1.
Reconquista
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The Reconquista ended just before the European discovery of the Americas—the New World—which ushered in the era of the Portuguese and Spanish colonial empires. The concept of a Christian reconquest of the peninsula first emerged, in tenuous form, a landmark was set by the Christian Chronica Prophetica, a document stressing the Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide in Iberia and the necessity to drive the Muslims out. Nevertheless, the difference between Christian and Muslim kingdoms in early medieval Spain was not seen at the time as anything like the clear-cut opposition that later emerged, both Christian and Muslim rulers fought amongst themselves. Alliances between Muslims and Christians were not uncommon, blurring distinctions even further were the mercenaries from both sides who simply fought for whoever paid the most. The period is looked back upon today as one of religious tolerance. In fact previous documents from the 10th and 11th centuries are mute on any idea of reconquest and their rebellious pursuit was thus a Crusade for the restoration of Churchs unity, where Franco stood for both Pelagius of Asturias and El Cid. Many recent historians dispute the concept of Reconquista as a concept created a posteriori in the service of later political goals. A number of historians have called it a myth, One of the first Spanish intellectuals to question the idea of a reconquest that lasted for eight centuries was José Ortega y Gasset, writing in the first half of the 20th century. However, the term is widely in use. In 711, Muslim Moors, mainly North African Berber soldiers with some Arabs, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, from their stronghold of Narbonne, they launched raids into the Duchy of Aquitaine. At no point did the invading Islamic armies exceed 60,000 men and these armies established an Islamic rule that would last 300 years in much of the Iberian Peninsula and 770 years in Granada. After the establishment of a local Emirate, Caliph Al-Walid I, ruler of the Umayyad caliphate, tariq ibn Ziyad, the first governor of the newly conquered province of Al-Andalus, was recalled to Damascus and replaced with Musa bin Nusair, who had been his former superior. Musas son, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, apparently married Egilona, Roderics widow and he was suspected of being under the influence of his wife, accused of wanting to convert to Christianity, and of planning a secessionist rebellion. Apparently a concerned Al-Walid I ordered Abd al-Azizs assassination, Caliph Al-Walid I died in 715 and was succeeded by his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. Sulayman seems to have punished the surviving Musa bin Nusair, who soon died during a pilgrimage in 716. In the end Abd al-Aziz ibn Musas cousin, Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi became the emir of Al-Andalus, the conquering generals were necessarily acting very independently, due to the methods of communication available. Old rivalries and perhaps even full-fledged conspiracies between rival generals may have had influence over this development, in the end, the old successful generals were replaced by a younger generation considered more loyal by the government in Damascus. A serious weakness amongst the Muslim conquerors was the tension between Berbers and Arabs
2.
Kingdom of Castile
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The Kingdom of Castile was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region and it began as the County of Castile, an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León in the 9th century. During the 10th century its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León, between 1072 and 1157 it was again united with León, and after 1230 this union became permanent. Throughout this period the Castilian kings made conquests in southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. Castile and León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, according to the chronicles of Alfonso III of Asturias, the first reference to the name Castile can be found in a document written during AD800. The name reflects its origin as a march on the frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias, protected by castles. The County of Castile, bordered in the south by the northern reaches of the Spanish Sistema Central mountain system and it was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabria, Asturias, Vasconia and Visigothic and Mozarab origins. It had its own Romance dialect and customary laws, the areas that they settled didnt extend far from the Cantabrian southeastern ridges, and not beyond the southern reaches of the high Ebro river valleys and canyon gores. Subsequently, the region was subdivided, separate counts being named to Alava, Burgos, Cerezo & Lantarón, the minority of Count García Sánchez led Castile to accept Sancho III of Navarre, married to the sister of Count García, as feudal overlord. García was assassinated in 1028 while in León to marry the princess Sancha, Sancho III, acting as feudal overlord, appointed his younger son Ferdinand as Count of Castile, marrying him to his uncles intended bride, Sancha of León. At the Battle of Tamarón Bermudo was killed, leaving no surviving offspring, in right of his wife, Ferdinand then assumed the royal title as king of León and Castile, for the first time associating the royal title with the rule of Castile. When Ferdinand I died in 1065, the territories were divided among his children, Sancho II became King of Castile, Alfonso VI, King of León and García, King of Galicia, while his daughters were given towns, Urraca, Zamora, and Elvira, Toro. Sancho II allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and together they conquered, Sancho later attacked Alfonso VI and invaded León with the help of El Cid, and drove his brother into exile, thereby reuniting the three kingdoms. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora, Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. As a result, Alfonso VI recovered all his territory of León. This was the union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct entities joined only in a personal union. The sworn oath taken by El Cid before Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of Alfonso in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known, under Alfonso VI, there was an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, including France. He gave his daughters, Elvira, Urraca and Theresa, in marriage to Raymond of Toulouse, Raymond of Burgundy, in the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabic rite was replaced by the Roman one
3.
Crown of Aragon
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Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
4.
Kingdom of Portugal
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The Kingdom of Portugal was a monarchy on the Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of modern Portugal. It was in existence from 1139 until 1910, after 1248, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves and between 1815 and 1822, it was known as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The name is often applied to the Portuguese Empire, the realms extensive overseas colonies. The nucleus of the Portuguese state was the County of Portugal, established in the 9th century as part of the Reconquista, by Vímara Peres, a vassal of the King of Asturias. The county became part of the Kingdom of León in 1097, the kingdom was ruled by the Alfonsine Dynasty until the 1383–85 Crisis, after which the monarchy passed to the House of Aviz. During the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese exploration established a vast colonial empire, from 1580 to 1640, the kingdom of Portugal was in personal union with Habsburg Spain. After the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640–1668, the passed to the House of Braganza and after to the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg. From this time, the influence of Portugal declined, but it remained a major due to its most valuable colony. Portugal was an absolute monarchy before 1822. It rotated between absolute and constitutional monarchy from 1822 until 1834, and was a constitutional monarchy after 1834. The Kingdom of Portugal finds its origins in the County of Portugal, the Portuguese County was a semi-autonomous county of the Kingdom of León. Independence from León took place in three stages, The first on 26 July 1139 when Afonso Henriques was acclaimed King of the Portuguese internally, the second was on 5 October 1143, when Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognized Afonso Henriques as king through the Treaty of Zamora. The third, in 1179, was the Papal Bull Manifestis Probatum, once Portugal was independent, D. Afonso Is descendants, members of the Portuguese House of Burgundy, would rule Portugal until 1383. Even after the change in houses, all the monarchs of Portugal were descended from Afonso I, one way or another. With the start of the 20th century, Republicanism grew in numbers and support in Lisbon among progressive politicians, however a minority with regard to the rest of the country, this height of republicanism would benefit politically from the Lisbon Regicide on 1 February 1908. When returning from the Ducal Palace at Vila Viçosa, King Carlos I, with the death of the king and his heir, Carlos Is second son would become king as King Manuel II of Portugal. Manuels reign, however, would be short-lived, ending by force with the 5 October 1910 revolution, sending Manuel into exile in England, on 19 January 1919, the Monarchy of the North was proclaimed in Porto. The monarchy would be deposed a month later and no other monarchist counterrevolution in Portugal has happened since, after centuries of Portuguese dominion in Angola, the Kingdom of Kongo was made a vassal state of the Portuguese kingdom, its king pledging allegiance to the King of Portugal
5.
