Toledo. Toledo is a city and municipality of Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and the de jure seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. Toledo is primarily located on the right bank of the Tagus in central Iberia, nestled in a bend of the river. It is known as the City of the Three Cultures for the cultural influences of Christians, Muslims, and Jews throughout its history. It was the capital, from 542 to 725 CE, of the Visigothic kingdom and was the venue for the Councils of Toledo. The city, seat of a powerful archdiocese for much of its history, has a Gothic Cathedral, and a long history in the production of bladed weapons, which are now common souvenirs of the city. Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive monumental and cultural heritage. As of 2015, the municipality had a population of 83,226. The municipality has an area of 232.1 km 2. Main article: Coat of arms of Toledo The town was granted arms in the 16th century, which by special royal privilege was based on the royal of arms of Spain. Main article: History of Toledo, Spain For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Toledo, Spain. Toledo is mentioned by the Roman historian Livy as urbs parva, sed loco munita. Roman general Marcus Fulvius Nobilior fought a battle near the city in 193 BCE against a confederation of Celtic tribes; defeating them and capturing a king called Hilermus. At that time, Toletum was a city of the Carpetani tribe, and part of the region of Carpetania. It was incorporated into the Roman Empire as a civitas stipendiaria, and later a municipium. With this status, city officials obtained Roman citizenship for public service, and the forms of Roman law and politics were increasingly adopted. At approximately this time, a Roman circus, city walls, public baths, and a municipal water supply and storage system were constructed in Toletum. The Roman circus in Toledo was one of the largest in Hispania. The circus could hold up to 15,000 spectators. A fragmentary stone inscription records circus games paid for by a citizen of unknown name to celebrate his achieving the sevirate, a kind of priesthood conferring high status. Games were held in the circus late into the 4th and early 5th centuries, an indication of active city life and ongoing patronage by wealthy elites. Toledo started to gain importance in late antiquity. There are indications that large private houses within the city walls were enlarged, while several large villas were built north of the city through the 3rd and 4th centuries. A church council was held in Toledo in the year 400 and 527 to discuss the conflict with Priscillianism. Already since 546, Visigoth rulers installed the capital of their kingdom in Toledo. King Theudis was in Toledo in 546, where he promulgated a law. Throughout the 7th century, a series of church councils, the so-called Councils of Toledo, discussed on the theological reconciliations on Nicene Christianity; they were held in Toledo under the Visigoths. By the end of the 7th century the bishop of Toledo was the leader of all other bishops in Hispania, a situation unusual in Europe. It was also unmatched as a symbolic center of monarchy. In 742 the Berbers in Al-Andalus rebelled against the Arab Umayyad governors. They took control of the north and laid an unsuccessful siege on Toledo. Toledo retained its importance as a literary and ecclesiastical centre well into the mid-8th century; as demonstrated by the Chronicle of 754. During this period, several letters show of the primacy that the church of Toledo held. Under the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba, Toledo was the centre of numerous insurrections against Cordobese government dating from 761 to 857. Girbib ibn-Abdallah, a poet from Toledo wrote verses against the Umayyads, helping to inspire a revolt in Toledo against the new emir in 797. By the end of the 8th century, the Umayyads had made Toledo the administrative center of the Central March of Al-Andalus. In 852, a new revolt broke out in Toledo. The Umayyad governor was held hostage in order to secure the return of Toledan hostages held in Cordoba.