Back الثغر الأعلى Arabic Ath-Thaghr al-Alà Catalan Marca Superior Spanish Al-Tagr al-Ala Basque Marche supérieure French Marca Superior ID Marca Superiore Italian
The Upper March (Arabic: الثغر الأعلى, romanized: al-Thaghr al-Aʿlā'; Spanish Marca Superior) was an administrative and military division in northeastern al-Andalus, roughly corresponding to the Ebro valley and adjacent Mediterranean coast, from the 8th century to the early 11th century. It was established as a march "frontier province" of the Umayyad state of Córdoba facing the Christian lands of the Carolingian Empire's Spanish March, the Asturo-Leonese marches of Castile and Álava, and the nascent autonomous Pyrenean principalities. In 1018, the decline of the central Cordoban state allowed the lords of the Upper March to establish the Taifa of Zaragoza in its place.