Foundation and Roman times In the winter of 75–74 BC, the area served as a camp for the
Roman general
Pompey in the war against
Sertorius. He is considered to be the founder of
Pompaelo, "as if
Pompeiopolis" in Strabo's words, which became Pamplona, in modern
Spanish. However, in later times, it has been discovered to be the chief town of the
Vascones. They called it Iruña, translating to 'the city'. Roman Pompaelo was located in the province of
Hispania Tarraconensis, on the
Ab Asturica Burdigalam, the road from Burdigala (modern
Bordeaux) to Asturica (modern
Astorga); it was a
civitas stipendiaria in the jurisdiction of the
conventus of
Caesaraugusta (modern
Zaragoza).
Early Middle Ages , first king of Pamplona (15th-century miniature from
Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, MS 7415) During the
Germanic invasions of 409 and later as a result of
Rechiar's ravaging, Pamplona went through much disruption and destruction, starting a cycle of general decline along with other towns across the Basque territory, but managing to keep some sort of urban life. During the
Visigothic period (fifth to eighth centuries), Pamplona alternated between self-rule, Visigoth domination or Frankish suzerainty in the
Duchy of Vasconia (Councils of Toledo unattended by several Pamplonese
bishops between 589 and 684). In 466 to 472, Pamplona was conquered by the Visigoth count Gauteric, but they seemed to abandon the restless position soon, struggling as the Visigoth kingdom was to survive and rearrange its lands after their defeats in Gaul. During the beginning of the sixth century, Pamplona probably stuck to an unstable self-rule, but in 541, Pamplona, along with other northern Iberian cities, was raided by the Franks. Around 581, the Visigoth king Liuvigild overcame the Basques, seized Pamplona and founded the town of Victoriacum. Despite the legend citing
Saint Fermin as the first bishop of Pamplona and his baptising of 40,000 pagan inhabitants in just three days, the first reliable accounts of a bishop date from 589, when bishop Liliolus attended the
Third Council of Toledo. After 684 and 693, a bishop called Opilano is mentioned again in 829, followed by
Wiliesind and a certain Jimenez from 880 to 890. Even in the 10th century, important gaps are found in bishop succession, which are recorded unbroken only after 1005. At the time of the
Umayyad invasion in 711, the Visigothic king
Roderic was fighting the
Basques in Pamplona and had to turn his attention to the new enemy coming from the south. By 714–16, the Umayyad troops had reached the Basque-held Pamplona, with the town submitting apparently after a treaty was brokered between the inhabitants and the Arab military commanders. The position was then garrisoned by Berbers, who were stationed on the outside of the actual fortress, and established the cemetery unearthed not long ago at the Castle Square (
Plaza del Castillo). In the following years, the Basques south of the Pyrenees do not seem to have shown much resistance to the Moorish thrust, and Pamplona may even have flourished as a launching point and centre of assembly for their expeditions into
Gascony. In 740, the Wali (governor)
Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj imposed direct central Cordovan discipline on the city. In 755, though, the last governor of
Al-Andalus,
Yusuf al Fihri, sent an expedition north to quash Basque unrest near Pamplona, resulting in the defeat of the Arab army. From 755 until 781, Pamplona remained autonomous, probably relying on regional alliances. Although sources are not clear, it seems apparent that in 778, the town was in hands of a Basque local or a Muslim rebel faction loyal to the Franks at the moment of
Charlemagne's crossing of the Pyrenees to the south. However, on his way back from the failed expedition to Saragossa in August, the walls and probably the town were destroyed by Charlemagne (ahead of the Frankish defeat in the famous
Battle of Roncevaux), out of fear that the anti-Frankish party strong in the town might use the position against him. After
Abd al-Rahman I's conquest, Pamplona and its hinterland remained in a state of shaky balance between Franks, regional
Andalusian lords and central Cordovan rule, all of whom proved unable to permanently secure dominance over the Basque region. To a considerable extent, that alternation reflected the internal struggles of the Basque warrior nobility. After the Frankish defeat at Roncevaux (778), Pamplona switched again to
Cordovan rule, after Abd-al-Rahman's expedition captured the stronghold in 781. A
wali or governor was imposed, Mutarrif ibn-Musa (a Banu-Qasi) up to the 799 rebellion. In that year, the Pamplonese—possibly led by a certain Velasko—stirred against their governor, but later the inhabitants provided some support for the
Banu Qasi Fortun ibn-Musa's uprising. This regional revolt was shortly after suppressed by the Cordovan emir
