The geographical term alfoz (plural alfoces) was used in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages to describe the rural territory, including villages and localities, belonging to a corresponding town, or villa in Spanish (not to be confused with villa, a type of residence). The villa and its alfoz, under the authority of the town government (concejo), constituted what was called a Comunidad de Villa y Tierra, an autonomous political division within the kingdom. At the center of this community, the villa (or sometimes a city) comprised an urban area and often a castle and a fortified wall.