Kingdom of Navarre
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The medieval Kingdom of Pamplona was formed when the native chieftain Íñigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona, and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority. The southern part of the kingdom was conquered by the Crown of Castile in 1512, the monarchs of this unified state took the title King of France and Navarre until its fall in 1792, and again during the Bourbon Restoration from 1814 until 1830. There are similar earlier toponyms but the first documentation of Latin navarros appears in Eginhards chronicle of the feats of Charles the Great, other Royal Frankish Annals give nabarros. Basque naba/Castilian nava + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines consider naba as not clearly Basque in origin but as part of a wider pre-Roman substrate. The area was conquered by the Romans by 74 BC. It was first part of the Roman province of Citerior, then of the Tarraconensis province, after that it was part of the conventus Caesaraugustanus. The Roman empire influenced the area in urbanization, language, infrastructure, commerce, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, neither the Visigoths nor the Arabs succeeded in permanently occupying the western Pyrenees. The western Pyrenees passages were the only ones allowing good transit through the mountains and that made the region strategically important from early in its history. The Franks under Charlemagne extended their influence and control towards the south, occupying several regions of the north and it is not clear how solid the Frankish control over Pamplona was. In response, the Cordoban Emirate launched a campaign to place the region under their firm control and it placed a muwallad governor, Mutarrif ibn Musa, in Pamplona. The same year the Basque leader, Jimeno the Strong, submitted to the Emir, in 799, Mutarrif ibn Musa was killed by a pro-Frankish faction whose leader Velasco gained control of the region. In 806 and 812 Pamplona fell into the Franks hands, due to difficulties at home, the Frankish rulers could not give full attention to the outlying borderlands, and the country gradually withdrew entirely from their allegiance. In 816, Louis the Pious removed Seguin as Duke of Vasconia, the rebel Garcia Jiménez arose in his place, and was killed in turn in 818. Louis son Pepin, then King of Aquitaine, stamped out the Vasconic revolt in Gascony and he next hunted the chieftains who had taken refuge in southern Vasconia, i. e. Pamplona and Navarre, no longer controlled by the Franks. He sent an army led by the counts Aeblus and Aznar-Sanchez, on the way back, however, they were ambushed and defeated in Roncesvaux by a probable joint Vasconic-Banu Qasi force. Out of this pattern of resistance against both Frankish and Cordoban interests, the Basque chieftain Íñigo Arista took power, tradition tells he was elected as king of Pamplona in 824, giving rise to a dynasty of kings in Pamplona that would last for eighty years. Pamplona and Navarre are cited as separate entities in a Frankish Carolingian chronicle, Pamplona is cited in 778 by another Frankish account as a Navarrese stronghold, while this may be put down to their vague knowledge of the Basque territory. They distinguished Navarre and its main town in 806 though, while the Chronicle of Fontenelle quotes Induonis et Mitionis, however, Arab chroniclers make no such distinctions, and just talk of the Baskunisi, a transliteration of Vascones, since a big majority of the population was Basque
6.
Order of Santiago
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The Order of Santiago, also known as The Order of St. James of the Sword, was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago. Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrim of St. James Way, the first Republic suppressed the Order in 1873 and, although the Restoration was re-established, it was reduced to a nobiliary institute of honorable character. It was ruled by a Superior Council dependent on the Ministry of War, the Orders insignia is a red cross resembling a sword, with the shape of a fleur-de-lis on the hilt and the arms. The knights wore the cross stamped on the standard and white cape. The cross of the standard had a Mediterranean scallop in the center and another one at the end of each arm. The three fleurs-de-lis represent the honor without stain, which is in reference to the features of the Apostles character. The sword represents the character of the apostle St. James and his martyr ways. It can also symbolize taking the sword in the name of Christ and it is said that its shape originated in the era of the Crusades, when the knights took with them small crosses with sharpened bottoms to stick them in the ground and carry out their daily devotions. Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, the centre of devotion to this Apostle, is neither the nor the principal seat of the order. Two cities contend for the honour of having given it birth, León in the kingdom of that name, at that time the royal dynasty was divided into two branches, the rivalry of which tended to obscure the beginnings of the order. Hence arose long disputes which ended in 1230 when Ferdinand III. The order received its first rule in 1171 from Cardinal Jacinto and this first Grand Master was Pedro Fernández de Castro, also known as Pedro Fernández de Fuentecalada, a soldier of King Ferdinand II and a former crusader. Unlike the contemporary orders of Calatrava and Alcántara, which followed the rule of the Benedictines of Cîteaux. At León, they offered their services to the Canons Regular of Saint Eligius in that town for the protection of pilgrims to the shrine of St. James and this explains the mixed character of their order—hospitaller and military—like that of St. John of Jerusalem. They were recognized as religious by Pope Alexander III, whose Bull of 5 July 1175, was confirmed by more than twenty of his successors. These pontifical acts, collected in the Bullarium of the order, secured all the privileges. The mildness of this rule furthered the spread of the order, which eclipsed the older orders of Calatrava and Alcántara. The first Bull of confirmation, that of Pope Alexander III, at its height Santiago alone had more possessions than Calatrava and Alcántara together
7.
Order of Calatrava
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The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26,1164. Most of the political and military power of the order dissipated by the end of the 15th century and it was founded at Calatrava la Vieja in Castile, in the twelfth century by St. Raymond of Fitero, as a military branch of the Cistercian family. The etymology of the name of military order, Calatrava, conveys the meaning. In the Cistercian Order, then recently formed, there had been a large number of knights or sons of knights. In Calatrava, on the contrary, those who had been monks became knights, monastic life has been called a warfare, and it would be a mistake to suppose those rough medieval warriors sought in the cloister only a comfortable asylum after a troubled career. These impetuous natures, who did nothing by halves, were eager to take Heaven, as they took earthly strongholds, by storm. It runs as follows, Calatrava is the Arabic name of a castle recovered from the Moslems, in 1147, by the King of Castile, Alfonso VII, called el Emperador. Located in what was then the southernmost border of Castile, this conquest was difficult to keep than to make. In part to correct this deficiency, the military such as Knights Templars were founded. The Templars, however, were unable to hold Calatrava, and this step is said to have been suggested to the abbot by Father Diego Velázquez, a simple monk, but one who had been a knight, and thus was well acquainted with military matters. Diego was inspired with the idea of employing the lay brothers of the abbey to defend Calatrava, Diego recommended that they become soldiers of the Cross. Thus a new order was created in 1157, motivated by the desire for religious and pecuniary rewards, these brethren were eager to take the offensive against the Moors. When the Abbot Raymond died, a certain Don García started to lead them in battle as their first grand master. At the same time, the monks, not without protest, left Calatrava to live under an abbot whom they had chosen. Only Velasquez and a few other clerics, to act as chaplains, remained in Calatrava with the knights and this somewhat revolutionary arrangement was approved by the general chapter at Cîteaux, and by Pope Alexander III. A general chapter held at Cîteaux in 1187 gave to the Knights of Calatrava their definitive rule, Calatrava was subject not to Cîteaux, but to Morimond in Champagne, the mother-house of Fitero, from which Calatrava had sprung. They had already called into the neighbouring Kingdom of Aragon, and been rewarded by a new encomienda
8.
