León, Spain

León is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a population of 124,303, by far the largest municipality in the province. The population of the metropolitan area, including the neighbouring San Andrés del Rabanedo and other smaller municipalities, accounts for around 200,000 inhabitants.Founded as the military encampment of the Legio VI Victrix around 29 BC, its standing as an encampment city was consolidated with the definitive settlement of the Legio VII Gemina from 74 AD. Following its partial depopulation due to the Umayyad conquest of the peninsula, 910 saw the beginning of one its most prominent historical periods, when it became the capital of the Kingdom of León, which took active part in the Reconquista against the Moors, and came to be one of the fundamental kingdoms of medieval Spain.