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==History==
Tortosa (from {{langx|la|Dertusa}} or {{lang|la|Dertosa}}, via {{langx|ar|طُرْطُوشَة}} ''Ṭurṭūshah'') is probably identical to the ancient [[Hibera]], capital of [[Ilercavonia]]. This may be the ancient settlement the remains of which have been found on the hill named Castillo de la Zuda. In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, the town took the name Dertosa ({{langx|grc|Δέρτωσσα}}).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:3.4.9 Strabo, Geography, §3.4.9]</ref>

Tortosa was occupied in about 714, during the [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Arab conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom]].<ref>{{EI2 |author=María J. Viguera |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1262 |title=Ṭurṭūsha |pages=738–739 |volume=10}}.</ref> It remained under Muslim rule for more than 400 years. King [[Louis the Pious]] laid [[Siege of Tortosa (808–809)|siege to Tortosa]] in 808–809, but although the city submitted he did not manage to occupy it.

The city [[Siege of Tortosa (1148)|was conquered]] by the Count [[Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona|Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona]] in 1148, as part of the [[Second Crusade]]. Because of the crusading appeal made by Pope [[Eugene III]] and his representative Nicholas Brakespear (the future Pope [[Hadrian IV]]), the siege received the aid of crusaders from multiple nationalities (Genovese, Anglo-Normans, Normans, Occitans, Germans, Flemish and Dutch), who were on their way to the [[Holy Land]]. The siege of Tortosa was narrated by the Genovese chronicler and diplomat [[Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone|Caffaro]].

After its conquest, the city and its territory were divided among the victors, with multiple lands being granted to foreign crusaders and to the military and religious orders.<ref>Lucas Villegas-Aristizabal, "Anglo-Norman involvement in the conquest of Tortosa and Settlement of Tortosa, 1148-1180", Crusades 8 (2009), pp. 63-129.</ref>

Tortosa also had a sizable Jewish community in the 14th and 15th centuries; vestiges of that community can be seen throughout the City. 
[[File:Tortosa Colegio de San Jaime y San Matías Patio 345.jpg|right|thumb|220px|The Royal Schools.]]
In the years 1413 and 1414, as an attempt to force conversion upon the Jews, Jews were forced to defend their religion in a two-week [[Disputation of Tortosa]] which took place in the  Cathedral of Tortosa, which is still standing today.

Construction work on a railway line between Tortosa and [[Alcañiz]] began in 1891, to open a communication gate between this region and [[Aragon]].<ref>[http://paginespersonals.upcnet.es/~jmg41/ResumenViaLibre.pdf Historia de la línea de La Puebla de Híjar-Alcañiz-Tortosa-Sant Carles de la Ràpita] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619211457/http://paginespersonals.upcnet.es/~jmg41/ResumenViaLibre.pdf |date=2010-06-19 }}</ref> The work, however, was haphazard and the first trains between Alcañiz and Tortosa began only in 1942. The last stretch between Tortosa and [[Sant Carles de la Ràpita]] was never completed before the line was terminated by [[Renfe]] in 1973.<ref>[http://www.vilaweb.cat/www/elpunt/noticia?p_idcmp=3504938 El Punt - El cruel divorci entre Tortosa i el tren]</ref>