Knights Templar
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The order was founded in 1119 and active from about 1129 to 1312. The order, which was among the wealthiest and most powerful, became a favoured charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and they were prominent in Christian finance. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades, the Templars were closely tied to the Crusades, when the Holy Land was lost, support for the order faded. Rumours about the Templars secret initiation ceremony created distrust, and King Philip IV of France – deeply in debt to the order – took advantage of the situation to control over them. In 1307, he had many of the members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions. Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312 under pressure from King Philip, the abrupt reduction in power of a significant group in European society gave rise to speculation, legend, and legacy through the ages. The re-use of their name for later organizations has kept the name Templar alive to the modern day, after Europeans in the First Crusade recovered Jerusalem in 1099, many Christians made pilgrimages to various sacred sites in the Holy Land. Although the city of Jerusalem was under relatively secure Christian control, in 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and proposed creating a monastic order for the protection of these pilgrims. The Temple Mount had a mystique because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. The Crusaders therefore referred to the Al-Aqsa Mosque as Solomons Temple, and from this location the new order took the name of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or Templar knights. The order, with about nine knights including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard, had few financial resources and their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasising the orders poverty. The impoverished status of the Templars did not last long, another major benefit came in 1139, when Pope Innocent IIs papal bull Omne Datum Optimum exempted the order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, with its clear mission and ample resources, the order grew rapidly. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, although the primary mission of the order was military, relatively few members were combatants. The others acted in support positions to assist the knights and to manage the financial infrastructure, the Templar Order, though its members were sworn to individual poverty, was given control of wealth beyond direct donations. A nobleman who was interested in participating in the Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management while he was away, based on this mix of donations and business dealing, the Templars established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. The Order of the Knights Templar arguably qualifies as the worlds first multinational corporation, in the mid-12th century, the tide began to turn in the Crusades. The Muslim world had become united under effective leaders such as Saladin, and dissension arose amongst Christian factions in, and concerning
9.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
10.
Almohad Caliphate
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The Almohad Caliphate was a Moroccan Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century. The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco, around 1120, the Almohads first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains. They succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing Morocco by 1147 and they then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of North Africa and all Islamic Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172, nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Cordova and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively. The Almohads continued to rule in Africa until the loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies. The Almohad movement originated with Ibn Tumart, a member of the Masmuda, at the time, Morocco, and much of the rest of North Africa and Spain, was under the rule of the Almoravids, a Sanhaja Berber dynasty. Early in his life, Ibn Tumart went to Spain to pursue his studies, in Baghdad, Ibn Tumart attached himself to the theological school of al-Ashari, and came under the influence of the teacher al-Ghazali. He soon developed his own system, combining the doctrines of various masters, Ibn Tumarts main principle was a strict unitarianism, which denied the independent existence of the attributes of God as being incompatible with His unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart represented a revolt against what he perceived as anthropomorphism in Muslim orthodoxy and his followers would become known as the al-Muwahhidun, meaning those who affirm the unity of God. After his return to the Maghreb c.1117, Ibn Tumart spent some time in various Ifriqiyan cities, preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He laid the blame for the latitude on the dynasty of the Almoravids. His antics and fiery preaching led fed-up authorities to him along from town to town. After being expelled from Bejaia, Ibn Tumart set up camp in Mellala, in the outskirts of the city, where he received his first disciples - notably, al-Bashir and Abd al-Mumin. In 1120, Ibn Tumart and his band of followers proceeded to Morocco, stopping first in Fez. He even went so far as to assault the sister of the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf, in the streets of Fez, because she was going about unveiled, after the manner of Berber women. After the debate, the scholars concluded that Ibn Tumarts views were blasphemous and the man dangerous, but the emir decided merely to expel him from the city. Ibn Tumart took refuge among his own people, the Hargha, in his village of Igiliz. He retreated to a cave, and lived out an ascetic lifestyle, coming out only to preach his program of puritan reform
11.
Alfonso VIII of Castile
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Alfonso VIII, called the Noble or the one of the Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate and his reign saw the domination of Castile over León and, by his alliance with Aragon, he drew those two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection. Alfonso was born to Sancho III of Castile and Blanche, in Soria on 11 November 1155 and he was named after his grandfather Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who divided his kingdoms between his sons. This division set the stage for conflict in the family until the kingdoms were re-united by Alfonso VIIIs grandson and his early life resembled that of other medieval kings. Though proclaimed king when only two years of age, Alfonso was regarded as merely nominal by the nobles to whom a minority was convenient. Immediately, Castile was plunged into conflicts between the noble houses vying for ascendancy in the inevitable regency. The devotion of a squire of his household, who carried him on the pommel of his saddle to the stronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz, the noble houses of Lara and Castro both claimed the regency, as did the boys uncle, Ferdinand II of León. In 1159 the young Alfonso was put briefly in the custody of García Garcés de Aza, in March 1160 the Castro and Lara met at the Battle of Lobregal and the Castro were victorious, but the guardianship of Alfonso and the regency fell to Manrique Pérez de Lara. Alfonso was put in the custody of the loyal village Ávila, at barely fifteen, he came forth to do a mans work by restoring his kingdom to order. It was only by a surprise that he recovered his capital Toledo from the hands of the Laras, during the regency, his uncle Sancho VI of Navarre took advantage of the chaos and the kings minority to seize lands along the border, including much of La Rioja. In 1170, Alfonso sent an embassy to Bordeaux to Henry II of England, due to the brides young age of 9, the marriage was finalized at Burgos, before 17 September 1177. The marriage treaty helped provide Alfonso with an ally against his uncle. In 1176, Alfonso asked his father-in-law to arbitrate the border territories. While Alfonso received back much which had taken from him. In 1186, he recuperated part of La Rioja from the Kingdom of Navarre, in 1187, Alfonso negotiated with Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor who was seeking to marry his son Conrad to Alfonsos eldest child and heir, Berengaria. In April 1188 they agreed on a treaty in Seligenstadt which made clear that she was the heir of Castile after any sons of Alfonso, and this became relevant in her ultimate succession to the throne, even though the marriage to Conrad was never consummated and later annulled. The treaty also documented traditional rights and obligations between the sovereign and the nobles in Castile, in July 1188, Alfonso convened his court in Carrión de los Condes to allow the nobles to review and ratify the treaty. At that court, Alfonso knighted both Conrad and Alfonso IX of León, who would ultimately marry Berengaria, the younger Alfonso had come to seek the support and acknowledgement of his ascent to the throne of León from his older cousin
12.
