Baeza[n. 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [baˈeθa]) is a city and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia.

The town lies perched on a cliff in the range (the Loma de Úbeda) separating the Guadalquivir River to its south from the Guadalimar to its north.

The takeover of the city as Ibn Himyari recounts in Rawdul Mu’taar was not a simple conquest but a case of treachery and ignominy for the Muslims.

Al Bayyasi, the local ruler had gifted the citadel of Baeza as a pawn for his promise to later hand Ferdinand III the forts of Capilla, Banos de La Encina and Salvatierra.

By the early 16th century, the jurisdiction of Baeza extended beyond the city proper to the hamlets of Begíjar, Lupión, Ibros, Rus, Vílchez, Bailén, Baños, Linares and Castro.

They hired major architects of the era (including Andrés de Vandelvira)[citation needed] to design the present cathedral, churches, public buildings, and private palaces in the then-fashionable Italian style.

[4] The city declined in importance in the seventeenth century, with the only remaining industry consisting of local production of grain and olive oil.