Badajoz

Badajoz (UK: , US: , Spanish: [baðaˈxoθ]; formerly written Badajos in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population in 2011 was 151,565.Conquered by the Moors in the 8th century, Badajoz became a Moorish kingdom, the Taifa of Badajoz.

The Taifa of Badajoz (from Arabic: طائفة بطليوس‎) was a medieval Islamic Moorish kingdom located in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. It was centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain.

The 4th Siege of Badajoz took place from July to October 1658 during the Portuguese Restoration War. It was an attempt by a huge Portuguese army under the command of Joanne Mendes de Vasconcelos, governor of Alentejo, to capture the Spanish city of Badajoz, which was the headquarters of the Spanish Army of Extremadura.

The Second Siege of Badajoz (22 April – 12 May and 18 May – 10 June, 1811) saw an Anglo-Portuguese Army, first led by William Carr Beresford and later commanded by Arthur Wellesley, the Viscount Wellington, besiege a French garrison under Armand Philippon at Badajoz, Spain. After failing to force a surrender, Wellington withdrew his army when the French mounted a successful relief effort by combining the armies of Marshals Nicolas Soult and Auguste Marmont.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist of Badajoz (Spanish: Catedral metropolitana de San Juan Bautista de Badajoz) is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in Badajoz, Extremadura, western Spain. Since 1994, together with the Co-cathedral of Saint Mary Major of Mérida, it is the seat of the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz.

The Diocese of Badajoz was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Spain, created in 1255. In 1994 it became the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz.

Castelar Park (Parque de Castelar) is located in Badajoz, in Extremadura, Spain. Situated south of Guadiana River, its features include tall palm trees and a central pond, frequented by ducks and pigeons; peacocks wander around the park. There are monuments dedicated to the romanticist writer Carolina Coronado, who lived in Badajoz, and to Luis Chamizo Trigueros, who was born in Guareña.

Tierra de Badajoz is a comarca in the province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, western Spain. The majority of its population, amounting to around 177,000 inhabitants, lives in the capital, the municipality of Badajoz, and the immediate surrounding area.