical and cultural patrimony scattered throughout the territory such as the sacred mount of Santa Eulària and Sant Miquel; the church-fortresses on each town, the singular defense towers, and wells and oil mills of Arab origin, declared Place of Cultural Interest. Throughout its history, Ibiza has always interacted with other cultures: Punics, Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs. All of them surrended to its bright light, the purity of its sky, and the transparency of its water. When the Christians settled after the recapture, the island was surrounded by stone defensive towers from which to scan the horizon on the lookout for Berber pirate schooners that disembarked on the coast and ventured inland in search of women and food. Ibizan citizens were warned by sentries; they abandoned their perfectly whitened homed in the field and ran to take shelter inside the city wall or in the towns' fortified churches. Safe from invasion, Ibizan citizens still dedicatedly protect their historical inheritance.

 

In the below diagram you can easily understand the history of the island throughout the years. 

 

  • 2000-1600 BC. The first inhabitantsof Ibiza date back to the Chalcolithic period. They came fro the Mediterranean coastal arc. Examples: cave paintings in Sant Antoni.

 

  • 8th Century BC. Ibiza as a Phoenician commercial center: First Phoenicia-Punica settlement in Sa Caleta, Sant Josep. The urbanization process starts to develop in Ibiza at the beginning of the 6th century. 

 

  • 550-146 8th Century BC.  Punic Ibiza, foundation of the Carthaginian Empire. Golden age for agriculture; Ibiza as a spiritual center: Tanit Goddess represents love, fertility and death. 

 

  • 146 BC - 79 AD.  Ibiza becomes a Roman city. 

 

  • 5th - 9th Centuries AD. Goths and Visigoths in Europe. Ibiza is conquered by Vandals and Byzantines.They introduce the irrigation and rotation systems for crops. 

 

  • 902 - 1235. The Arabs settle in Ibiza and transform the island. The economic growth is based on salt, agriculture, and fishing. There is Arab influence in many Ibizan customs. 

 

  • 1235. Ibiza is conquered by the Kingdom of Aragon on August 8th 1235. It is said that a woman made the sheikh reveal the secret entrance to the Catalan troops. Catalan settlement, and with them, Christianity, their language, and customs. 

 

  • 16th Century.  Instability in Western Mediterranean. Constant Turkish fleet and Algerian pirate attacks. The defensive system of Ibiza is rethought.

 

  • 17th and 18th Centuries. The city grows within a protected area, as well as the neighborhoods of La Marina and Sa Penya. With the arrival of the first bishop, many churches are built all over the island. The towns take Christian names. Coast defense plan by building sentry towers. 

 

  • 19th Century.  Ibiza grows thanks to the construction of new neighborhoods and emblematic buildings.

 

  • 20th Century. And tourism arrives at Ibiza. The city becomes hippy territory thanks to its natural beauty and its fame of freedom. Nest fro artists, writers, philosophers, stars and visionaries.