Guadalajara (, ) is a city and municipality in Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the Province of Guadalajara. Lying on the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at roughly metres above sea level, the city straddles the Henares River. it has a population of 86,222 which makes it the region's second most populated municipality. History Alleged identification with Arriaca A Roman town called Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture, is known to have been located in that region. There is however no archeological proof of its existence, only references in texts such as the Ruta Antonina, which describe it as being in the hands of the Carpetani when encountered by the Romans. The city, as Caracca, was incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The city was on the high road from Emerita (modern Mérida) to Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza), 22 M. P. northeast of Complutum (modern Alcalá de Henares). Early Middle Ages The founding, dating from the Islamic period, is attributed to a person named "Faraŷ". It was officially known as Madīnat al-Faraŷ in the 9th and 10th centuries. The town was later known as Wādī l-Ḥiŷāra (), possibly meaning "Valley of Stones" (as in river gravel); in theory it may be a literal translation of the Iberian name Arriaca. It has also been also proposed that Ḥajāra should not be understood as stones/gravel, but in the sense of "castles" or "fortified rocks". Part of the Middle March of Al-Andalus, the city and its wider district was controlled by the Masmuda Berber clan of the Banū Sālim who governed on behalf of the Umayyad rulers of Córdoba. During the Muslim period an Alcázar (fortress) was built by the mid-9th century, as well as the Bridge over the Henares (its construction has been tentatively dated by the late 10th century or early 11th century). Walls enclosing the city were also built by then. In 920, the Banū Sālim were routed from Guadalajara (reportedly because of the local population resented their rule) by Abd al-Rahman III, who attempted to directly rule the territory. Guadalajara was part of the territory annexed by Alfonso VI of León-Castile in the 1085 conquest of the Taifa of Toledo, with the city of Guadalajara surrendering and offering no resistance. Tradition claims however that a contingent led by Álvar Fáñez de Minaya (one of the lieutenants of