Despite being the capital, Madrid is not one of the oldest Spanish cities so as you can guess the majority of the artefacts exhibited in its National Archaeological Museum have travelled from other parts of Spain. The first permanent settlement in the region was established in the 9th century when the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba Muhammad I ordered the construction of a fortress on the banks of the Manzanares River. The area was nicknamed the "land of rich waters", which in Arabic translates to Mayrit or Magerit. It was not until 1085 that the city would become part of the Christian kingdom of Castile and almost five centuries later, in 1561, it eventually became the capital of Spain, when Philip II of Habsburg moved the court from Toledo to Madrid. The population of the city would start growing and so would its fame and charm...