ZAMORA, an inland province of Spain, one of the three into which the former province of Leon has since 1833 been divided, is bounded on the W. by Tras-os-Montes (Portugal) and Orense, on the N. by Leon, on the E. by Valladolid, and on the S. by Salamanca; its area is 4135 square miles. It is traversed from east to west by the Douro, which receives within the province the Valderaduey and the Esla on the right and the Guareña on the left; the Tormes also skirts the south-western boundary for some 25 miles. Except in the north-west and west, where it is entered by spurs from the Cantabrian chain (Sierra de la Culebra and Sierra de Pena Negra), the province is flat; its lowest point is 1070 feet above sea-level. Its plains, especially the “tierra de campo” formed by the valley of the Esla, yield large quantities of grain and pulse; wine and flax are also produced; and on the higher grounds large numbers of merino sheep are fed. The industries of Zamora are unimportant. The province is traversed by no railway except that connecting its capital with Medina del Campo on the northern line. There are eight partidos judiciales and 300 ayuntamientos; besides Zamora (see below), the capital, there is only one town, the historic city of Toro (7754), with a population exceeding 5000. The total population of the province in 1877 was 250,000....
ZAMORA, capital of the above province, is situated 2000 feet above sea-level, on the right bank of the Douro (here crossed by a bridge of seventeen pointed arches) a little below its junction with the Valderaduey, 57 miles by rail west by north from Medina del Campo and 182 miles north-west from Madrid. The population in 1877 was 13,632. It has a small but fine Romanesque cathedral (completed about 1174) and an ancient castle, as well as several other interesting churches of the 12th century. It is the seat of a seminary and an academy of engineering, and has unimportant linen and woollen manufactures.
In the early period of the Christian re-conquest Zamora, from its position on the north of the Douro, was a place of considerable strategic importance. It was taken from the Arabs by Alonso the Catholic in 748, but was again held by them for short periods in 813, 939, 963, 984, and 986. It was entirely repaired by Ferdinand I., who in 1061 gave it to his daughter Dona Urraca. After his death in 1065 Sancho disputed possession with his sister and laid siege to the town, but without success, although the famous Ruy Diaz de Bivar was among his warriors, and indeed at this time received his title of El Cid Campeador. The town became subject to Alphonso VI. in 1073.
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