What is History of Catalonia?
'''[[Catalonia]]''' was first settled during the [[Middle Palaeolithic]] era. The area was occupied by the [[Iberians]] and Greeks established several colonies on the coast before the [[Roman conquest]]. It was the first area of [[Hispania]] conquered by the Romans. It then came under [[Visigothic]] rule after the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire. In 718, the Umayyad Caliphate occupied the area and became a part of Muslim ruled [[al-Andalus]]. The [[Frankish Empire]] conquered the area from the Muslims. It created a [[buffer zone]] of Christian counties against Islamic rule known as the [[Marca Hispanica]]. In the 10th century the County of Barcelona became progressively independent from Frankish rule{{sfn|Salrach|2004|pp=144-149}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saez |first1=Anna |last2=Garrido |first2=David |title=El dia que Borrell II 'es va independitzar' dels francs |journal=Sàpiens |date=27 September 2019 |url=https://www.sapiens.cat/temes/catalunya/el-dia-que-borrell-ii-es-va-independitzar-dels-francs_17194_102.html |access-date=8 November 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925214543/https://www.sapiens.cat/temes/catalunya/el-dia-que-borrell-ii-es-va-independitzar-dels-francs_17194_102.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[File:Comtats catalans s. VIII-XII.svg|thumb|right|197px|Evolution of the [[Catalan counties]] between the 8th and the 12th centuries.]] [[File:Petronila Ramon Berenguer.jpg|thumb|left|197px|[[Petronilla of Aragon]] and [[Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona]], dynastic union of the [[Crown of Aragon]]]] In 1137, [[Ramon Berenguer IV]], Count of Barcelona accepted King [[Ramiro II of Aragon]]'s proposal to marry Queen [[Petronila]]. Thus they united the dinasties of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon and they created the [[Crown of Aragon]]. Meanwhile, the County of Barcelona and the other Catalan counties adopted a common polity known as [[Principality of Catalonia]].<ref>Sesma Muñoz, José Angel. La Corona de Aragó