Covering an area of 47720 km2 (18420 sq mi),[6] the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppes of the central lowlands.

The pre-Pyrenean outer ranges are in the Huescan foothills and constitute the southernmost unit of the Pyrenees; formed by predominantly calcareous materials, reach heights between 1500 and 2000 meters.

The oldest testimonies of human life in the lands that today make up Aragon go back to the time of the glaciations, in the Pleistocene, some 600000 years ago.

In the 1st century BCE Aragon was the scene of the civil war to seize the power of Rome where the governor Quintus Sertorius made Osca (Huesca) the capital of all the territories controlled by them.

Already in the 1st century BCE, the today Aragonese territory became part of the province Tarraconensis and there was the definitive romanization of it creating roads and consolidating ancient Celtiberian and Iberian cities such as Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), Turiaso (Tarazona), Osca (Huesca) or Bilbilis (Calatayud).

In the year 714 muslims from North Africa conquered the central area of Aragon, converting to Islam the ancient Roman cities such as Saraqusta (Zaragoza) or Wasqa (Huesca).

It was at this time that an important Muwallad family arose, the Banu Qasi (بنو قاسي), their domains were located in the Ebro Valley between the 8th and 10th centuries.

During the reign of Ramiro I of Aragon the borders would be extended following the annexation of the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza (year 1044), after having incorporated the populations of the historical comarca of Cinco Villas.

The subsequent legend made the Aragonese monarchy eligible and created a phrase for the coronation of the king that would be perpetuated for centuries: We, who are worth as much as you we make you our King and Lord, as long as you keep our fueros and liberties, and if not, not.This situation would be repeated in the Commitment of Caspe (1412), which avoids a war that had dismembered the Crown of Aragon when a good handful of aspirants to the throne emerged after the death of Martin of Aragon a year after the death of his first-born, Martin I of Sicily.

The Archive of the Kingdom of Aragon preserved legal documents and records from the Justiciar and the Palace of Deputation or Parliament, largely destroyed by the French in the battles of 1809.

Other works commissioned at this time for the same purpose include a History of the Aragonese Deputation by Lorenzo Ibáñez de Aoiz and a detailed cartography of the Kingdom of Aragon by João Baptista Lavanha.

[19] Famine, disease and almost continuous warfare, largely in the Spanish Netherlands drained money, energy and men and weakened the economy; it is estimated the population of Spain fell nearly 25% between 1600 and 1700.

The victory of Philip V accelerated the trend towards greater centralisation; the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707 abolished the fueros and Aragonese political structures with their powers transferred to the Deputation of the Kingdom in Madrid; Aragon and Valencia were brought into the system in 1712, Catalonia and Majorca following in 1767.

[21] The French invasion of 1808 that made Joseph Bonaparte King led to the outbreak of the Guerra de la Independencia Española or War of Independence in May.

The 1812 Constitution proposed a number of reforms, including the creation of provincial territories and dividing Aragon into the four provinces of Calatayud, Teruel, Soria and Guadalajara.

This period saw a massive exodus from the countryside into the larger cities of Aragon such as Huesca, Zaragoza, Teruel or Calatayud and other nearby regions, such as Catalonia or Madrid.

The history of Aragon in the first half of the 20th century was similar to that of the rest of Spain; the building of infrastructure and reforms made by Miguel Primo de Rivera led to a brief economic boom, with new civil and individual liberties during the Second Spanish Republic.

In June 1936, a draft Statute of Autonomy of Aragon was presented to the Cortes Generales but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War prevented the development of this autonomist project.

On August 10, 1982, Aragon's autonomy statute was approved by the Cortes Generales, signed by the then president of the Government, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, and sanctioned by His Majesty Juan Carlos I of Spain.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a significant increase in infrastructures was established, such as the arrival of the High Speed Train (AVE), the construction of the new dual carriageway Somport-Sagunto and the promotion of the two airports in the Autonomous Community, Zaragoza and Huesca-Pirineos.

In 2007 the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon was reformed again -which was approved by a broad consensus in the Aragonese Corts, having the support of the PSOE, the PP, the PAR and the IU, whereas CHA abstained- granting the Autonomous Community the recognition of historical nationality (since the Organic Law of 1996 reform of the statute, it had the condition of nationality[22]), includes a new title on the Administration of Chustizia and another on the rights and duties of the Aragoneses and guiding principles of public policies, the possibility of creating an own tax agency in collaboration with that of the State, and also the obligation to public authorities to ensure to avoid transfers from watersheds such as transfer of the Ebro, among many other modifications of the Statute of Autonomy.

The designation of Zaragoza as the venue for the 2008 International Exhibition, whose thematic axis was Water and Sustainable development, represented a series of changes and accelerated growth for the autonomous community.

In addition, two anniversaries were celebrated that same year, the bicentennial of Sieges of Zaragoza of the War of Independence against the Napoleonic invasion, occurred in 1808 and the centenary of the Hispano-French Exposition of 1908 that it supposed as a modern event, to demonstrate the cultural and economic thrust of Aragon and at the same time serve to strengthen ties and staunch wounds with the French neighbors after the events of the Napoleonic Wars of the previous century.

In addition to it, the Aragonese language continues to be spoken in several local varieties in the mountainous northern counties of the Pyrenees, particularly in western Ribagorza, Sobrarbe, Jacetania and Somontano; it is enjoying a resurgence of popularity as a tool for regional identity.

Following the declaration, and complying with one of the proposals contained therein, on October 1, 1985, an agreement between the Government of Aragon and the Ministry of Education and Science was implemented for the teaching of the Catalan language as a voluntary and assessable subject in schools in the area.

Typical Aragonese instruments include the stringed drum or "Chicotén", bagpipes such as the "gaita de boto", oboes such as the "Dulzaina", and small flutes like the "Chiflo".

Also of note is its ham from Teruel; olive oil from Empeltre and Arbequina; longaniza from Graus; rainbow trout and salmon, boar, truffles and wild mushrooms from the upper river valleys of the Jacetania, Gallego, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza regions; and wines from Cariñena, Somontano, Calatayud, and Campo de Borja; and fruit, especially peaches, from its fertile lower valleys.

This channel was created in 1998 and disappeared in 2005 shortly after having to leave the Media Production Centre (CPA), as this was built by the DGA for future public television host Aragon.

Aragón TV was launched in 2006 after spending a season broadcasting a letter and a loop with images of Aragonese villages and audio of regional radio programs.

The current coat of arms of Aragon is composed of the four barracks and is attested for the first time in 1499, consolidating since the Early Modern Ages to take root decisively in the 19th century and be approved, according to precept, by the Real Academia de la Historia in 1921.