Record Atlas
5 eras · 713–2026 · 3 places

Vega Baja del Segura — Orihuela and Torrevieja

Orihuela, Torrevieja, San Javier, Pilar de la Horadada. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
713–1212 Kingdom of Tudmir, Emirate of Córdoba, taifas no registers survive

Before registers. Count Teodomiro proclaimed the Kingdom of Tudmir on 5 April 713, the capital moved to Murcia in 825, and the Principality of Murcia within the Kingdom of Denia (1053) became independent in 1086.
1212–1366 Kingdom of Murcia no registers survive

The area passed to the Kingdom of Murcia in 1212, and in 1304 Orihuela lay on the border between Castile and Aragon.
1366–1737 Kingdom of Valencia: the province of Orihuela PARES · FamilySearch

Orihuela passed to the Kingdom of Valencia in 1366, was declared a city on 11 September 1437, and in 1507 Charles V made it capital of the province of Orihuela. The Jewish community was expelled in 1492.
1737–1833 Spain: shifting provincial boundaries PARES · FamilySearch

Alicante and Elche separated from the province of Orihuela in 1737 to form the province of Alicante. Napoleon placed Orihuela in the Department of Segura, capital Murcia, in 1810, and in 1822 it passed to the province of Murcia.
1833–2026 Province of Alicante PARES · FamilySearch · Geneanet

Orihuela became part of the province of Alicante in 1833. It was an independent canton in the Cantonal Rebellion of 1873. The ring also reaches across into the Region of Murcia (San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar).

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 713–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

3 places on this ground

47 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

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