In pre-Roman times (5th century BC), it was inhabited by the Vettones, who called it Obila ("High Mountain") and had here one of their strongest fortresses.
Ávila may have been the ancient town known as Abula, mentioned by Ptolemy in his Geographia (II 6, 60) as being located in the Iberian region of Bastetania.[ Abula is mentioned as one of the first cities in Hispania that was Christianized, specifically by Saint Secundus (San Segundo).However, Abula may have been the town of Abla. After the conquest by the Romans, it was called Abila or Abela. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ávila was a stronghold of the Visigoths. Conquered by the Arabs , it was repeatedly attacked by the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms, after which it remained virtually uninhabited. It was repopulated in the 11th century, after the definitive capture of the area by the Christians, under Raymond of Burgundy.
The city lived a period of prosperity under the Catholic Monarchs (early 16th century) and their successors Charles V and Philip II of Spain, but decayed again starting from the 18th century, when its population was reduced to just 4,000 inhabitants.