Portus Cale, the Roman name for Porto, gives Portugal its name. It has long been an important port city on the right bank of the Douro River where it runs into the Atlantic Ocean. On the right bank is the city of Gaia, which name may have its origins in the term Cale. There was just a brief period of Muslim rule of the city of Porto, beginning with its conquest in 716. Subsequent attacks and raids followed, with the fortunes of the city and the surrounding area changing hands until the time of King Alfonso III of Asturias, who in 868 granted to the Galician noble Viamar Peres the County of Portugal (Portucale), from the Minho to the Douro rivers.
