The name 'Ilercavonia' to refer to the territory occupied by the Ilercavones Iberian tribe appears in ancient
Greek and
Roman texts and documents. The northern limits of this territory were in
Serra de la Llena, the northeastern in
Coll de Balaguer, the western in
Mequinensa and the southern in the area of a river mentioned as 'Oduba' in Roman documents, which could be either the
Millars River, or another river further south along the coast closer to
Sagunt. This geographical zone corresponds roughly to the present-day
Maestrat/Maestrazgo,
Matarraña/Matarranya and
Terres de l'Ebre comarcas. During the
Middle Ages the territory of Ilercavonia found itself located at the confluence of the kingdoms of
Valencia,
Catalonia and
Aragon. Since that time, and until the mid-20th century, the
Diocese of Tortosa would give a certain basic recognition to the people of this
ancient region who, despite having had no historic political representation of their own, share common geographic, economic, cultural and linguistic ties. The traditional
Aragonese parishes of the Diocese of Tortosa, however, were segregated during
General Franco's
dictatorship, following the
Concordat of 1953 between the
Francoist regime and the
Vatican. Besides the lack of recognition and effective representation, this greater comarca has suffered much from a lack of development and investment since the mid-20th century, when the only railway line connecting the region with Aragon, the
RENFE line from
Tortosa to
Alcañiz and
Zaragoza, was terminated in 1973. This line was dismantled as a result of a 1962
World Bank report advising the
Spanish State to concentrate investment in the great lines and to abandon the less profitable railways connecting rural areas. The bulk of the development in eastern and northeastern Spain was henceforward diverted to the cities of
Barcelona and
Valencia in detriment of this region. Nowadays the name Ilercavonia is used mainly in academic and scientific circles, as well as in cultural events. ==See also==