CIEZA  , a

town of south-eastern Spain, in the province of Murcia, on the right bank of the river Segura, and on the Madrid-Cartagena railway . Pop . (1900) 13,626 . Cieza is built in a narrow bend of the Segura valley, which is enclosed on the north by mountains; and on the south broadens into a fertile plain, producing grain, wine, olives, raisins, oranges and esparto grass . In the town itself there are flour and paper mills, sawmills and brandy distilleries . Between 187o and 1900 local trade and population increased rapidly, owing partly to improved means of communication; and the appearance of Cieza is thoroughly modern .