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Fortress Of Santa Engracia
The castles in Spain were built mainly for Spain, the country's defense, particularly with respect to fortification. During the Middle Ages, northern Christian kingdoms had to secure their borders with their Muslim southern neighbours, thus forcing both Christian and Muslim kings to grant border fiefs to their Homage (feudal), liege noblemen so as to keep and maintain defensive fortresses. When the Reconquista advanced, those border castles lost their initial purpose, and, as in the rest of medieval Europe, they were used as noble residences and fief-keeps. Sporadic threats of war maintained their initial military purposes as enemy invasions were common. In some locations, such as the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque country, fiefdoms did not exist as such, and noble families could not afford nor did they need huge fortresses, giving rise to many tower houses. In Muslim Spain many castle-palaces were built: the petty ''taifa'' kingdoms that arose after the fall of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcázar De Segovia, Situado En La Ciudad Vieja De Segovia
An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout the Umayyad caliphate and later, for Christian rulers following the Spanish Reconquista. The term alcázar is also used for many medieval castles built by Christians on earlier Roman, Visigothic or Islamic fortifications and is frequently used as a synonym for ''castillo'' or castle. Terminology The Spanish word ''alcázar'' (pronounced lˈkaθaɾ derives from the Arabic word القصر ''al-qaṣr'' "the fort, castle, or palace," that in turn derives from the Latin word ''Castrum'' ("fortress", "military camp"). Similar words exist in Galician (''alcázar'', pronounced lˈkaθɐɾ, Portuguese (''alcácer'', pronounced ɫˈkasɛɾ, and Catalan (''alcàsser'', pronounced lˈkasəɾ. Spain also has Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
