Archaeological excavations in the area confirm the early
presence of man, since Palaeolithic times, having been discovered an abundance
of tombs, polished stone tools and menhirs in red sandstone or limestone.
The river Arade served as sea entrance for Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian
ships, transporting copper and iron ore from mines in the east. Silves itself,
inhabited since the end of the Bronze Age, possessed a defence wall as early
as 600 B.C. The town owes its foundation to the river Arade and to the strategic
hill commanding a vast area of the surrounding land.
The Roman occupation lasted until the 5th century after which the land came under the rule of the Visigoths that ended with the Arabic conquest.
Early in the 8th Century, with the arrival of the Muslims, Silves (Xelb) turns into a flourishing city, capital of the Algarve, rivalling Lisbon and Seville in size and significance. Under the rule of Al-Mu'tamid, it became a cultural center where historians, scientists, poets and jurists established themselves.
The 11th and 12th Century were marked by political and religious differences within the Islamic world. Silves, weakened by frequent power changes and fights among rival parties, became a target for king Dom Sancho I, of Portugal. With the help of English crusaders on their way to Palestine, his army laid siege to the city in 1189. The battle for Silves lasted one and a half months. Inside the walls, many lost their life when they ran out of food and the crusaders cut of the water supply. In spite of promises made to D.Sancho I, the crusaders proceeded to plunder the city, destroyed the beautiful buildings and killed many inhabitants. The Portuguese controlled the town for less than two years. In 1191, the Moors reconquered the city.
(Muslim Occupation of the Iberian Peninsula)
A lasting Christian occupation of Algarve only came about by the middle of the 13th century, when Dom Afonso III, was king of Portugal. Ibn Qasi, nicknamed The Messiah, was ruling Silves at this time. He had led a religious revolution in the Algarve against the Almorávida but without achieving his dream of independence. Hearing about the exchange of gifts between him and Afonso III, his followers beheaded him.
Silves received the status of township in 1266 (and again in 1504, from King D. Manuel ). Despite having lost a lot of its riches and inhabitants, it became a bishopric and the headquarters of the military government. Upon the foundations of the Main Mosque began the construction of the cathedral, the actual church.
Even so, decline set in. Trade with Arab nations stopped of course and during the next centuries, it went from bad to worse. The river and the harbor silted up with sand, prohibiting sea trade. Economic activity came to a standstill and when in 1577 the bishopric for the Algarve changed to Faro it lost whatever influence it still possessed. Silves never regained its former opulence.
The era of the Portuguese discoveries had begun, many Silvenses left home to work on the boats leaving from Lagos, Portimão and Faro. The famous Diogo de Silves, discoverer of the Azores, was one of them.
In the second half of the 19th century, Silves became one of the main centers of the cork industry and the city’s wealth increased again. During Salazar (1933-1974) important public works like the dam and the new bridge were undertaken. The dam made it possible for the farmers to plant orange trees. Silves today is one of the biggest orange growing areas of Portugal.
In the 1960’s tourists started coming to the Algarve, many of them visiting Silves, attracted by its historical and cultural past
