1. (also bä-lĕnthyä) A region of eastern Spain on the Mediterranean coast south of Catalonia. Inhabited by Iberian peoples in early times, it was colonized by Greek and Carthaginian traders and fell to the Moors in the eighth century. The Cid ruled the region and the city of Valencia from 1094 until his death in 1099.

2. (also bä-lĕnthyä) A city of eastern Spain on the Gulf of Valencia, an inlet of the Mediterranean Sea. First colonized by the Romans (c. 138 BC), Valencia was subsequently ruled by the Visigoths and the Moors before being incorporated into the kingdom of Aragon (1238). The city was the seat (1936-1937) of the Loyalist government during the Spanish Civil War. Spain's third-largest city, it is a major commercial and industrial center.

3. (also bä-lĕnsyä) A city of northern Venezuela west-southwest of Caracas on the western shore of Lake Valencia. Founded in 1555, it is a major industrial center.