The history of the Foundation of Murcia can easily be found in history books or in any quick search for those who feel curious about how the city began to carve the garden on both sides of the Segura River. However, bringing this story closer to the general public and, in addition, making it attractive to the youngest is a challenge that the City of Murcia, in collaboration with the City Museum and several regional artists, has managed to answer.
Within the framework of the celebrations and events of the 1,200 anniversary of the Foundation of Murcia, the City Museum has hosted the presentation of the comic ‘The dream of Abderrahman’, a tour of vignette jump through the history of the foundation of the city of Murcia by the hand of Abderrahman II, the emir of Córdoba between 822 and 852 that on June 25, 825 pronounced by the Arabs as Mursiya and being what we know today as Murcia.
Abderrahmán II and Islamic influence prior to Christianity
The history of how the new city began to populate from Arabs, Berbers or Jews (even some clueless Vikings who came by tracing the safe), or how Murcians built the irrigation system that changed the Vega in Huerta are reflected in this project. In addition, the comic also follows the Line of Life Abderrahmán II since its childhood, developed in the Alcázar de Córdoba, and introduces unknown details for the majority of the public, such as the bromist character that came to characterize it, or the unimaginable offspring that reached: a total of 87 children.
The mandate and historical influence of Abderrahmán II in Murcia is greatly characterized by the introduction of new types of crops from the East that until that time were unknown in the Vega del Segura, the hydraulic works for the irrigation or the foundation of new studies centers, aspects that influence the consideration of Murcia as an Islamic city from the moment of its foundation in the year 825. 1243 When the territory ceased to be Arabic to become a Christian, after the conquest of Alfonso X El Sabio, King of León and Castilla. A conquest that ended with the Muslim self -government of Murcia and gave way to the government by the Castilians.
‘Abderrahmán’s dream’ in the City Museum
The act of presentation of the comic was chaired by the mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, and the Councilor for Culture, Diego Avilés. As protagonists of the presentation, those responsible for giving life to the comic: the archaeologist and researcher Pedro Jiménez Castillo, author of the script and scientific advisor of the project; the carrier and cartoonist Manuel Martínez Meseguer, in charge of design and illustrations; and the historian and musician Román García Albertos, who collaborated in his elaboration.
During his speech, Manuel Martínez explained: “I dedicate myself to telling stories through drawings; for me, it is a communication route like any other. When Pedro and Román proposed this project, I thought it was a way of narrating the history of the city’s foundation in an accessible and enjoyable way. It is a valuable tool to transmit our traditions and culture, first to the Murcia and Murcia and, then, to the rest of the world.”
“Without losing scientific rigor”
For his part, Pedro Jiménez highlighted the informative approach of the comic, ensuring that the main objective was “to create something fun for the youngest without losing scientific rigor.” He also revealed that the source of inspiration for the work was the Astérix comics, a reference that is clearly reflected in the style of the illustrations.
The act concluded with the intervention of Clara Alarcón Ruiz, coordinator of the City Museum, who stressed the importance of the comic as a tool for historical dissemination: “The comic will be available for free until it is exhausted. Although I would encourage them to make more lying because it is an element of dissemination of rapid, easy and entertaining history, which is undoubtedly one of the objectives of the city museum.”
‘Abderrahmán’s dream’ is part of the project ‘comics of history’, a collection of comics edited by the city museum on different moments and key characters in the history of the region. As part of this initiative, this Sunday, March 23, the City Museum will deliver free copies of the comic to all visitors until there are stocks.
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