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.