approx. 900 years Phoenicians
Cádiz was founded in 1100 BC by Phoenician merchants from Tyre (in what is now southern Lebanon) as a military base and trading center. This makes Cádiz one of the oldest cities in Western Europe. The settlers recognized the favourable location at the mouth of the river Guadalete, close to the kingdom of Tartessos, which was rich in bronze, copper, gold and silver, and halfway to the "Tin Islands" (Britain). Under the Phoenicians, Cádiz developed into a flourishing trading center. We visit the old town, which is completely surrounded by the sea and can only be reached via a narrow headland, on our Seville route. Malaca (Málaga), Sexi (Almuñécar), Calpe (Gibraltar), Abdera (Adra) and Onaba (Huelva) were also Phoenician settlements. Hispalis, today's Seville, was founded in the 4th century BC.
In the 6th century BC, most of the Phoenician colonies in the west were taken over by the Carthaginians. Carthage, located in present-day Tunisia, became the new mother city and protective power of the Phoenicians, who were henceforth also known as the Carthaginians.
From the 5th century BC, the cultural influence of the Greeks in particular increased and simple Greek settlements were established along what is now the Andalusian coast. Greek authors referred to the two rocky mountains that line the Strait of Gibraltar as the "Pillars of Heracles", which marked the end of the world. These "Pillars of Heracles" can be found on the coats of arms of Spain, Andalusia, Melilla and the city of Cadiz. However, the Peloponnesian War (431 BC to 404 BC) between Athens and Sparta caused the Greeks to lose influence.