1.
Taifa
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The caliphate of Cordova, at this time among the richest and most powerful states in Europe, underwent civil war, known as fitna. As a result, it broke into taifas, small rival emirates fighting among themselves, however, the political decline and chaos was not immediately followed by cultural decline. Intense intellectual and literary activity continued in some of the larger taifas, there was a second period when taifas arose, toward the middle of the 12th century, when the Almoravid rulers were in decline. During the heyday of the taifas, in the 11th century and again in the mid 12th century, their emirs competed among themselves, not only militarily and they tried to recruit the most famous poets and artisans. Due to their weakness, taifa princes appealed for North African warriors to come fight Christian kings on two occasions. The Almoravids were invited after the fall of Toledo, and the Almohads after the fall of Lisbon and these warriors did not in fact help the taifa emirs but rather annexed their lands to their own North African empires. Taifas often hired Christian mercenaries to fight neighbouring realms, the most dynamic taifa, which conquered most of its neighbours before the Almoravid invasion, was Seville. Zaragoza was also powerful and expansive, but inhibited by the neighbour Christian states of the Pyrenees. Zaragoza, Toledo, and Badajoz had previously been the military districts of the Caliphate. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, about 33 taifas were independent after the civil war, the strongest and largest taifa in this first period were the Taifa of Zaragoza, Taifa of Toledo, Taifa of Badajoz and the Taifa of Seville. The only taifa which conquered most of the neighbours was Taifa of Seville under the Abbadid Dynasty ruler. Al-Tagr Al-Adna This region includes the Centro and Lisboa region of Portugal, Badajoz 1013-1022/1034-1094, 1027-1034,1094 Lisbon 1022-1034, 1034-1093 Al-Garb This region includes the Alentejo and Algarve region of Portugal. Toledo, 1010/1031–1085 Al-Musata This region only includes the provinces of Ciudad Real, Albacete, albarracín, 1011–1104 Alpuente, 1009–1106 Rueda, 1118–30 Tortosa, 1039–1060, 1081/1082–1092 Zaragoza, 1018–1046, 1046–1110 Al-Xarq This region includes the region of Valencia, Murcia and Baleares. Almería, 1011–1091 Denia, 1010/1012–1076 Jérica, 11th century Lorca, 1051–1091 Majorca, purchena, dates and destiny uncertain or unknown Ronda,1145 Santarém. –1147 Segura, 1147–
2.
Catalan counties
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The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica and southernmost part of the March of Gothia created after its Frankish conquest. The various counties roughly defined what came to be known as the Principality of Catalonia, in 778, Charlemagne led the first Frankish expedition into Hispania to create the Marca Hispanica, a buffer zone between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus and the Frankish Kingdom of Aquitaine. The territory that he subdued was the kernel of Catalonia and these counties were originally feudal entities ruled by a small military elite. Originally, counts were appointed directly by and owed allegiance to the Carolingian emperor, the appointment to heirs could not be taken for granted. This trend resulted in the counts becoming de facto independent of the Carolingian crown under Borrell II in 987, the reconquista from the Moors by the Franks began in 785. In 785, Rostany was made Count of Girona, the first of the Catalan counties to be established, besalú and Empúries were originally part of Girona. In 797, in the greatest military triumph of his career, the young Louis took Barcelona. When Urgell and Cerdanya were subdued around 798, they were made counties. He took an active part in the subsequent conquest of Osona in 799. He was made count of Osona in 799, perhaps as a reward for his services, in 801, the greatest of the counties, Barcelona, was established under Bera. In 812, Count Odilo of Girona died and the county passed to Bera. In 804 and 805, Borrell participated in the expeditions to Tortosa, but not in the subsequent campaigns of 807,808, on Borrells death in 820, Osona was given to Rampon and Urgell and Cerdanya went to Aznar Galíndez. Also in 820, Bera went into political disfavour and lost the countships of Barcelona and Girona, around 813, Empúries became a separate county under Ermenguer, and in 817, it was united to the County of Roussillon. From 835 to 844, Sunyer I was count of Empúries and Peralada while Alaric I was count of Roussillon, besalú was made a separate county in 878 for Radulf on the condition that it pass to the heirs of Wilfred the Hairy on his death. It went to Miro I the Younger in 912, Barcelona soon overshadowed the other counties in importance, especially during the reign of Wilfred the Hairy in the late 9th century. At that time, the power of the Carolingians was waning and the neglected Hispanic march was practically independent of royal authority. In the early 11th century, Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona, was able to submit to Sancho III of Navarre as his suzerain, even though he was still legally a vassal of Robert II of France. With the accession of Roberts father, Hugh Capet, the first non-Carolingian king, in 987, over the next century, most of the Catalan counties would come into the hands of the counts of Barcelona
3.
