José Ignacio Martín Benito [La Encina (Salamanca), 1960] holds a degree in Geography and History and a PhD in History from the University of Salamanca. He teaches Geography and History at the I.E.S. León Felipe de Benavente (Zamora).
His line of research has covered various fields of history. Author of several books:Guía ilustrada de los principales útiles prehistóricos (1992); Prehistoria y Romanización de la Tierra de Ciudad Rodrigo (1994); El alcázar de Ciudad Rodrigo. Poder y control militar en la frontera de Portugal (siglos XII-XVI) (1999); El Achelense en la cuenca media occidental del Duero (2000), Los moriscos en el obispado de Zamora (2003), Cronistas y viajeros por el norte de Zamora (2004) and Barcas de paso en el Reino de León: de la Edad Medial al siglo XX (2015). He has also participated in Los caminos de Santiago y la Iconografía Jacobea en el norte de la provincia de Zamora (1994), El Castillo de Benavente (1998) and Santiago en los valles de Benavente (2004). He is co-author of volume 18 of Historia de las Diócesis Españolas. Ávila, Salamanca y Ciudad Rodrigo of the BAC (2005), of Pablo Iglesias en la Tierra de Campos y en Los Valles de Benavente (Benavente, 2006), of the work Episcopologio civitatense. Historia de los obispos de Ciudad Rodrigo (1168-2009) (Salamanca, 2010) and the book Ordenanzas de la villa de Benavente (XVII century) (Benavente, 2012).
He has contributed articles to various specialised journals in Spain and Portugal, and has participated in various conferences and symposia, as well as in the preparation of catalogue sheets for several exhibitions, including El apóstol Santiago en el arte zamorano (Zamora, 1999), Más vale volando. Por el condado de Benavente (Benavente, 1998); Jesucristo: imágenes del Misterio (Ciudad Rodrigo, 2000); Remembranza, Las Edades del Hombre (Zamora, 2001); Los Arapiles. La batalla y su entorno (Salamanca, 2002). He is the author of the introductory study to the catalogue of the exhibition Kyrios. The Ages of Man (Ciudad Rodrigo, 2007).
He has also directed several archaeological research projects and has been a member of various scientific committees, both for congresses and exhibitions. He has also been awarded the Ciudad Rodrigo Town Council Historical Research Prize in the VI (1991) and XIII (1997) editions.
In his teaching work, he has participated as a speaker in several teacher training courses and conferences and has collaborated in several books on environmental didactics. He has also been awarded the National Prize for Educational Innovation "Francisco Giner de los Ríos", in the 1995 and 1996 editions.
A member of several scientific institutions, he has been a trustee of the Fundación del Patrimonio Histórico de Castilla y León and is a trustee of the Fundación "Ciudad Rodrigo 2006". He has also been President of the Centro de Estudios Benaventanos "Ledo del Pozo" (1990-2005) and President of the Centro de Estudios Mirobrigenses de Ciudad Rodrigo.
In the literary field, he has published three books: La ínsula Barataria (2002), La Torre de Babel (2003) and El Memorial de Salazar. El carnaval del peregrino (2006), two stories set in the 16th and 17th centuries.
He is currently a member of the Castilla y León Parliament and spokesman of the Culture and Tourism Commission for the socialist parliamentary group.
