Ciudad Real

Ciudad Real began as Villa Real, founded by Alfonso X in 1255 near the older settlement of Alarcos. Its royal privileges made it a counterweight to the extensive lands of the Order of Calatrava. In 1420 John II raised Villa Real to the rank of city in recognition of its support against the military orders. Later in the fifteenth century the city acquired important royal institutions, including a tribunal of the Inquisition and a royal chancery.