Nasrid dynasty
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The Nasrid dynasty was the last Muslim dynasty in Spain, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1238 until 1492. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrids is the Alhambra palace complex built under their rule. When Abu l-Hasan Ali the reigning amir was ousted by his son Abu Abd Allah Mumhamed XII, Abu l-Hasan Ali retreated to Málaga and civil war broke out between the competing factions. Christians took full advantage of this and continued capturing Muslims strongholds, muhammed XII was caught by Christian forces in 1483 at Lucena. He was freed after he swore an oath of allegiance to Ferdinand, Abu l-Hasan Ali finally abdicated in favor of his brother Sad al-Zaghal and a power struggle with Abu Abd Allah continued. Sad prevailed in the struggle but was forced to surrender to the Christians. Abu Abd Allah was given a lordship in the Alpujarras mountains, the family tree below shows the genealogical relationship between each sultan of the Nasrid dynasty. It starts with their ancestor, Yusuf al-Ahmar. Daughters are omitted, as are sons whose descendants never reigned, during times of rival claims to the throne, the family tree generally recognizes the sultan who controlled the city of Granada itself and the Alhambra palace. Al-Andalus Alhambra Romance of Abenamar Fernández Puertas, Antonio, from the Ninth Century to Yusuf I. L’Espagne musulmane au Temps des Nasrides, entre la historia y la leyenda. Cortés Peña, Antonio Luis, Vincent, Bernard
4.
Imperator totius Hispaniae
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Imperator totius Hispaniae is a Latin title meaning Emperor of all Spain. In Spain in the Middle Ages, the emperor was used under a variety of circumstances from the ninth century onwards. It was primarily used by the Kings of León and Castile, the use of the imperial title received scant recognition outside of Spain and it had become largely forgotten by the thirteenth century. The analogous feminine title, empress, was frequently used for the consorts of the emperors. Only one reigning queen, Urraca, had occasion to use it, a surviving charter of 863 refers to Ordoño I as our lord, residing in the Asturias, qualifying him as a commanding prince. This residential form of title was preferred because the Asturian kingdom at this stage was not ethnically unified or well-defined. The first document, dated to 866 or 867, confirmed by Alfonso, who signs as I, Alfonso, of all Spain emperor, the other refers to him simply as Alfonso, Emperor of Spain. The forger may have borrowed these exalted titles from the chancery of Alfonso VI, the subscription lists of both these charters are compatible with the dates, and it has been suggested that the clauses referring to Alfonso as emperor are derived from authentic charters. A similarly grandiose title is given to Alfonso in the contemporary Chronica Prophetica, the authenticity of the letter is still debated. Besides the apocryphal charters, there are genuine, posthumous documents referring to Alfonso as emperor, in one that dates from 917, in the reign of his son Ordoño II of León, the king confirms as Ordoño, son of the Emperor Alfonso the Great. A document from 950 can also be cited that refers to Alfonso with the imperial title, the pertinent passage reads, They put in place a border with Gonzalo, son of our lord emperor Prince Alfonso. A royal diploma of 922, where Ordoño II refers to himself as emperor, is the first recorded instance of a Leonese king doing so, the charter reads, I, the most serene emperor Ordoño. Although he apparently avoided the imperial style himself, his subjects, private documents of his reign commonly refer to him as the great king, as in a document of 930. Contemporary documents of the reign of Ramiro III of León use the magnified titles basileus and magnus rex, the former is a Latinisation of the Greek for king and was the title employed by the Byzantine Emperors. To western European ears it had an imperial inflection, during the regency of Ramiros aunt, the nun Elvira Ramírez, the king confirmed a document of 1 May 974 as Flavius Ramiro, prince, anointed great basileus in the kingdom. I confirm with my own hand, Elvira, basilea, paternal aunt of the king. Its use in a document of the tenth century harkens back to Visigothic rule, a judicial document that emanated from the royal court in 976 refers to a certain royal servant as in the palace of the most lordly king–emperor. in obedient service to his most lordly emperor. In the first decades of the century, the Catalan Abbot Oliba referred to the kings of León, Alfonso V and Bermudo III
5.