Hisham I, who re-established order, but failed to retain his grip on the town, since the Pamplonese returned to Frankish suzerainty in 806. A Muslim cemetery containing about 200 human remains mingled with Christian tombs was unearthed in 2003 at the Castle Square, bearing witness to an important Muslim presence in the city during this period, but further research was stopped by the destruction of this and other historic evidence as decided by the city council, headed by mayor
Yolanda Barcina. Following a failed expedition to the town led by
Louis the Pious around 812, allegiance to the Franks collapsed after
Enecco Arista rose to prominence. Moreover, he was crowned as
king of Pamplona in 824, when the
Banu Qasi and he gained momentum in the wake of their victorious
second battle of Roncevaux. The new kingdom, inextricably linked to the Banu Qasi of Tudela, strengthened its independence from the weakened Frankish empire and
Cordoban emirate. During this period, Pamplona was not properly a town, but just a kind of fortress. In 924,
Cordovan sources describe Pamplona as "not being especially gifted by nature", with its inhabitants being poor, not eating enough, and dedicated to banditry. They are reported to speak Basque for the most part, which "makes them incomprehensible". On the 24 July, after Christian troops and citizens fled, troops from Cordova sacked Pamplona, destroying houses and buildings including its celebrated church. The town only regained its urban and human shape after the end of raids by Vikings and Andalusians on the province. Especially after 1083, traffic on the
Way of St James brought prosperity and new cultures via travelers from north of the Pyrenees.
Three boroughs and one city From the 11th century, reviving economic development allowed Pamplona to recover its urban life. The bishops of Pamplona recovered their ecclesiastical leading role; during the previous centuries, isolated
monasteries, especially
Leyre, had actually held the religious authority. The
pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela contributed to the revival of the commercial and cultural exchanges with Christian Europe beyond the
Pyrenees. In the 12th century, the city enlarged with two new separate
burgos (independent boroughs): San Cernín (Saint Saturnin) and
San Nicolás; the population of local Navarrese mainly confined to the original urban nucleus, the Navarrería, was swelled by
Occitan merchants and artisans. The boroughs showed very distinct features both socially and culturally, and were almost always engaged in quarrels among themselves. The most dramatic episode was the burning of the borough San Nicolás in 1258 and the destruction of the Navarrería by the other two boroughs and the massacre of its population in 1276. The site was abandoned for nearly 50 years. With regards to the outer defence walls of the city, the southern side was the weakest flank of the city, and the Navarrese king
Louis I built a castle in the early 14th century in the site known today as Plaza del Castillo (Castle Square). Eventually, King
Charles III decreed the
unification of the boroughs in a single city in 1423. The feuds between boroughs had been partly ignited by disputes over the use of the gulf dividing the three boroughs, so after Charles III's unification, the gulf was filled and on its site a common space laid out on the present-day city hall. The walls dividing the boroughs were demolished. During the late 15th century, Pamplona bore witness to power struggles between the Beaumont and Agramont confederacies and external military interventions. Several times, the stronghold was taken over by different factions and foreign forces, like the ones sent by
Ferdinand II of Aragon. Queen
Catherine I was a minor and often absent from Pamplona, but eventually she married
John III in 1494, an event celebrated with joy in the city. However, Navarre continued divided. Historically, a
Jewish community existed in Pamplona. The first documentation of Jews in Pamplona dates to 958, when
Hasdai Ibn Shaprut visited Pamplona on a diplomatic mission to meet with
Sancho I. The Jews of Pamplona had an independent court system which enforced the Jewish system of
halacha, or religious laws. In 1498, the Jewish population was either expelled or forced to convert to Christianity. File:Caídoslat.JPG|The
Monumento a los Caídos, Francoist memorial, subject to debate about its potential demolition File:Calle Estafeta de Pamplona.JPG|Estafeta Street File:Sanfermines Vaquillas Pamplona 08.jpg|
Running of the Bulls File:Chupinazo8.jpg|Seconds before the beginning of the
San Fermín Festival—Town Hall Square: Everybody has a red handkerchief above their heads until a firework is exploded at 12 pm; putting it around their neck afterward
A fortress-city After the
1512 conquest and annexation of Navarre to Spain, Pamplona remained as capital of the semiautonomous
kingdom of Navarre, which preserved its own (reformed) institutions and laws. Pamplona became a Castilian-Spanish outpost at the foot of the western Pyrenees. After the Castilian conquest, king
