Jerez de los Caballeros is a town of south-western Spain, in the province of Badajoz. It is located on two hills overlooking the River Ardila, a tributary of the Guadiana, 18 km east of the Portuguese border. The old town is surrounded by a Moorish wall with six gates. The town is said to have been founded by Alfonso IX of Leon in 1229; in 1232 it was extended by his son Ferdinand III the Saint, who gave it to the Knights Templar. Hence the name Jerez de los Caballeros, Jerez of the Knights.