Situated at the southern end of the Valle de Ricote, it is 23km from Murcia. Geographically Archena has the Sierra de la Muela to the southwest and the Sierra del Cajal slightly northwest. To the north overlooking the town is the peak of El Ope and the Sierra Serreta. Eastwards it is much less mountainous.
It is known as the gateway to the valley, watered by the Segura River, and is a fertile agricultural area.
The history of Archena dates from Iberian times and it has archaeological remains including the “Vaso de los Guerreros” (Warriors Vase), now in the National Archaeological Museum. Many historians place the origins of Archena in 234 BC, during Carthaginian control of the area. The present site, however, is of Roman Origin as is the name for the town, which may be derived from ‘arxil’ or ‘arcillasis’ meaning ‘city of clay’.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the penetration of the barbaric tribes, Archena endured bleak times until well into the 13th century. Very little, if anything, is known of the Visigoth and/or the Byzantine period.
The Treaty of Alcaraz (county of Albacete) of 1243 is where the Muslim Kingdom of Murcia recognised the sovereignty of Fernando III, and the castle to Rodrigo López de Mendoza. Additionally the treaty had clauses covering the conversion of the mudéjares. After this Re-conquest, the Christians had the help of the military Orders, and Archena was under the control of the Orden de San Juan de Jerusalem (also called Orden de Malta), in the last quarter of the 13th century, and this lasted until the 19th century, apart from a brief time when Fajardo el Bravo conquered the town in the 15th century.
With the conquest for the Catholic Kings in 1492, peace followed, which saw the development of cultivation (rice, maize and barley) through the 16th century. In 1609 King Philip III ordered the mass expulsion of the Moors from Spain. The authorities tried to prevent this measure, Murcia certifying the absolute loyalty and integration of the Moorish kingdom, but there were no exceptions to the general, and although some had fled after getting back, the population of Archena was reduced by half. It was a period of crisis through the lack of manpower, pest epidemics and natural disasters.
There was a dramatic rise in the population in the 18th century, but the War of Independence, droughts and more pest epidemics stunted economic progress. In 1837 Archena was liberated from the Orden de San Juan de Jerusalem, and the lands passed to the marquis de Corvera.
During the Spanish Civil War, Archena was the headquarters of a Russian air base and tanks.