Sancho VII of Navarre
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Sancho VII Sánchez, called the Strong or the Prudent, was the King of Navarre from 1194 to his death. His retirement at the end of his life has given rise to the nickname el Encerrado or the Retired. The historian and forensic anthropologist, Luis del Campo, who studied his mortal remains and he was probably the eldest child of Sancho VI and Sancha, daughter of Alfonso VII of León, born soon after their marriage, probably in Tudela, their usual residence. He was the brother of Berengaria, who was married to Richard the Lionheart. Sancho and Richard were reputed to have good friends and close allies. The French took advantage of Richards captivity in Germany and captured certain key fortresses of the Angevin dominions including Loches, when Richard returned to his continental lands in 1194, the knights of Sancho were besieging the castle for him. As soon as Richard arrived though, Sancho was forced to return to Navarre at the news of the death of his father and he was crowned in Pamplona on 15 August. He arrived late at the Battle of Alarcos in 1195 and thus ruined good relations with the Castilian sovereign Alfonso VIII, the ensuing confrontation resulted in Sancho devastating Soria and Almazán and Alfonso accepted the Peace of Tarazona. Sancho made expeditions against Murcia and Andalusia, and, between 1198 and 1200, he campaigned in Africa, probably in the service of the Almohads, whose help he wanted against Castile. Taking advantage of his absence, Alfonso VIII of Castile and Peter II of Aragon invaded Navarre, which lost the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa and these conquests were subsequently confirmed by the Treaty of Guadalajara. His leadership was decisive in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the year 1212, in that engagement, the Christian forces of Sancho, Alfonso, Afonso II of Portugal, and Peter II of Aragón allied to defeat the forces of the Almohad Caliph Muhammad an-Nasir. Sanchos troops cut the chains guarding the tent and Slavic guards ring of the Miramamolín, for this, it is believed the chains became the symbol of Navarre and replaced the sable eagle on a golden field with a golden chain on a gules field in the Navarrese coat-of-arms. His relations with the north of the Pyrenees were notably better than his Castilian ones. Several Pyreneean counties declared themselves his vassals and he concluded treaties with John, King of England, and the various Aragonese kings of his time, the aforementioned Peter II and James I. With the latter he signed at Tudela, in 1231, which was never finished, Sancho continued the construction of a new cathedral in Pamplona, as begun by his father and to be finished by his successor. The construction of a certain Gothic bridge over the Ebro has also attributed to him. His eldest sister, Berengaria, Queen of England, died in 1232, when he died in his castle at Tudela, probably of complications related to the varicose ulcer in his leg, Blancas son Theobald was recognized as the next monarch of Navarre on the 7th of April. According to Alberic de Trois-Fontaines, Sancho left a library of 1.7 million books and he was originally interred in the church of San Nicolás, but was later moved to Roncesvalles after much resistance from the local Clergy
13.
Pedro II of Aragon
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Peter II the Catholic was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. He was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon, in 1205 he acknowledged the feudal supremacy of the papacy and was crowned in Rome by Pope Innocent III, swearing to defend the Catholic faith. He was the first king of Aragon to be crowned by the pope, in the first decade of the thirteenth century he commissioned the Liber feudorum Ceritaniae, an illustrated codex cartulary for the counties of Cerdagne, Conflent, and Roussillon. On June 15,1204 he married Marie of Montpellier, daughter and she gave him a son, James, but Peter soon repudiated her. Marie was popularly venerated as a saint for her piety and marital suffering, Marie also perhaps bore Peter II a daughter, Sancha, at Collioure in October,1205 according to Christian Nique. Sancha was betrothed to Raymond VII the son Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, not long after her birth, according to Nique, however the childs younger brother James makes no mention of her and Sancha was apparently dead before the New Year, according to Niques information. He participated in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 which marked the point of Muslim domination in the Iberian peninsula. The Crown of Aragon was widespread in the area that is now southernwestern France, the Cathars or Albigenses rejected the authority and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Innocent called upon Philip Augustus of France to suppress the Albigenses, under the leadership of Simon of Montfort a campaign was launched. The Albigensian Crusade, begun in 1209, led to the slaughter of approximately 20,000 men, women and children, Cathar and he was accompanied by Raymond of Toulouse, who tried to persuade Peter to avoid battle and instead starve out Montforts forces. The Battle of Muret began on September 12,1213, the Aragonese forces were disorganized and disintegrated under the assault of Montforts squadrons. Peter himself was caught in the thick of fighting, and died as a result of an act of bravado. He was thrown to the ground and killed, the Aragonese forces broke in panic when their king was slain and Montforts crusaders won a crushing victory. The nobility of Toulouse, vassals of the Crown of Aragon, were defeated, the conflict culminated in the Treaty of Meaux-Paris in 1229, in which the integration of the Occitan territory into the French crown was agreed upon. Upon Peters death, the passed to his only son by Marie of Montpellier. Martín Alvira-Cabrer,12 de Septiembre de 1213, El Jueves de Muret, la batalla decisiva de la Cruzada contra los Cátaros, Ariel, Barcelona,2008 and 2013. Martín Alvira-Cabrer, Pedro el Católico, Rey de Aragón y Conde de Barcelona, documentos, Testimonios y Memoria Histórica,6 vols. Zaragoza, Institución Fernando el Católico,2010, Nique, Christian, Les deux visages de Marie de Montpellier, Montpellier, Académie des Sciences et Lettres de Montpellier
14.
