Balearic Islands of the rest of Spain, but have their own distinctive features. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca as the capital. The 2007 Statute of Autonomy declares the Balearic Islands as one "nationality" of Spain. The co-official languages in the Balearic Islands are Catalan and Spanish. The official name of the Balearic Islands in Catalan is "Illes Balears", while in Spanish, they are known as the "Islas Baleares". The term "Balearic" derives from Greek (/"Gymnesiae" and /"Balliareis"). In Latin, it is "Baleares". Of the various theories on the origins of the two
Balearic Islands at 30,000. The part of the Mediterranean east of Spain, around the Balearic Isles, was called "Mare Balearicum", or "Sinus Balearicus". The Vandals under Genseric conquered the Islands sometime between 461 and 468 during their war on the Roman Empire. However, in late 533 or early 534, following the Battle of Ad Decimum, the troops of Belisarius reestablished control of the islands for the Byzantine Empire. Imperial power receded precipitately in the western Mediterranean after the fall of Carthage and the Exarchate of Africa to the Umayyad Caliphate in 698, and in 707 the islands submitted to the terms of