Castle of Alcoutim

The Castle of Alcoutim is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Alcoutim, in the municipality of the same name, in the southeastern Algarve of Portugal. Built in the 13th century, the castle stands in a dominant position on a hill south of the parish seat of Alcoutim on the right bank of the San Marcos River, opposite the territory of Sanlúcar de Guadiana .HistoryVarious vestiges encountered in the immediate surroundings suggest that a Lusitanian castro may have existed on the site, during the transition from the Neolithic to Chalcolithic periods.The Phoenicians came to this region at the end of the 10th century B.C.E., establishing a trading post under the protection of the Lusitanian castro. The Greeks, in the middle of the 8th century, also founded a colony that quickly dissolved into the Lusitanian population, along with the Celts and Carthaginians.At the beginning of the 2nd century A.D., the Romans conquered Alcoutim at a time when the settlement was a rich centre, dominated by its busy port. The fortress at its centre was transformed into a military base for the occupying forces and political centre, which became known as Alcoutinium. Taken by the Alans in 415, the main square of Alcoutinium slowly fell into ruin, owing to the decrease in mineral exports. The Moors arrived in 715, changing the name to Alcatâ, yet could not restore the historical political and economic importance to the region.