Kingdom of Asturias
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The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded in 718 by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of Visigoth Hispania in 718 or 722 and that year, Pelagius defeated an Umayyad army at the Battle of Covadonga, in what is usually regarded as the beginning of the Reconquista. The Kingdom of Asturias transitioned into the Kingdom of León in 924, the kingdom originated in the western and central territory of the Cantabrian Mountains, part of the Gallaecia, particularly the Picos de Europa and the central area of Asturias. The main political and military events during the first decades of the kingdoms existence took place in the region. Ptolemy says that the Astures extended along the area of current Asturias. The gradual formation of Asturian identity led to the creation of the Kingdom of Asturias after Pelagius coronation, the Chronica Albeldense, in narrating the happenings of Covadonga, stated that Divine providence brings forth the King of Asturias. The kingdom was established by the nobleman Pelayo, possibly an Asturian noble, Pelayos kingdom was initially little more than a rallying banner for existing guerilla forces. In the progress of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, however, in the northern mountains, urban centers were practically nonexistent and the submission of the country had to be achieved valley by valley. Muslim troops often resorted to the taking of hostages to ensure the pacification of the conquered territory. During the last phase of his campaign, he reached the northwest of the Peninsula. In the latter city he placed a small Berber detachment under a governor, Munuza, as guarantee of the submission of the region, some nobles – some argue that Pelayo was among them, had to surrender hostages from Asturias to Cordoba. The legend says that his sister was asked for, and a marriage alliance sought with the local Berber leader, later on, Munuza would try to do the same at another mountain post in the Pyrenees, where he rebelled against his Cordoban Arab superiors. The Berbers had been converted to Islam barely a generation earlier, however, the only near contemporary chronicler accounting for the events of the tme, the Christian Chronicle of 754, makes no mention of the incident. The identity of Pelayo, however, is still a subject. The leader of the Astures, whose origin is debated by historians, had at that time his home in Bres, there the locals were able to ambush the Muslim detachment, which was annihilated. The rest of its survivors continued south to the plains of Leon, under Pelayos leadership, the attacks on the Berbers increased. Munuza, feeling isolated in an increasingly hostile, decided to abandon Gijón. However, he was intercepted and killed by Astures at Olalíes and he then married his daughter, Ermesinda, to Alfonso, the son of Peter of Cantabria, the leading noble at the still-independent Visigothic dukedom of Cantabria
15.
Battle of Covadonga
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The Battle of Covadonga was the first victory by Christendom military forces in Iberia since the Islamic conquest of Hispania in 711–718. It was fought at Covadonga, most likely in the summer of 722, as a result, the Battle of Covadonga has been credited by historians with catalyzing the Reconquista or the reconquest of Christian rule to the entire peninsula. According to texts written by Mozarabs in northern Iberia during the ninth century, from the beginning of the Muslim invasion of Iberia, refugees and combatants from the south of the peninsula had been moving north to avoid Islamic authority. Some had taken refuge in the mountains of Asturias in the northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula. There, from among the dispossessed of the south, Pelagius recruited his band of fighters and his first acts were to refuse to pay the Jizya to the Muslims any longer and to assault the small Umayyad garrisons that had been stationed in the area. Eventually, he managed to expel a provincial governor named Munuza from Asturias and he held the territory against a number of attempts to re-establish Muslim control, and soon founded the Kingdom of Asturias, which became a Christian stronghold against further Muslim expansion. For the first few years, this rebellion posed no threat to the new masters of Hispania, consequently, there was only a minor perfunctory reaction. Pelagius was not always able to keep the Muslims out of Asturias but neither could defeat him. Islamic forces were focused on raiding Narbonne and Gaul, and there was a shortage of manpower for putting down an insurrection in the mountains. Pelagius never attempted to force the issue, and it was a Umayyad defeat elsewhere that probably set the stage for the Battle of Covadonga. On July 9,721, a Muslim force that had crossed the Pyrenees and invaded the Kingdom of the Franks was defeated by them in the Battle of Toulouse and this was the first serious setback in the Muslim campaign in southwestern Europe. In 722, forces commanded by the Umayyad commanders Al Qama and Munuza, as Al Qama overran much of the region, folklore suggests that Oppas attempted to broker the surrender of his fellow Christians, but he failed in the effort. Pelagius may have had as few as three hundred men with him, Al Qama eventually arrived at Covadonga, and sent forward an envoy to convince Pelagius to surrender. He refused, so Al Qama ordered his best troops into the valley to fight, the Asturians opened fire from the slopes of the mountains, and then, at the climactic moment, Pelagius personally led some of his soldiers out into the valley. They had been hiding in a cave, unseen by the Muslims, the Christian accounts of the battle claim that the slaughter among the Muslims was horrific, while Umayyad accounts describe it as a mere skirmish. Al Qama himself fell in the battle, and his soldiers fled from the battlefield, in the aftermath of Pelagius victory, the people of the conquered villages of Asturias now emerged with their weapons, and killed hundreds of Al Qamas fleeing troops. Munuza, learning of the defeat, organized force. At some later date, he confronted Pelagius and his now greatly augmented force, again Pelagius won, and Munuza was killed in the fighting
16.
Battle of Roncevaux Pass
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The Basque attack was a retaliation for Charlemagnes destruction of the city walls of their capital, Pamplona. As the Franks retreated across the Pyrenees back to France, the rearguard of Frankish lords was cut off, stood its ground, Roncevaux was Charlemagnes only military defeat. There are numerous works about the battle, some of which change. The battle is recounted in the 11th century The Song of Roland, the oldest surviving work of French literature. Modern adaptations of the battle include books, plays and works of fiction, with the rise of the Carolingians and Pepin the Shorts war on Aquitaine, the Duchy of Aquitaine led by Waifer was defeated and further ensued Frankish penetration into the duchy. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the three rulers also conveyed that the caliph of Baghdad, Muhammad al-Mahdi, was preparing an invasion force against Abd ar-Rahman. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power, Charlemagne agreed to go to Spain, al-Arabi induced him to invade al Andalus by promising him an easy surrender of its Upper March, of which Zaragoza was the capital. Following the sealing of this alliance at Paderborn, Charlemagne marched across the Pyrenees in 778 at the head of all the forces he could muster. Charlemagne led the Neustrian army over Vasconia into the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards and his troops were welcomed in Barcelona and Girona by Sulayman al-Arabi. As he moved towards Zaragoza, the troops of Charlemagne were joined by troops led by al-Arabi, Abd ar-Rahman of Córdoba sent his most trusted general, Thalaba Ibn Obeid, to take control of the possibly rebellious city and to prevent the Frankish invasion. Husayn and Ibn Obeid clashed repeatedly, eventually Husayn managed to defeat and he seems to have tried to appease Charlemagne by giving him the prisoner General Ibn Obeid and a large tribute of gold, but Charlemagne was not easily satisfied, putting Sulayman al-Arabi in chains. Meanwhile, the force sent by the Baghdad caliphate seems to have been stopped near Barcelona, though initially having the upper hand, the siege of Zaragoza dragged for over a month. Eventually a deal was struck between Charlemagne and Husayn, the latter would pay gold and the release of several prisoners, while the Franks in return would withdraw their siege. After the negotiation at Zaragoza, Charlemagne heard news of a Saxon revolt in the North, but before leaving Spain he decided to further secure his hold on the Vascone territory. Charlemagne first eliminated any opposition from the natives of the region. He gave orders to tear down the walls of the Basque capital Pamplona, some primary sources suggest that he destroyed the city altogether, and many towns in the region were also razed. Garrisons and military outposts were placed throughout the territory, and there were accounts of the Franks harsh treatment of the Basques during their occupation, after securing the region, Charlemagne marched for the Pyrenees mountain pass in hopes of returning to France. In the evening of August 15,778, Charlemagnes rearguard was attacked by the Basques as they crossed the mountain pass
17.