Ferdinand V ordered in 1513 the demolition and removal of the medieval castle and the city's monasteries, as well as the building of a new castle in a very close place. In 1530, with Navarre under Spanish military occupation, the Castilian viceroy was still expecting a "French invasion", and in fear of a possible revolt of the city dwellers, he requested an additional 1,000-strong force from what he called "healthy land", i.e. Castile, besides the 1,000 stationed already in Navarre. The progress of
artillery demanded a complete renewal of the fortified system. Starting in 1569, King
Philip II built the fortifications at Pamplona, to designs by
Giovan Giacomo Paleari and
Vespasiano Gonzaga. The citadel in the south of the town is a pentagonal
star fort. Phillip had the city bounded by walls that made it almost a regular pentagon. The modernization of the walls was intended mainly to keep locals in check and strengthen the outpost Pamplona had become on the border with
independent Navarre, a close ally of France. The walls that exist today date from the late 16th to 18th centuries. During the 18th century, Pamplona was considerably beautified and its urban services improved. A continuous
water supply was established and the streets were paved, among many other enhancements. Rich aristocrats and businessmen also built their mansions. In the 19th century, this fortress-city played a key role in several wars in which Spain was involved. During the
Peninsular War of the
Napoleonic Wars, French troops occupied the city - by launching a
coup de main (surprise attack) and seized the city in 1808, and remained in it until the French forces were compelled to surrender on 31 October 1813 due to starvation, having been blockaded in the town for four months by the Spanish army under
Enrique José O'Donnell. During the
Carlist Wars (1833–1839 and 1872–1876) Pamplona was each time controlled by the liberals, not just because the few liberals that lived in Navarre were mainly Pamplonese, but also because of the governmental control over the fortified city. Although Carlist rebels easily ruled the countryside, the government army had no problem in dominating the walled capital of Navarre. Nevertheless, during the last Carlist war, modern artillery operated by Carlists from surrounding mountains showed that the old walls would not be enough in the face of a stronger enemy. Thus, the government decided to build a
fort on the top of mount San Cristóbal, just north of Pamplona. Due to its military role, the city could not grow outside its walled belt. Furthermore, building in the closest area to the walls was banned to avoid any advantage for a besieger; thus the city could only grow by increasing its housing density. Higher and narrower houses were built and courtyards gradually disappeared. During the 19th century,
road transportation improved, and the
railway came in 1860. Nevertheless, industry in Pamplona and Navarre as a whole was weak during the century of the
Industrial Revolution. Basically, no industrial development was feasible in such a constrained fortress-city. After a slight modification of the star fort allowed an expansion of just six blocks in 1888, the
First World War demonstrated that the fortified system of Pamplona was already obsolete. In 1915, the Army allowed the destruction of the walls and abolished the building ban in the city's surroundings. The southern side of the walls was destroyed and the other three remained as they did not hinder urban growth. The star fort continued to serve as a military facility until 1964, but just as a garrison. Pamplona has in recent years taken great care to integrate and preserve its fortifications for modern use. In October 2014, working with the city of Bayonne, Pamplona hosts an international conference 'Fortified Heritage: Management and Sustainable Development', the website is in English, French, and Spanish. Available on a growing website are two free e-books, with copious colour photographs, on Pamplona's fortifications. Published in 2011 is 'Five living centuries of an impregnable fortress' about the city citadel and 'A walk round the Pamplona fortifications'.
Industrialization and modernization Freed from its military function, Pamplona could lead the process of
industrialization and modernization in which Navarre was involved during the 20th century, especially during its second half. The
urban growth has been accompanied by the development of industry and services. Population growth has been the effect of an intense immigration process during the 1960s and 1970s: from the Navarrese countryside and from other less developed regions of Spain, mainly
Castile and León and
Andalusia. Since the 1990s the
immigration is coming mainly from abroad. Pamplona is listed as a city with one of the highest
standards of living and
quality of life in Spain. Its industry rate is higher than the national average, although it is threatened by delocalization.
Crime statistics are lower than the national average but
cost of living, especially housing, is considerably higher. Thanks to its small size and an acceptable
public transport service, there are no major transport problems. ==Geography==