MURCIA, ntr'the-it. A former division and an old Moorish kingdom of Spain, situated in the southeastern part of the country, and bounded on the north by New' Castile, on the east by the former Kingdom of Valencia, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west by the former kingdoms of Granada and Jaen and by New Castile (Map: Spain, E 4). The division com prised the modern Province of Murcia, the greater part of Albacete, and small portions of .1(»In and Alicante, with a total area of about 10.000 square miles.
The surface of :Murcia partakes of the general character of the whole peninsula—the interior plateau, the rapid and mountainous slope toward the sea, and the low coastal region. The last is a sandy semi-arid belt from 10 to 20 miles wide, and broken by several coast lagoons, of which the Mar Menor is the largest. The moun tainous belt occupies the greater part of the di vision, and consists of an irregular system of ranges whose nucleus and highest. point is the Sierra the Espufia, with an altitude of 5193 feet. North of the mountains the interior plateau forms a part of La Mancha (q.v.), a deforested and almost arid plain. The principal water system is the Segura, River with its tribu taries, whiell are used only for irrigation. and are subject to great variations in volume, being at sonic seasons almost dry, and at other times subject to disastrous inundations. The elimate is subtropical near the coast and temperate on the slopes and plateaus. The winters are mild,
the sky nearly always clear, and the climate is pleasant and healthful; but the rainfall is insuf ...
licient for the needs of agriculture. The whole region has been almost entirely deforestd..d, and agriculture can be carried on only in the valleys by means of irrigation. Many of the valleys, how ever, are well cultivated, especially the Iluerta or 'Garden' of Murcia. which is one of the most beau tiful places in Spain. The chief agricultural prod ucts are wheat, barley, and (lax. oranges, lemons, olives, grapes, and hemp are grown in the south. Mining is an important industry, iron, lead, zinc, copper, and sulphur. The production of zinc has increased fourfold within the last ten years, being 40,000 tons in 1900. The output of iron has decreased from 430.000 tons in 1890 to 370,000 tons in 1900. Other industries are silk manufactures and the plaiting of articles of esparto grass. The population in 1887 was 708,828, and in 1900, 815,864. The chief city is :Murcia (q.v.).
Murcia was the centre of the Carthaginian colonies in Spain. It was conquered by the Sara cens early in the eighth century and by them called Todmir. It formed a province of the Cali phate of Cordova, after whose dissolution, in the early part of the eleventh century, it became an independent Moorish kingdom. About the middle of the thirteenth century it was conquered by Castile.