Ocaña, a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 and municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 of central Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, in the province of Toledo. It is located on the extreme north of the tableland known as the Mesa de Ocaña, and has a station on the railway from Aranjuez

Aranjuez

Aranjuez is a town lying 48 km south of Madrid, in the southern part of the Community of Madrid. It is located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers, 48 km from Toledo. As of 2009, it has a population of 54,055.-History:...

 to Cuenca

Cuenca, Spain

-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...

.

History

The town is surrounded by ruined walls which contain the remains of an old castle. Ocaña is the Vicus Cuminarius of the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and was the dowry that Al Mutamid

Muhammad Ibn Abbad Al Mutamid

Muhammad Ibn Abbad Al Mutamid was the third and last ruler of the taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus. He was a member of the Abbadid dynasty....

 of Seville

Taifa of Seville

The Taifa of Seville was a short lived medieval kingdom, in what is now southern Spain and Portugal. It originated in 1023 and lasted until 1091, and was under the rule of the Arab Abbadid family.-History:...

 gave his daughter Zaida on her marriage with Alfonso VI of Castile

Alfonso VI of Castile

Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...

 (1072-1109). The Battle of Ocana

Battle of Ocana

The Battle of Ocana or Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult and King Joseph Bonaparte and the Spanish army under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War...

 was fought near here, on 19 November 1809; the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga

Juan Carlos de Aréizaga

Juan Carlos de Aréizaga was a Spanish general, who fought in the Peninsular War.In 1808 he was a retired colonel, residing in Pamplona, where he made friends with a young Francisco Javier Mina. After the outbreak of the Peninsular War, he moved to Zaragoza, where he became a divisional commander...

 were routed by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 under Joseph Bonaparte

Joseph Bonaparte

Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...

 and Marshal Soult.

Main sights

• Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, in Renaissance style
• Convent of St. Dominic, in Renaissance style (1535-1605)
• Fuente Grande ("Great Spring"), built in the 16th century
• Fuente Vieja ("Old Spring"), probably of Roman
  Ancient Rome
  Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
  
  origins
• Parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, built over a 12th century mosque
• Parish church of St. John the Baptist (13th century)
• Convent of the Carmelites (16th century)
• Palacio de los Cárdenas (16th century)
• Rollo de Justicia (15th century)