Cuenca, Spain

Cuenca (Spanish: [ˈkweŋka] ) is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha and the capital of the province of Cuenca. The primitive urban core developed on a narrow escarpment caged between the Júcar and the Huécar rivers, on the western fringes of the Iberian System mountains. It was probably founded towards the 10th century CE, becoming a stronghold of the Arabised Berber lineage of the Banū Zennum, featuring a fortress, Qal'at Kūnka, which was conquered for the Kingdom of Castile in 1177. In the early modern period, the city boasted of a thriving textile and tapestry industry. Its name may derive from the Latin conca meaning "river basin", referring to the gorge of the rivers Júcar and Huécar. It may also be derived from the now-ruined Arab castle, Kunka. Other alternative original names have been suggested, including "Anitorgis", "Sucro" or "Concava". The city of Cuenca is also known as the "Eagle's Nest" because of its precarious position on the edge of a gorge. The city was known in Arabic as قونكة (Qūnkah). When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire, there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segobriga, Ercavica and Gran Valeria.