Monarchs of Spain family tree
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The following is the family tree of the Spanish monarchs starting from Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon till the present day. The former kingdoms of Aragon, Castile and Navarre were independent kingdoms that unified in the 15th century to become the Kingdom of Spain, la Genealogía de Los Reyes de España. Official website of the Royal Household of Spain, family Tree of the Spanish House of Bourbon
6.
Visigothic Kingdom
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The Visigothic Kingdom or Kingdom of the Visigoths was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. The Kingdom maintained independence from the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the kingdom of the 6th and 7th centuries is sometimes called the regnum Toletanum after the new capital of Toledo. The ethnic distinction between the indigenous Hispano-Roman population and the Visigoths had largely disappeared by this time, Liber Iudiciorum abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Romans and for Visigoths. Most of the Visigothic Kingdom was conquered by Arab Umayyad troops from North Africa in 711 AD and these gave birth to the medieval Kingdom of Asturias when a local landlord called Pelayo, most likely of Gothic origin, was elected Princeps by the Astures. The Visigoths also developed the influential law code known in Western Europe as the Liber Iudiciorum. From 407 to 409 AD, the Germanic Vandals, with the allied Alans and Suebi, crossed the frozen Rhine, for their part, the Visigoths under Alaric famously sacked Rome in 410, capturing Galla Placidia, the sister of Western Roman emperor Honorius. After he married Placidia, the Emperor Honorius enlisted him to provide Visigothic assistance in regaining nominal Roman control of Hispania from the Vandals, Alans and Suevi. In 418, Honorius rewarded his Visigothic federates under King Wallia by giving land in the Garonne valley of Gallia Aquitania on which to settle. This probably took place under hospitalitas, the rules for billeting army soldiers, the Visigoths with their capital at Toulouse, remained de facto independent, and soon began expanding into Roman territory at the expense of the feeble Western empire. Under Theodoric I, the Visigoths attacked Arles and Narbonne, but were checked by Flavius Aetius using Hunnic mercenaries, by 451, the situation had reversed and the Huns had invaded Gaul, now Theodoric fought under Aetius against Attila the Hun in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Attila was driven back, but Theodoric was killed in the battle, the Vandals completed the conquest of North Africa when they took Carthage on October 19,439 and the Suevi had taken most of Hispania. The Roman emperor Avitus now sent the Visigoths into Hispania, Theodoric II invaded and defeated the King of the Suevi, Rechiarius, at the battle on the river Orbigo in 456 near Asturica Augusta and then sacked Bracara Augusta the Suevi capital. The Goths sacked the cities in Spain quite brutally, they massacred a portion of the population and even attacked some holy places, theoderic took control over Hispania Baetica, Carthaginiensis and southern Lusitania. In 461, the Goths received the city of Narbonne from the emperor Libius Severus in exchange for their support. This led to a revolt by the army and by Gallo-Romans under Aegidius, as a result, Romans under Severus and the Visigoths fought other Roman troops, in 466, Euric, who was the youngest son of Theodoric I, came to the Visigothic throne. He is infamous for murdering his elder brother Theodoric II who had become king by murdering his elder brother Thorismund. Under Euric, the Visigoths began expanding in Gaul and consolidating their presence in the Iberian peninsula, Euric fought a series of wars with the Suebi who retained some influence in Lusitania, and brought most of this region under Visigothic power, taking Emerita Augusta in 469. Euric also attacked the Western Roman Empire, capturing Hispania Tarraconensis in 472, by 476, he had extended his rule to the Rhone and the Loire rivers which comprised most of southern Gaul
7.
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
8.
Iberian Peninsula
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The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
9.
