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Following the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, Miravet was annexed into Al-Andalus and became part of a vast economic and cultural region that stretched as far as Indica. As a result, new products and irrigation methods were introduced, transforming this stretch of flatland into fertile cropland.

This part of the Ebro was an agricultural area organised into farmsteads and protected by a hisn or castle, since the border with the Christian counties was very nearby. The hisn, known by the name of Murâbit, provided a place of shelter for the local populace in times of danger. In the second half of the 11th century, when Christian forces began to exert increasing pressure on the area of the Ebro, the castle was reinforced and fitted out to house a military garrison.

The archaeological remains suggest that the castle had two enclosures and a perimeter very similar to that which we see today. The upper enclosure contained the main buildings, though these were not residential in nature. in the second enclosure, remains of simple buildings, probably workshops, have been found.

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On 23 August 1153, Ramon Berenguer IV donated Miravet Castle and the land, towns and villages, attached to it to Pere de Rovira, the Master Templar of Hispania and Provence, in recognition of his participation in the conquest.

So began the period of greatest splendour in Miravet's history, as it was now the administrative centre of the Templar province of Catalonia and Aragon. The Templars in the Principality and Aragon as well as Mallorca, Navarra and Valencia were all under its jurisdiction.

As soon as the order of the Temple took possession of Miravet, work was set in motion to adapt the hisn to suit the needs of a community of Templar monks and the fortress was reinforced. The work must have proceeded quickly, because the General Chapter of the Temple met at the castle in 1235.

Once the Al-Andalus border had been secured, the Templars in Miravet turned their attention first and foremost to exploiting their domains in order to provide resources for the mother house in Jerusalem to enable the fight in the Holy Land to continue. Money and men were sent, but so were goods such as leather, wool, grain, weapons and horses. Miravet soon became the commandery in the province of Catalonia and Aragon that contributed the most, made possible by the fact that it was the centre of a significant farming and stockbreeding area, as well as an industrial region thanks to the mills and workshops owned by the order.

Miravet's domain were extensive and included the castles and lands of Gandesa, Corbera, Algars, Batea, El Pinell and Rasquera. This initial nucleus grew as a result of donations made, thanks to the prestige of the order, by nobles and private individuals. With the acquisition of Horta, Ascó and Riba-roja, Miravet came to dominate the entire area between the Ebro and the Algars rivers, covering what is today the district of La Terra Alta and part of La Ribera d'Ebre.

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In 1153, Miravet surrendered to the forces of Ramon Berenguer IV, who had already taken Lleida (1148) and Tortosa (1149). Miravet and Siurana were the last Al-Andalus territories to fall into Christian hands in the area that came to be known as New Catalonia.

Even after the conquest, the Moorish populace remained in their towns and villages thanks to a privilege granted by Ramon Berenguer IV that allowed them to retain their language, customs and religion. Miravet continued to have a mostly Muslim population that preserved its organisation as a community and its own authorities until the 16th century.

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When the order of the Temple was dissolved, its assets passed to the order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (1314). With this decision, Miravet came under the jurisdiction of the feudal estate of Amposta and lost the power that it had previously wielded.

During this period, Miravet Castle was mainly a symbol of seigniorial dominion, centre where tributes and taxes were collected and a prison. It was no longer inhabited by the community, which had two houses in the town. After the Catalan Civil War (1462-72), during which the Hospitallers sided with King John, the castle was no longer of any military consequence.

This loss of importance within the Hospitaller domains meant that refurbishement work was limited and the castle gradually fell into a state of disrepair. Even so, maintenance work was ordered, to which the towns and villages under its dominion were obliged to contribute, such as the construction of a tower in the upper bailey and the levelling of the castle's lower bailey.

Relations between the Hospitallers and the local populace were regulated by the Usages of Miravet, approved in 1319. Even though the municipality governed itself to a degree through the mosque and council, the order wielded control by appointing officials and by exercising civil and criminal justice.

The Hospitallers retained control of Miravet until the abolition of feudal seigneuries in the 19th century.

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At the end of the 13th century, the Temple, like the other religious military orders, were thrown into crisis, as their purpose was unclear following the fall of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The decline in the Templars' political and social importance coincided with campaigns to discredit them mounted by monarchs and members of the Church, who resented the privileges that the knights had accumulated.

In 1307, at the urging of Philip the Fair, the king of France, the Inquisition began its persecution of the order of the Temple in France. Other monarchs soon followed suit, among them King James II of Aragon, who ordered that siege be laid to the fortresses where the Templars had gathered to hold out while they asked the pope, Clement V, to intervene on their behalf, to no avail.

While other fortresses fell, Miravet withstood the siege for ten months under the command of Brother Ramon de Saguàrdia, the lieutenant of the Templars in Catalonia.

When their food and water ran out, and as deserters began to slip away, the last remaining Templars were forced to negotiate their surrender. Eventually, on 12 December 1308, the 22 men still in the castle gave themselves up to royal officials. Six of them, however, refused to hand themselves over voluntarily. These were Brother Ramon de Saguàrdia, the commander Brother Berenguer de Santjust, two of his nephews, Brother Millàs and Brother Siscar.

