Merida

Merida (anc. Augusta Emerita), a decayed town of Spain, on the right bank of the Guadiana, 36 miles by rail E. of Badajoz. It is remarkable for its Roman remains, which include a bridge of 81 arches, 2575 feet long and 26 feet broad, erected by Trajan; the ruins of half a dozen temples, of an aqueduct, a circus, a theatre, a naumachia, a castle, and the Arch of Santiago, 44 feet high, built by Trajan. There is also an old Moorish palace. Merida was built in 23 B.C., and flourished in great splendour as the capital of Lusitania. In 713 it was taken by the Moors, who lost it to the Spaniards in 1229. Pop. 7390.