Prince of Asturias
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Prince or Princess of Asturias, was the title of the heir of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon and later the main title used by the heir of the Kingdom of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Article 572, the title originated in 1388, when King John I of Castile granted the dignity – which included jurisdiction over the territory– to his first-born son Henry. The custom of granting titles to royal heirs had already been in use in the Kingdoms of Aragon, England. In 1705, with the advent of the House of Bourbon on the Spanish throne, from its origins, there have been buying and selling operations. These lordships were unique, they were territories that in remote times formed the Kingdom of Asturias, Henry, once King, ceded the counties to his illegitimate son Alfonso Enríquez. After two decades of conflicts of varying intensity, the arrived at a compromise through means of the marriage between Prince Henry and Catherine of Lancaster. On 8 July 1388 the Treaty of Bayonne was signed between John of Lancaster and King John I of Castile, establishing the final dynastic reconciliation after the assassination of King Peter I, the title was granted with a ceremony. Besieged by the Kings troops, he submitted to the arbitration of King Charles VI of France, the territory was subdued, and his royal status was confirmed. In the early days of its creation, the title of Prince of Asturias was not just an honorific title. The Prince ruled it in representation of the King and was able to appoint judges, mayors, in the periods in which no prince was proclaimed, the Principality did not disappear but was directly governed by the monarch, to whose treasury were sent the jurisdictional rents. With Prince John the title was added to a list of titles used by the Hispanic monarchy, the heir adding the titles of Prince of Asturias, Girona, Spain, and the New World. The imperialist aspirations are observed in the new title of the heir of the Catholic Monarchs, Prince of these Kingdoms, Prince of the Spains and the New World. The 16th and 17th centuries were characterized by conflicts between the King and the principality because of the titles and dignities granted and referring to the territory. Only during the reign of Philip IV was a proper ceremony introduced for the Princes oath as heir, another period for the title began at the beginning of the 19th century with the arrival of the constitutional regime. During discussions, some proposed that the Prince should be renamed of the Spains and not of Asturias, while others wanted him to use the dignity only after his oath. The project remained unchanged and was finally approved, however, the Royal Order of 25 March 1875 ratified the doctrine of 1850 by granting Infanta María Isabel Francisca de Asís the title of Princess of Asturias. The Royal Decree of 22 August 1880 tried to clarify all the confusion and established the titles and honors of the Prince and Infantes. The decree stated that any immediate successor, male or female, had to be granted the title.1 of the Constitution
10.
Pelagius of Asturias
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Pelagius was a Visigothic nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias, ruling it from 718 until his death. Through his victory at the Battle of Covadonga, he is credited with beginning the Reconquista and he established an independent Christian state in opposition to Moorish hegemony. The chief sources for Pelagiuss life and career are two Latin chronicles written in the ninth century in the kingdom he founded. The first is the Chronica Albeldensia, written at Albelda towards 881, the only likely earlier written sources from which these chroniclers could derive information are regnal lists. Pelagius was a Visigoth nobleman, the son of Fafila, the Chronica Albeldensis says that this Fafila was a dux of Gallaecia, who was killed by Wittiza. The Chronicle of Alfonso III identifies Pelagius as a grandson of Chindasuinth and says that his father was blinded in Córdoba, Wittiza is also said to have exiled Pelagius from Toledo upon assuming the crown in 702. In the opinion of Collins, all of this is a late tradition, if Munuzas seat is identified with Gijón, it may be inferred that the Arabs had established their rule in the Asturias and that Pelagius was not the leader of a local resistance to Arab conquest. At some point Pelagius is said to have rebelled, but for what reasons is unknown, a Muslim army was sent against him under the command of Alkama and the Christian bishop of Seville, Oppa. That Alkama was the general and that there was a bishop of Seville named Oppa among his ranks is generally accepted, a battle was fought near Covadonga in which Alkama was killed and Oppa captured. Moorish chronicles of the event describe Pelagius and his force as thirty wild donkeys. The battle is dated to 718 or 719, between the governorships of al-Hurr and as-Sham, though some have dated it as late as 722. After his election as princeps of the Asturians by the magnates in the Visigothic manner. The Chronica Rotensis says about this election, His kingdom, firstly centred on the eastern Asturias and he married his daughter Ermesinda to the future king Alfonso I, son of Pelagius eastern neighbour, Duke Peter of Cantabria. Pelagius reigned for eighteen or nineteen years until his death in 737 and he was buried in the church of Santa Eulalia de Abamia, located in the surroundings of the village of Corao, near Cangas de Onís. His remains were transferred by King Alfonso X of Castile to the Holy Cave of Covadonga, as were those of his wife Gaudiosa and his sister. He left, in addition to his son and successor Fafila, a daughter, Ermesinda, further reading Díaz y Díaz, Manuel C. Asturias en el siglo VIII, La cultura literaria, media related to Pelayo I of Asturias at Wikimedia Commons
11.
