The Ilergetes was an Iberian community that appeared in the middle of the 6th century BC. They used to place their settlements on high places and thus, it is easy to imagine Iltrida on the top of the Sovereign Hill.
Their most relevant leaders were Indivil and Mandoni, who defended the Ilergetes against the Carthaginians and Romans. Once they were defeated, the city changed its name to Ilerda in the year 205 AD. Roman chronicles describe a walled city with a stone bridge that constituted a municipality (founded in the time of Emperor Augustus) with fertile orchards, which at the end of the 3rd century, were destroyed by barbarian Germanic tribes.
Around 716 - 719, Lleida was occupied by the Saracens and the following four centuries of coexistence marked the city character.
In October 1149, the city surrendered to the troops of Ramon Berenguer IV and Ermengol VI d'Urgell. In 1150 Carta Pobla was granted to the city.
In 1300 Jaume II founded the famous Estudi General, which was the only centre of advanced studies of the Crown of Aragon until the end of the 15th century.
Since 1382 the municipal government seat was in the ancient palace of the Sanaüjas, a significant example of civil Romanesque art. From that moment onwards, the building was called Palau de la Paeria (Paeria Palace). The name Paeria is due to the privilege that Jaume I granted in 1264 and that substituted the former Roman consulate with Paeria as a form of municipal government.