Battle of the Burbia River
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The battle occurred in the context of the Ghazws of Hisham I against the Christian rebels of the northern Iberian Peninsula. The battle took place near the Río Burbia, in the area which is known as Villafranca del Bierzo. The battle resulted in Andalusian victory, the Emir, in his attempt to annex the Kingdom of Asturias, organized two armies for the purpose of enforcing this annexation. The first army was tasked with conquering Galicia, and the second with conquering western Basque lands, when Hisham I was returning to Córdoban territory with the spoils of his conquests, the Asturian army attacked. The Cordoban army, under the competent leadership of general Yusuf ibn Bujt, were able to repel the attack. Alfonsos first move as the new king would be to move the capital to Ovetao or Oviedo and he was crowned according to the rights of the old Visigothic Kings in Toledo on September 14,791. Bermudo returned to his old lifestyle in the same year. He would be remembered as a generous, magnanimous and illustrious king and this defeat forced the postponement of the Reconquista for many years. El Condado de Castilla, La historia frente a la leyenda
18.
Battle of Pancorbo (816)
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The battle was fought when the Muslim forces attempted to cross the pass at Pancorbo. The battle resulted in a Muslim victory and was instrumental in the Basque revolt and their goal was to coordinate operations to take Al-Tagr al-Ala in the name of Louis the Pious. The Arabs, commanded by Muawiya ibn al-Hàkam, son of Emir Al-Hakam I, attacked Álava and the Kingdom of Castile in 801, crossing the River Ebro and the pass of las Conchas. They were surprised by Velasco, a Basque commander in control of troops all over the Christian kingdoms. By 806, Pamplona and the western Basque territories fell again in the hands of a Frankish vassal, Velasco and he was Charlemagnes man in the Basque territories extending up to the boundaries of Alfonso IIs realm. Meanwhile, in 812 Seguin was appointed dux Wasconum in Bordeaux, but soon after the spread of news of Charlemagnes death, Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit directed the incursion of 816 into the Kingdom of Pamplona. There the Muslim forces pillaged the valley of Orón, balask al-Yalasqi, the lord of Pamplona pleaded for assistance from the Kingdom of Asturias. On the Basque-Asturian side another two leaders are cited besides Velasco and Alfonso, Alfonsos maternal uncle Garcia ibn Lubb, Sancho, the best knight of Pamplona, and the pagan warrior Ṣaltān. Finally, the Christian-Basque forces took the offensive and tried to cross the river but the Muslims had sealed off the crossing and massacred them with swords, the major part of the victims died after falling off of the cliffs surrounding the battleground. With the subsequent rains, the Christians were found ill prepared after all their works had been destroyed. The Basque-Asturians vassals of Charlemagne were forced to withdraw, however, the Muslims were equally in a difficult situation and despite victorious much of their army deserted the field
19.
Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824)
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The Battle of Roncevaux Pass was a battle in which a combined Basque-Qasawi Muslim army defeated a Carolingian military expedition in 824. The battle resulted in the defeat of the Carolingian military expedition, the clash was to have further reaching consequences than those of the 778 engagement, the immediate establishment of the independent Kingdom of Pamplona. The Basque lords both sides of the Pyrenees rebelled but were subdued in Dax by the Carolingian king Louis. Lupus Centullo was then appointed duke, but this too was deposed after he rebelled. Meanwhile, in Aragon the pro-Frankish count Aznar Galindez was overthrown by Enneko´s allied count Garcia Malo in 820, all Vasconia remained at this point in a shaky state of rebellion and the Frankish tenure on the Hispanic Marches was shifting out of control. In 824 an expedition was mustered by the Carolingian king in the Vasconia remaining under Frankish overlordship, the military force was headed by the Duke of Vasconia Aznar Sanchez, who led Basque troops hailing from current Gascony, and count Aeblus, commanding a Frankish army. The military force headed south with a view to quashing the Basque rebellion centred in Pamplona, the expedition arrived in the Basque stronghold, but found no resistance and with the expedition having accomplished its goals they made their way back north with goods looted on the town. However, on the narrow passes of the region of Cize. The Basques engaged the two columns in their terrain and the Carolingian forces were severely crushed, not only were the troops routed, but the two commanders of the expedition were captured by the assailants. Enneko Aritza came up victorious after the battle and became the ruler of Pamplona. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
20.
Battle of Clavijo
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The Battle of Clavijo is a mythical battle, to a serious historian, the existence of the Battle of Clavijo is not even a topic of discussion. However, it was believed for centuries to be historical, in the legend, the apostle Saint James, an associate of Jesus Christ who died a 800 years earlier, suddenly appeared and led an outnumbered Christian army to gain its victory. He became the saint of Spain and is known to Spaniards as Santiago Matamoros. Aspects of the historical Battle of Monte Laturce were incorporated into this legend, the date originally assigned to the battle,834, was changed in modern times to 844 to suit the inherent contradictions of the account. The day is given as 23 May. The legend as it survives was first written down about 300 years after the event on a spurious charter. The history of the cult of Saint James is rich in such frauds, historian Jean Mitchell-Lanham says, While this event is based on legend, the supposed battle has provided one of the strongest ideological icons in the Spanish national identity. Saint James appearance at Clavijo has been a theme in art. Among those artists who portrayed him there are Aniello Falcone, Paolo da San Leocadio, Evaristo Muñoz, Mateo Pérez de Alesio, Martin Schongauer, Corrado Giaquinto, lo viejo y lo nuevo sobre el origin del Reino de Pamplona. Saint Jamess Catapult, The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela
21.
Battle of Guadalacete
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The outcome was a Muslim victory. After the death of Emir Abd ar-Rahman II in the year 852 and their reasons were both internal, such as corrupt governance, and external as they identified more with the Christian kingdoms to the north. They also frequently were harassed by the Mozárabes people who resided in the Muslim borderlands. The Toledo army formed by the union of the people of Toledo and he retreated to the lands to the south, followed by the army of Toledo which fell into an ambush, as the bulk of the arab army had anticipated this movement. This resulted in the massacre of more than 8,000 souls, giving victory to the Muslim empire, the organized forces of Muhammad I were easily able to rout the town rabble and their Christian men at arms from Asturias and Navarre. They were however, unable to take the city for another 7 years. After the Toledan and Asturian forces were defeated at Guadalacete, Muhammad I failed to capture the city, the rebellion, which was inspired by the Christian clergy and aided by the Muladi, was prolonged until the year 858 due to a continued desire for independence from Cordoba. In 858 Muhammad finally conquered the city and jailed Bishop Eugenio, reconquista Muhammad I of Córdoba Emirate of Córdoba Kingdom of Asturias Historia del Condado de Castilla
22.