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
12.
Favila of Asturias
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Fafila, Favila, or Favilac was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his death. He was the son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch, and was named after his paternal grandfather. In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís and he was said to have been killed by a bear on a hunt. The hunt was probably a political tool for fostering political ties within his court, nonetheless, later chroniclers criticised him as given over to excessive levity. Favila was buried with his wife Froiluba in the Church of Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís, according to the foundation inscription of Santa Cruz, he left children, but they did not succeed him. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law Alfonso, husband of his sister Ermesinda, the Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97
13.
Alfonso I of Asturias
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Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic, was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and he succeeded his brother-in-law Favila, and was succeeded by his son, Fruela I. Alfonsos youngest son, Mauregatus, also king, and his daughter Adosinda was consort to king Silo of Asturias. The dynasty started by Alfonso is known by its contemporary Arabic name, as the son of Duke Peter of Cantabria, Alfonso held many lands in that region. He is said to have married Ermesinda, daughter of Pelagius and he succeeded Pelagius son, his brother-in-law, Favila, on the throne after the latters premature death. Whether Pelagius or Favila were ever considered kings in their own lifetime is debatable and he began a lifelong war against the Moors. In 740, he conquered Galicia and in 754, León and he went as far as La Rioja. However, the few urban populations of these frontier regions fled to his northern dominions and this created the so-called Desert of the Duero, an empty region between the River Duero and the Asturian Mountains. Alfonso intended it this way, he wished to leave such a zone where any invading army would find it too difficult to survive, besides the martial, the demographic and cultural effects of this policy on later Asturian, Spanish and Portuguese history is large. It was over a hundred years before the region was repopulated, the Arab writers speak of the kings of the northwest of Iberia as the Beni-Alfons, and appear to recognize them as a Galician royal stock derived from Alfonso I. Alfonso is credited with establishing the shrine of Our Lady of Covadonga and he and his queen are interred there. Their epitaph reads, AQVI YAZE EL CATOLICO Y SANTO REI DON ALONSO EL PRIMERO I SV MVJER DOÑA ERMENISINDA ERMANA DE DON FAVILA A QVIEN SVCEDIO, GANO ESTE REY MVCHAS VITORIAS À LOS MOROS. FALLECIO EN CANGAS AÑO DE757, here lies the Catholic and Holy King Don Alfonso the First and his wife Doña Ermesinda, sister of Don Favila to whom he succeeded. This king won many victories against the Moors and he died in Cangas in the year 757. Three were through his marriage to Ermesinda, although Mauregatus was born to a Muslim slave, Fruela I of Asturias, succeeded Alfonso as king. Vimorano, assassinated in 765 by Fruela, Adosinda, Queen consort of King Silo of Asturias Mauregatus of Asturias, Succeeded Silo as king
14.
