Lisbon » City Info » History

Lisbon has many invasions in the past centuries that have witnessed the transformation of the city from the Neolithic era to the Roman’s invasions. The Neolithic era had Iberian inhabitants that built megaliths, a religious structure. The estuaries of the river Tagus lead to the settlement of Phoenicians who used to travel to the tin islands and Cornwall.

The Romans occupied Lisbon in the 2nd century BC and when the Roman Empire collapsed, several invaders from Northern Europe came and settled in the city.

After the Roman’s, Lisbon was ruled by the Moorish people. The Moors took the city in 711 under whose rule the city prospered largely. The Moors were Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East who built many mosques and houses.

Islam was the official religion whereas Arabic was the official language of the city during this period.

The Portuguese Empire made its appearance around 1147. Afonso I of Portugal conquered the city after which the fall of Islam was taken over by Catholic succession.

A series of earthquakes tested the soil & life of Lisbon in 1531 & in 1755, which killed thousands of people causing a major devastation of the city.

The troops of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Portugal land during the nineteenth century sacking a substantial property of the city.

Though Lisbon remained neutral during the Second World War, it did face certain disruptions in the late years of the nineteenth century. In 1988, a fire near the historical center of Chiado hugely disrupted normal life in the area for nearly about 10 years.

In 1994, Lisbon was the European Capital of Culture. In 1999 EU summit, the agenda of European Union agreement on measures to revamp the EU economy was signed in Lisbon.

In 2007, an agreement was reached with respect to the Union governance model in Lisbon.