Battle of Monte Laturce
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The Battle of Monte Laturce, also known as the second Battle of Albelda, was a victory for the forces of Ordoño I of the Kingdom of Asturias and his ally García Íñiguez of Pamplona. The battle took place during the Asturian siege of a new fortress under construction by Musa at Albelda, the fortress was taken a few days after the battle. The Chronicle of Alfonso III relates how, in an unspecified year, while the Asturian monarch circumvallated the new fortress, Musa camped his army on the nearby hill of Monte Laturce, hoping to force the raising of the siege. Ordoño divided his forces, leaving one half to tend to the ongoing siege, in a pitched battle the Muslims were routed, Musa was severely injured and barely evaded capture, while his Basque son-in-law, García, was killed. The Christians counted 12,000 Muslim cavalry among the dead, Ordoño then concentrated all his men on taking the fortress, which they did on the seventh day of the siege. Its defenders were executed and then its walls razed, Musas son, Lubb ibn Musa, the governor of Toledo, on learning of his fathers defeat, immediately submitted to Ordoño and remained loyal to him until his death. The battle appears to have impressed itself on the memory of its generation, besides the name and reign of Ordoño I is the notice Ipse allisit Albaida, This one destroyed Albelda. The Battle of Monte Laturce provided aspects for the fictional Battle of Clavijo. He himself was pierced by an arrow and would have been captured had not a friend of his — a Christian soldier in another time, the rout of Monte Laturce is usually dated to 859 or 860. The next day he was defeated in battle and many Muslims lost their lives as martyrs, the date of Sancho and Emenons capture is not given. Los Banu Qasi, Príncipe de Viana,41, 5-96, lo viejo y lo nuevo sobre el origen del Reino de Pamplona
23.
Day of Zamora
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The battle ended with in victory for the citys defenders. The troops of Ahmed-ben-Moavia surrounded the city of Zamora in July of 901, the battle lasted four days, finally resulting in victory for the citys Christian defenders. After the victory, the chronicles describe how the Asturian defenders severed the heads of Muslim leaders, a portion of the wall south of the citys main cathedral lies next to a street called Calle Balborraz. This denomination originates from the Arab word bab al ras where bab means door, the Hispano-Muslim chroniclers of this battle include Ibn Hayyan, who followed the account written by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Razi. He attributes the attack to the Shia movement under the authority of the prophet Ibn al-Quitt, battle of Alhandic - The battle of the same nickname which took place outside the city walls in 939 and resulted in Muslim victory. Zamora, Spain Alfonso III of Asturias Reconquista
24.
Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz (917)
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The Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista which occurred in the year 917. The battle pitted the Omayyad forces of the Caliphate of Cordoba under Abi-Abda against the troops of the Kingdom of Leon under Ordoño II of León, the battle resulted in a Leonese victory. In 912, Ordoño II ordered the repoblación of San Esteban de Gormaz as the city had one of the borderline cities in between the Moorish and Christian zones of the Iberian Peninsula. This region had become depopulated early in the Muslim takeover and acted as a zone between the two groups. Once hearing of Ordoño IIs efforts to repopulate and take control of the city, Ordoño II was able to successfully come to the citys aid and routed the Muslim forces. Abi-Abda himself was captured during the fray and executed by decapitation and his head was put on display on the citys ramparts as a warning to the Muslims. A similar battle would take place in 919 where the Muslims were repulsed, the city would change hands multiple times until 1054 when the town was permanently retaken by the Christian forces under the command of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, also known as el Cid. Historia de San Esteban de Gormaz
25.
Battle of Alhandic
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The Battle of Alhandic, also known as Zamoras trench Battle, was a battle that occurred on August 5,939 in the city of Zamora, Spain. The battle occurred when the troops of Abd-ar-Rahman III assaulted the walls of Zamora, the defending troops were those loyal to Ramiro II of León, King of the Kingdom of Leon. The fighting was so bloody that the tide of the battle did not turn until the surrounding the city walls was entirely filled with corpses. The troops of Aberraman III won the day and were able to seize the city of Zamora and this battle should not be confused with the Day of Zamora which took place a few decades before in the year 901. Once Abd-ar-Rahman III came to power, he was quick to assert his power and he wanted to consolidate his power base and reestablish the internal order of the Emirate of Córdoba. He decided to go to the border and attack the cities that acted as a buffer against the Asturian / Leonese lands to the north. It was on this line that he came upon Zamora. The city was important because it was squarely in the path of march typically used by the Leonese troops. Abderraman attacked the city on August 5,939 and his strategy was to fill the pit, or moat around the city with bodies and debris so that his men could more easily climb the parapets and thus engage the defending soldiers directly. This bloodthirsty strategy lends its name to the battle which is known as the Batalla del Foso de Zamora. The final result was a victory for the troops of Abderramán III who conquered the city of Zamora. The actual occupation of the city however lasted less than one year, Day of Zamora - Celebrates the battle which took place outside the city walls in 901. Zamora, Spain Ramiro II of León Battle of Simancas
26.
Battle of Simancas
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The battle decided the control of the lands of the Duero. The battle unfolded after the army of Abd al-Rahman III launched toward the northern Christian territories in 934, Abd al-Rahman III had gathered a large army of caliphal fighters, with the help of the Andalusian governor of Zaragoza, Abu Yahya. The Leonese king Ramiro II led the counterattack with an army constituted of his own troops, those of Castile under Count Fernan Gonzalez, two days passed without either side making any movement. The battle lasted some days, with the allied Christian troops emerging victorious, furtun ibn Muhammad, wali of Huesca, withheld his troops from the battle. He was hunted down near Calatayud by Salama ibn Ahmad ibn Salama, taken to Córdoba and this eclipse corresponds with the following eclipse from NASA, http, //eclipse. gsfc. nasa. gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap. php. Ecl=09390719 Corresponding to a totality of 96.8 percent
27.
Battle of Estercuel
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The Battle of Estercuel took place on 6 July 975 between the forces of the Kingdom of Viguera, under king Ramiro Garcés, and those of the Caliphate of Córdoba, under the kaid of Zaragoza, al-Tuyibi. The battle, a skirmish of the Christian–Muslim frontier, was a victory for the Caliphate. Several leading Navarrese magnates were killed and Ramiro was injured, the forces of the Kingdom of Pamplona, under Sancho II Garcés Abarca, Ramiros half-brother, were also engaged at Gormaz, where they were defeated alongside the Castilians under García Fernández. The kaid was on the road to Zaragoza when he encountered a Christian army under Ramiro Garcés, the chief source for the encounter is the Muqtabis of Ibn Hayyan, whose account of these years is derived directly from the so-called Anales palatinos of Isa ibn Ahmad-Razi. The disorderly Christians crossed the river Ebro at a ford and soon had lost four men, from the captive the kaid learned that the Christian army numbered some 500 cavalrymen who had marched from Sos, Ramiros chief castle, thinking that the governor of Zaragoza was away in Gormaz. Surprised by the Muslim presence, Ramiro made for the Christian castle of al-Qastil, according to Ibn Hayyan, the Muslims pursued the Christians until the asr, the afternoon prayer. Probably this chase took place over the semiarid Bardenas mountains, terminating in the valley of the river Aragón, in the region of Carcastillo, Murillo el Fruto. The site of Estercuel was to the southeast of Tudela, today uninhabited. Although Ramiro made it to safety, thirty-three of his men were killed, among them Fortún Mahunis, Fortún López, Jimeno Fortún, and the adalides Íñigo Velázquez, Íñigo Galíndez, and García ibn Salit. Another forty-seven were captured and, among Ramiros baggage, were found a silver-plated horn for calling the troops, Ramiros younger brother, Jimeno, appears as a hostage at the court of al-Hakam II in Córdoba later in 975. It has been speculated that he may have exchanged for the liberty of Sancho II
28.
