Jaen

Jaen, a city of Spain, capital of the province of the same name, is picturesque situated on a tributary of the Guadalquivir, 50 miles N. by W. of Granada. Its old Moorish walls are fast crumbling away. It is the see of a bishop; the cathedral dates from 1532. Pop. (1884) 21,280. By the Moors the town was called Jayyenu-l-harir, 'Jaen of the Silk,' on account of its silk manufactures, for which, however, it is no longer famous.—The province (area, 5184 sq. m.; pop. in 1887, 437,842), part of Andalusia (q.v.), lies wholly within the basin of the Guadalquivir, and is for the most part mountainous. Conquered by the Moors on their entrance into Spain, Jaen maintained its independence as a Moorish state till 1246, when it fell into the hands of Ferdinand III. of Castile.