The Templars were arrested and put on trial by the Inquisition. In 1312, the Provincial Council of Tarragona found them innocent of the charges, unlike elsewhere, where they were declared guilty of heresy. Two years later, the order was dissolved and its possessions transferred to the order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem.

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When conflict broke out between the Catalan authorities and the Spanish monarchy, the Hospitallers' castle was occupied by French and Catalan forces their intention being to establish a fortified defensive line marked by the Segre and Ebro rivers.

Miravet became one of the main strongholds along the Ebro border and saw several battles during the conflict. In 1643, royal forces, led by the Marquis of Hinojosa, launched a brutal attack on the castle. Those under siege were given support by Lieutenant La Mothe-Houdancourt, who defeated the Castilian troops. The impressive number of more than a thousand prisoners were captured and the victory was celebrated throughout Catalonia.

In 1650, however, a new attack by Castilian troops from Lleida seeking to control the Ebro resulted in the fall of the fortresses of Miravet and Flix. Having taken control of Miravet, the royal forces were able to occupy the west bank of the river and build a bridge at Benissanet, allowing them to continue their advance.

During the conflict, works were begun to adapt the castle to warfare involving the use of artillery.

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On 17 April 1610, it was decreed that the Moriscos shold be expelled from Catalonia. Up until 1508, most of the population of Miravet had remained Muslim. That year,  however, there was a mass conversion in Miravet, Benissanet, Ascó, Vinebre and Riba-roja, a change brought about partly due to fears of expulsion but also in part because of people's wish to improve the terms of their vassalage by eliminating the personal obligations and services they were forced to provide by virtue of the fact that they were not Christian.

Even thought they were baptised, the people retained their formes customs and religion in places where they were in the majority, as occurred along the Segre and Ebro rivers.

When the decree was published in 1610, an investigation was launched to determine who among the new Christians had to be expelled and who did not, the criteria for this decision being their social and religious behaviour. In the case of Miravet, it was ordered that most of the populace should be expelled, amounting to 79 households out of a total of 110.

The Moriscos sailed down the Ebro to the port of Els Alfacs, where they were shipped off to North Africa between 15 June and 16 September. Some, however, managed to hide in order to avoid the expulsion order, even in some cases with the aid of the prior of Miravet, since it signified the depopulation of Ascó, Benissanet and Miravet, resulting in a significant loss of revenue for the Hospitallers.

Some Moriscos managed to flee to France rather than embarking from Els Alfacs for North Africa and gradually made their way back. Two years after the expulsion, many had returned to Miravet even though they had lost their possessions and were forced to accept new conditions whereby the Hospitallers received higher revenues.

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During the War of the Spanish Succession, Miravet once again served as a fortress. The troops of Philip of Bourbon, led by the Duke of Berwick, vanquished the men of Charles of Austria at Almansa (1707) and moved into Catalonia. The resistance they met at Tortosa slowed their advance because they were unable to leave the Austrian forces at their rearguard. As part of his offensive against Tortosa, Berwick attacked Flix and Miravet, which provided cover for the city.

The irregular troops raised for the war were unable to hold the castle, which was occupied by the forces of Philip V and turned into a military barracks.

When the war ended in the mid-18th century and the military forces were reorganised, the captain general of Catalonia ordered the abandonment and demolition of the castle and authorised the residents of Miravet to reuse the stone for other purposes. The castle fell into a serious state of disrepair: its walls, doors and windows, the rose window in the church, the triumphal arch and the image of Our Lady of Grace were all looted. The Templars' altar, in contrast, still stands in the old church.

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Even though it was now private property, Miravet recovered its military function during the 19th century following the outbreak of the Carlist Wars. During this long conflict, the castle was occupied at different times by the Liberals and the Carlists.

During the third Carlist War (1872-76), the castle became a Carlist stronghold until the Liberals, led by General Martínez de Campos, occupied it in 1875 following a siege lasting 24 hours.

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The castle was abandoned and forgotten until the Government of Catalonia accepted it as a gift and declared it a Site of National Cultural Interest in 1990. Following excavation and restoration works, the castle embarked on a new era as a monument and opened to the public in July 1994.

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Hoping to stop Franco's offensive against Valencia, the Republican army launched what was to be the most ambitious campaign of the Civil War. On the night of 25 July 1938, Republican troops crossed the Ebro at a number of places between Amposta and Mequinensa. One of the first crossing points was Miravet, the army's intention being to occupy the town and take control of the castle.

The Republican army advanced and occupied the chains of mountains of La Fatarella, Pàndols and Cavalls, but their attack was halted by the Nationalist army, who had superior troop numbers, equipment and air support. The fighting was furious. Thousands of young people who joined up during the last mobilisations lost their lives in what is regarded as the longest and bloodiest phase of the war.

During the Battle of the Ebro, the castle was used as a military barracks. Miravet connected the front with the rearguard and served as a supplies base for the Republican forces. As a result, the town and castle were both bombed on several occasions.

On 4 November, the First Navarra Division occupied the town while the Republican forces withdrew, bringing an end to the battle and signifying the final collapse of the Republican armies. Thenceforth, Franco's advance could not be stopped.