 ARAGON - Spain/España
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Aragon (Spanish and Aragonese: Aragón; Catalan: Aragó) is an autonomous community of north-eastern Spain. It has an area of 47,719 km² with a population of 1,217,514 (2003).
 Aragon is bounded on the north by France, on the east by Catalonia, on the south by Valencia, and on the west by Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon, La Rioja, and Navarre. It comprises the provinces of Zaragoza (English: Saragossa or Caesaraugusta), Huesca, and Teruel. It is traversed by the Ebro, mountainous in the north; with beautiful fertile valleys, rather barren, in the south.
Its capital is Zaragoza.
In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas (counties).
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Language
In addition to Spanish, there is an original Aragonese language, still spoken in some valleys of the Pyrenees.
Catalan is spoken as well in some comarques (counties) adjacent to Catalonia known, as a whole, as La Franja; in particular: the Ribagorzan dialect in Ribagorza and La Litera, and a dialect similar to that of Terra Alta in Matarraña and Bajo Cinca.
History
Aragón was a Frankish feudal county (Jaca) before becoming a self-proclaimed kingdom, which was united with the kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre) in 925. The kingdom of Pamplona included the counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza, and the duchy of Castilla. After King Sancho´s death, the kingdom was divided between his sons. Ramiro I was initially named king of Aragon; later, after his brother Gionzalo´s death, also of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza. The new kingdom grew quickly, and incorporated Navarra. This kingdom conquered the city of Zaragoza in 1118. Split from the kingdom of Navarre, the kingdom of Aragón was re-established in 1035 and lasted until 1707. Aragón was also the name of the crown, because of the dynastic union of a Count of Barcelona (Ramon Berenguer IV) with a Queen of Aragón (Petronila of Aragon), their son inheriting all their respective territories. This Crown was effectively disbanded after the dynastic union with Castile (see below). The Kings of Aragón (called by some present-day historians "Kings of Aragón and Counts of Barcelona") ruled territories that consisted of not only the present administrative region of Aragón but also Catalonia, and later the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia (see Aragonese Empire).
The King of Aragón was the direct King of the Aragonese region, and held also the title of King of Valencia, King of Mallorca (for a time), Count of Barcelona, Lord of Montpellier, and, only temporarily, Duke of Athens and Neopatria. Each of these titles gave him sovereignty over a certain region, and these titles changed as he lost and won territories.
The real centre of this kingdom was Barcelona, since it had a seaport and was near the geographical centre of the Crown of Aragon, while Valencia was the most important seaport for trade until approximately the 18th century. Present-day historians usually call the Crown the Crown of Aragón. The Kingdom of Aragón is called simply Kingdom of Aragón. Saying just "Aragón" is ambiguous and should be avoided.
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