Astur-Leonese dynasty
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The Asturian or Astur-Leonese dynasty, known in Arabic as the Beni Alfons or Banu Alfonso, was the ruling family of Asturias, Galicia and León from about 740 until 1037. The first king of the dynasty was Alfonso I, son of Duke Peter of Cantabria, for the first century, rule alternated between Alfonsos descendants and those of his brother, Fruela of Cantabria. With the death of Alfonso II a century later, a branch of the family took the throne. The rule of the dynasty ended with the defeat and death of Bermudo III in 1037, under their rule, the Astur-Leonese kingdom went from a small mountain enclave to one of the dominant powers in Hispania. In 1037, King Ferdinand I of the Jiménez dynasty of Navarre ascended the throne, stanley G. Payne, A History of Spain and Portugal, Volume 1, Chapter Three
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Fruela I of Asturias
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Fruela I, called the Cruel, was the King of Asturias from 757 until his death, when he was assassinated. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I and continued the work of his father and he suppressed an uprising of the Basques, from whom he took the noble Munia, whom he later married. She is mother of Fruelas eventual successor, Alfonso, according to legend, she was also mother of Jimena, mother of the legendary hero of romance Bernardo del Carpio. During his reign, the city of Oviedo was founded, on November 25,761, under Fruela, good relations between the church and the king continued as in the reign of his father — Alfonso the Catholic. Fruela did not finish his reign happily, having assassinated his brother Vimerano, and with the nobles restless, he named as his successor Bermudo, son of Vimerano. Unfortunately a plot was formed against him, which ended with Fruelas assassination in Cangas de Onís, his capital, the bodies of Fruela and his wife Munia are interred in the cathedral of Oviedo
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Aurelius of Asturias
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Aurelius was the King of Asturias from 768 to his death. Born in León, he was the son of Fruela of Cantabria, nephew of Alfonso I of Asturias, and his brother, Bermudo I, later reigned as king 789 –791. Aurelius was chosen as king by the Asturian nobility after Fruela assassinated his brother and was in turn assassinated and he is believed to have been crowned in Sama. His seems to have been a quiet and peaceful reign. The only event of his reign narrated in the chronicles was a rebellion of serfs, the location of the uprising is unknown, but it is the first recorded instance of anti-seignorial revolt in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. It would appear that his residence and the effective capital of Asturias during his reign was the municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio. Having reigned six years, Aurelius died there of natural causes in the year 774, the chronicles of the era make no mention of Aurelius having a wife or children. He was succeeded by his cousin-in-law, Silo, husband of Alfonso Is daughter Adosinda, historians disagree about the disposition of Aureliuss remains. The medieval Asturian Chronicles disagree with one another, some say that he was entombed near where he lived in the Valley of Langreo, in the (Church of San Martín de Tours in San Martín del Rey Aurelio, where there is a tomb engraved Rey Aurelio. The Estoria de España or Primera Crónica General, written in the 13th century during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, gran Enciclopedia Asturiana Editor, Silverio Cañada ISBN 84-7286-130-9
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Silo of Asturias
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Silo was the king of Asturias from 774 to 783, succeeding Aurelius. He came to the throne upon his marriage to Adosinda, daughter of Alfonso I and he moved the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias from Cangas de Onís to Pravia, closer to the center of the kingdom. He was a contemporary of Abd al-Rahman I, Umayyad Emir of Córdoba, in Silos time, monarchs were apparently elected by the nobility as in the earlier Visigothic Kingdom. Monarchs were chosen from among a number of dynasties. Each of these leads to a somewhat different account of Silos accession to the throne. According to the Chronicon Albeldense, Silo kept peace with the Muslims ob causam matris, the meaning of this phrase has been debated by scholars. One could explain the inactivity of the Muslims with respect to the Kingdom of Asturias by the fact that Silos reign coincided with the intervention of Charlemagne in Spain in 778. Conversely, within the Kingdom of Asturias, during Silos reign Galicia rebelled for the second time, the chronicles do not elucidate the motives for the rebellion. The rebel army faced Silos troops in the Battle of Montecubeiro in what is now the Province of Lugo, the oldest known medieval written document in the Iberian peninsula dates from Silos reign. The Diploma del Rei Don Sílo dates from 23 August 775, in this contractual document of donation pro anima, Silo granted particular properties in the village of Tabulata in Lucis to a group of monks, with the intention that they would found a monastery. Upon ascending to the throne, Silo moved the capital from Cangas de Onís to Pravia, the region in which he was a local magnate, a landed aristocrat. The new capital had the advantage that Pravia, an ancient Roman settlement, was located in the valley of the Nalón River along the Roman road to Asturica Augusta. Furthermore, once Silo extended the frontiers of the realm to Galicia, Silo died in Pravia in 783. After his death, Silos widow Adosinda engineered the election of her nephew Alfonso, son of Fruela I, the adolescent was named governor of the Palatium Regis, roughly chancellor. The throne was seized by Mauregato, son of Alfonso I. Silo was entombed in the Church of San Juan Apóstol y Evangelista, Santianes de Pravia, the tomb believed to be his and Adosindas remains there to this day. Nonetheless, the Maestro Custodio is said to have stated that Silos remains were moved to the monastery of San Juan de las Dueñas in the city of Oviedo, and re-interred behind the main altar there
