In Roman times Valencia formed part of the then province of Edetania. The Roman historian Florus says that in 140 BC Junius Brutus transferred the soldiers who had fought under him to that province: the Roman city, known as Valentia Edetanorum, was founded in 137 BC on the site of a former Iberian town, by the river Turia.

Later it was a Roman military colony. In punishment for its adherence to Sertorius it was destroyed by Pompey, but was later rebuilt, and Pomponius Mela says that it was one of the principal cities of Tarraconensis province.

The city has been occupied by the Visigoths, the Moors and the Catalan and Aragonese.

The Moors (Berbers and Arabs) occupied the territory peacefully in 714 A.D. When Islamic culture settled in, Valencia - then Balansiya - prospered, thanks to a booming trade in paper, silk, leather, ceramics, glass and silver-work. The architectural legacy from this period is abundant in Valencia and can still be appreciated today in the remains of the old walls, the Baños del Almirante bath house, Portal de Valldigna street and even the Cathedral and the tower, El Micalet, which was the minaret of the old mosque.

After the death of Almanzor and the unrest that followed, Muslim Al-Andalus broke up into numerous small states known as taifas, one of which was the Taifa of Valencia which would exist for four distinct periods - 1010 to 1065, 1075 to 1099, 1145 to 1147 and last from 1229 to 1238.

'the Cid' conquered Valencia for the short period from 15 June 1094 - July 1099. He turned nine mosques into churches and installed the French monk Jérôme as bishop (this victory was immortalised in the Lay of the Cid). On the death of the Cid (July 1099), his wife, Doña Ximena, retained power for two years, after which Valencia was besieged by the Almoravids.

The city was returned to the Almoravids in 1102. Although the 'Emperor of Spain' Alfonso drove them from the city, he was not strong enough to hold it. The Christians set fire to it, abandoned it, and the Almoravid Masdali took possession of it on 5 May 1109. The event was commemorated in a poem by Ibn Khafaja in which he thanked Yusuf ibn Tashfin for the liberation of the city. The Almoravid and the Almohad dynasty would rule Valencia for more than a century.

In 1238, King James I of Aragon the Conqueror, with an army composed of French, English, Germans and Italians, laid siege to Valencia and on September 28 in that same year forced a surrender. 50,000 Moors were forced to leave. Poets like Ibn al-Abbar and Ibn Amira mourned their exile from their beloved Valencia.

On October 9, King James, followed by his retinue and army, took possession. The principal mosque was - a Christians regarded it - purified and turned into a Church where Mass was celebrated and the "Te Deum" sung. James incorporated city and territory into the newly formed Kingdom of Valencia, one of the kingdoms forming the Crown of Aragon, and populated the new Kingdom with Catalan people on the coast and Aragonese people on the interior.

Catholic sources state that Saint Vincent Ferrer preached so successfully (sometime between 1390 and 1411), converting thousands of Jews, that he was permitted to employ the synagogue for his newly-founded hospital of San Salvador.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Valencia was one of the major cities in the Mediterranean. The writer Joanot Martorell, author of Tirant lo Blanch, and the poet Ausiàs March are famous Valencians of that era.

The first printing press in the Iberian Peninsula was located in Valencia. The first printed Bible in a Romance language, Valencian Bible, was printed in Valencia circa 1478, attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer.

Valencian bankers lent funds to Queen Isabella for Columbus' trip in 1492.

In 1519-1522 the Guilds revolts took place. In 1609, the Moriscos were expelled from the city.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Valencia sided with Charles of Austria. On 24 January 1706, Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough, 1st Earl of Monmouth, led a handful of English cavalrymen into the city after riding south from Barcelona, capturing the nearby fortress at Sagunt, and bluffing the Spanish Bourbon army into withdrawal.

The English held the city for 16 months and defeated several attempts to expel them. English soldiers advanced as far as Requena on the road to Madrid. After the victory of the Bourbons at the Battle of Almansa (25 April 1707), the English army evacuated Valencia and the city subsequently lost its privileges, including important civil rights called furs by the way the Bourbons decided to burn important cities like Xativa, where actually is still the picture of the Spanish Bourbon turned back as protest.

During the Peninsular War Valencia was besieged by the French under Marshal Suchet from Christmas Day 1811, until it fell on January 8 the next year.

The last victim of the Spanish Inquisition, a local schoolteacher called Cayetano Ripoll, was executed in Valencia in July 1826 accused of being a deist and freemason.

During the Spanish Civil War, the capital of the Republic was moved to Valencia. The city suffered from the blockade and siege by Franco's forces. The postwar period was hard for Valencians. During the Franco years, speaking or teaching Valencian was prohibited; in a significant reversal it is now compulsory for every child studying in Valencia.