Empúries
Empúries (in Catalan) Ampurias (in Spanish) Ἐμπόριον (in Greek) Emporiae (in Latin) | |
Palaeochristian basilica at Empúries | |
Empúries Shown within Province of Girona Empúries Empúries (Catalonia) Empúries Empúries (Spain) | |
| Location | Alt Empordà, Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°08′05″N 03°07′14″E / 42.13472°N 3.12056°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Colonists from Phocaea |
| Founded | 575 BC |
| Periods | Archaic Greek to Early Medieval |
Empúries (Catalan: Empúries [əmˈpuɾiəs]) was an ancient Greek city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias (Spanish: Ampurias [amˈpuɾjas]). The city Ἐμπόριον (Greek: Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "trading place", cf. emporion) was founded in 575 BC by Greeks from Phocaea. The invasion of Gaul from Iberia by Hannibal the Carthaginian general in 218 BC, prompted the Romans to occupy the city (Latin: Emporiae), thus initiating the Roman conquest of Hispania. In the Early Middle Ages, the city's exposed coastal position left it open to marauders and it was abandoned.
Empúries is located within the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà on the Costa Brava. The ruins are midway between the town of L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí d'Empúries.