Short answers, pulled from the story.
Roman soldiers settled on the banks of the Turia River to establish a colony named Valentia Edetanorum in 138 BC. The Latin name meant strength or valour, reflecting the military service of these former legionaries who fought against the Lusitanian rebel Viriatus during the Third Raid of the Lusitanian War.
Valencia sided with Charles of Austria against Philip V during the conflict that lasted from 1702 to 1709. On the 24th of January 1706 English cavalry led by Charles Mordaunt captured Sagunt fortress and held the city for 16 months before the Bourbons defeated the English army after the Battle of Almansa on the 25th of April 1707.
A flood from the Turia River caused 81 casualties and extensive property damage across the region in October 1957. This disaster led to complete remodelling of the city and creation of a new riverbed for the Turia while the old channel became one of the city's green lungs containing children's playgrounds sports fields and Bioparc zoo.
Five days nights from 15 to the 19th of March called Falles constitute continual festival beginning celebrations the 1st of March with popular pyrotechnic events mascletàs starting daily at 2:00 pm. The night the 19th of March Valencians burn all Falles event called La Cremà declared Celebration International Tourist Interest the 25th of January 1965 intangible cultural heritage UNESCO the 30th of November 2016.
Valencia serves as third-largest city in Spain with population reaching 824,340 within administrative limits on land area spanning approximately square kilometers. Urban area extends beyond these boundaries housing between 1,564,145 and 1,595,000 people according to various sources while metropolitan region contains 2,5 million inhabitants making it one of EU's most populous municipalities ranked 21st overall.