Battle of Torrevicente
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It was Galibs intention to continue the policy of previous caliphs, Abd ar-Rahman III and al-Hakam II, which was to maintain supremacy over the Christian principalities in peace. Ibn Abi ‘Amir was pursuing a new policy of jihad, signalled by his seven aggressive actions against the Christians in the three years. Both Ramiro and Galib died during the battle and Ibn Abi ‘Amir was victorious and it was the twelfth of Ibn Abi ‘Amirs military campaigns, and was called in Muslim sources the Campaign of the Victory. The principal sources for the battle—all Arabic—are Ibn al-Khatib, Ibn Hazm, and al-Udri, while Ibn Idari, al-Maqqari, and Ibn Alabar give brief notices. Ibn Hazm relied for his account on his father, Ahmad ibn Hazm, no Christian or Latin source mentions the battle, but the Anales castellanos segundos states that the Moors took Atienza in the year 1018 of the Spanish era, which correspondsd to 980. Atienza was conquered, not from the Christians, but from Galibs partisans as a result of their defeat at Torrevicente, Ibn Abi ‘Amir left Córdoba on 4 Dhu al-Qidah 370 in the Islamic calendar. Friday passed without battle, perhaps out of respect for the Muslim holy day, the octogenarian Galib, riding a horse and wearing a tall helmet, himself led the initial charge against the Berbers, who immediately broke ranks and fled. The left wing likewise broke under a charge and, in Ahmad ibn Hazms words, having dispersed both of Ibn Abi ‘Amirs flanks, Galib reportedly prayed that God would aid whomever was better suited to lead the Muslims. Then, spurring his horse, he descended into a nearby ravine. His comrades, presuming he was relieving himself, did not follow, the cause of death was unknown. Believing Galibs death was a sign from God, a group of his followers went to seek peace from Ibn Abi ‘Amir. One brought his seal, another his hand, and another his horse and it was then that the Muslims inflicted a severe defeat on Galibs Christian allies. Galibs remaining Muslim troops panicked and fled in the direction of Atienza, garcía managed to escape, but Ramiro was found among the dead, along with many other Christians. Muslim historians interpreted the battle as a victory over the Christians, Ibn Abi ‘Amir followed his victory by taking Atienza and Calatayud, the centres of Galibs support, and directing a razzia into Castile. After sevety-eight days campaigning, he returned to Córdoba in triumph on 27 July and it is by the medieval Latinisation of al-Manṣūr that Ibn Abi ‘Amir is best known today, Almanzor. In Córdoba, Galibs skin was stuffed with cotton and crucified in the gate of the alcázar and his head, also nailed to a cross, was placed in the gateway of al-Zahira, where it remained until the destruction of that place. Both the identity and the death of Ramiro at Torrevicente has been a matter of some controversy, Ibn al-Khatib and Ibn Hazm refer to him as Rudmir ibn San, that is, Ramiro Sánchez. The well-known difficulties of Arab historiographers in tracking the various Sanchos, Ramiro Garcés was Sancho of Navarres brother and he is not known from any documents dating later than 981
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Battle of Rueda
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The battle ended in a disastrous defeat for the Christian kingdoms and resulted in the rebellion of the Galician nobles and the eventual abdication of King Ramiro III in favor of Bermudo II of León. The battle followed a similar defeat at the Battle of Torrevicente, reconquista Almanzor Sancho II of Pamplona Bermudo II of León Ramiro III of Leon Martínez Díez, Gonzalo. El Condado de Castilla, la historia frente a la leyenda
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Battle of Cervera
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The battle, tremendous and difficult to describe, was a victory for Almanzor. The battle is listed as the fifty-second of Almanzors career in the Dikr bilad al-Andalus, on 21 June 1000 an army left Córdoba under Almanzor for a punitive expedition against Castile. The subsequent campaign is the most well-recorded of Almanzors many wars after his Compostela campaign of 997. Almanzor crossed the Duero and invaded Castile near Madinat Selim, where he sighted an army under Sancho García, Almanzor passed by the fortresses of Osma, San Esteban de Gormaz, and Clunia, which had been in Muslim hands for several years at that point. Just north of Clunia he was surprised to find a large Christian army, the implication of these events is that Sanchos planning and communications had been superior to those of Almanzor. According to Ibn al-Khatib the Christians solemnly swore an oath not to retreat from battle, Almanzor was aware of his disadvantaged position—the Christians had a stronger camp and better sightlines, with a large open field before them—but his viziers could not agree on how to proceed. Then, without planning and without strategy, the Christian host descended on the unsuspecting Muslims, Almanzors right and left columns were attacked simultaneously and soon fell back, which inspired the Christians to press their advantage even more boldly. The majority of the Muslim rear, disoriented by the attack and disheartened by the result. According to the eyewitness Jalaf ibn Husayn, Almanzor, with his escort, while he was debating whether to throw his retinue into the fight the right wing broke, which furthered the confusion. One of Almanzors secretaries, Abd al-Malik ibn Idris al-Yaziri, said to Said Ibn Yusuf, as reported by Ibn al-Qalina, Come to say goodbye, O martyr, by the end of the day Said Ibn Yusuf was dead. Jalaf also related how, when Almanzor asked him how many of his own retinue remained, Jalaf counted them off for him one by one, Almanzor eventually dismounted and returned to his couch in order to strengthen the confidence of those around him. It was there that Jalaf says he hit upon the idea of transferring the camp from the depression in which he had first pitched it to the hill from which he had been observing the battle. The sight of the tent of Almanzor now propped on the hill demoralised the Christians. In their ten-mile flight many Christians were captured and many more killed, the Christian camp was captured and pillaged. Among these, Kayaddayr al-Dammari al-Abra, a prince of the north African tribe of the Banu Dammari, was most famous, at Cervera he reputedly decapitated one of the counts of the Banu Gumis and carried his head about with him. Ibn al-Khatib also praises Almanzors second son by another woman, Abd al-Rahman, both brothers watched the battle with their father until he finally permitted them, tearfully, to join it. Though the battle was a Muslim victory, the Christians did succeed in preventing further inroads by Almanzor in Castile, in fact Almanzors attention was drawn away from Castile and towards Pamplona. On 4 September he took a place, Kashtila, best identified with Carcastillo, on the road from Zaragoza to Pamplona
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