page_title: Region of Murcia
section_title: Toponymy and denomination
hierarchical_section_title: Region of Murcia / Toponymy and denomination
caption_attribution_description: Español: Reino de Murcia, 1795
context_page_description: The Region of Murcia, is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the state, bordered by Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and the Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast.
  The autonomous community consists of a single province, unlike most autonomous communities, which have several provinces within the same territory. Because of this, the autonomous community and the province are operated as one unit of government. The city of Murcia is the capital of the region and seat of government organs, except for the parliament, the Regional Assembly of Murcia, which is located in Cartagena. The autonomous community and province is subdivided into municipalities.
  The Region of Murcia is bordered by Andalusia, Castile–La Mancha, the Valencian Community, and the Mediterranean Sea. The community covers 11,313 km² in area and has a population of 1.4 million. About one-third of its population lives in the capital. The highest peak of the region is Los Obispos Peak, in the Massif of Revolcadores, with 2,014 m. altitude.
context_section_description: The toponym Murcia has a controversial origin. According to Francisco Cascales, this toponym could refer to the Roman goddess Venus Murcia, related to the myrtles on the banks of the Segura River; hypothesis that has been discussed in this regard. Historical studies conclude that, like the above-mentioned divinity, Murcia is a place name of Latin origin that derives very probably from Myrtea or Murtea (“place of myrtles” or “place where grow the myrtles”) and that Mursiya (first name already documented in the Islamic period to the city of Murcia) was the adaptation of the Arabic from the Latin term pre-existing. According to Bienvenido Mascaray, the name would come from the Iberian language in the form m-ur-zia, meaning "the water that empowers or moistens". as Bienvenido Mascaray, the name would come from the Iberian language in the form m-ur-zia, meaning "the water that soaks or moistens"
  The use of this term to define the present region also has its origin in the Taifa of Murcia (Arab kingdom) that existed at different times of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, a political entity that served as the basis for the conquest (which took place in this area between 1243 and 1266) to also emerge the Christian kingdom of Murcia, territorial jurisdiction that came to have its own institutions and that existed until 1833.
  After the provincial administrative reform of that year there began to exist a first Region of Murcia formed by the provinces of Albacete and Murcia. In the first decentralizer attempt in the history of Spain during the First Republic, this region was one of the 17 member states that contemplated the Spanish Draft Constitution of 1873, proclaiming during that year the so-called Cantón Murciano as an attempt of regional canton in the context of the Cantonal rebellion.
  In 1978, the Regional Council of Murcia was created as a pre-autonomous body until 1982, when the Statute of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia was approved, where the province of Murcia exclusively granted autonomy under the official name of Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia in the framework of the political process experienced during the Spanish transition.
caption: Map of the Kingdom of Murcia in 1795
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