Sagunto Castle (; ) is a fortress overlooking the town of

Sagunto Sagunto () is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

, near

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The site's history extends back over two thousand years and includes Iberian,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

remains. During the Islamic period, the castle was known as ''Murbĩtar'' and ''Morvedre''. The castle was declared a National Monument in 1931.Agència Valenciana del Turisme 2016. The sacking of the Iberian settlement by

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

in 219 BC led to the outbreak of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. The visible walls are largely Islamic in origin, with substantial modifications taking place after the end of Islamic rule, with the defences being strengthened and modernised. In 1811, during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, the French laid siege to the castle, and were ultimately successful in taking it, after which the defences were repaired.

Location

The castle is located north of Valencia, upon a flat-topped hill.Collins 1998, p. 229. The hill is the last upthrust of the Sierra Calderona mountains, reaching an altitude of

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

Etymology

The original Iberian name for the city was Arse.Baixauli i Bach 2013, p. 4. Sagunto was originally recorded as a Roman ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

'' in the middle of the 1st century BC, as the ''Municipium Saguntinum'', or simply Saguntum. During the reign of Wamba, king of the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, the old Roman ''municipium'' became referred to as Sagunto, and it continued under this name until 711 AD, and the end of the Visigoth kingdom. During the Muslim domination of Spain, the

Mozarabs The Mozarabs (from ), or more precisely Andalusi Christians, were the Christians of al-Andalus, or the territories of Iberia under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, the Christian ...

referred to the town as Murum Veterum, the "old wall", a name already in use by the 11th century. In time this form was contracted and corrupted into forms such as Murvetrum, Morvedre, and Molvedre, and the Muslims modified this into Murbiter. Christian documents from the 11th century use the form Murus Vetulus.

Description

The site occupies a hilltop overlooking the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, and is surrounded by

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s. The castle is divided into seven main sections or plazas. The principal divisions are the Plaza de Armas, Plaza de Almenara, Plaza de los Nueve Pilares, Plaza de San Fernando, Plaza de los Estudiantes, Plaza de la Ciudadela and Plaza del Espolón.Centro Arqueológico Saguntino 1972, pp. 35, 67. The visible ruins are essentially those of the Muslim citadel, with later modifications under Christian rule, and finally by French engineers during the Peninsular War.

Curtain wall

The curtain wall mostly dates to the Islamic period; it descended from the castle to connect to a series of fortifications laid out around the town below. It underwent substantial modifications from the Christian period through to the Peninsular War, with Gothic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

reworking of Muslim fortifications. A number of towers and

bastions A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

survive, mostly dating to the 18th century.Baixauli i Bach 2013, p. 8.

Plaza del Refectorio

The Plaza del Refectorio is the smallest of the plazas, situated in the centre of the castle upon an elevation that also supports the Reina Gobernadora battery. The Plaza del Refectorio takes its name from a number of vaulted arcades that were used as

refectories A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

. Its east side is formed by the refectory building; it is bordered on the south side by the curtain wall, on the west by a ruined double wall and a Roman tower, and on the north by a fortified wall. A corridor running between the Plaza del Refectorio and the battery links the Plaza de Armas with the Plaza de San Fernando.

Roman remains

The Plaza de Armas is accessed via an Islamic arch. Remains of the Iberian defensive wall are visible on the east side of the castle. The foundations of the Roman forum, together with those of some Iberian buildings, and those of a Roman temple or ''

capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A ''capitolium'' was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the ...

'', are all located in the forum area of the castle, upon the hilltop.Collins 1998, p. 230. The ruins of the Roman buildings are laid out around a square measuring . The plaza was fronted on the west side by a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

that measured . The east side of the square was lined by a row of ''

taberna A ''taberna'' (: ''tabernae'') was a type of shop or stall in Ancient Rome. Originally meaning a single-room shop for the sale of goods and services, ''tabernae'' were often incorporated into domestic dwellings on the ground level flanking the ...

e'' (shops). To the south of the plaza is a well-preserved cistern, and the base of the temple or ''capitolium'' are on the north side. The temple measured . A complex building was situated on the northeast side of the plaza; it has not been securely identified but it may have been a ''

curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

'' (assembly or court building) or a temple of Augustus. Since it possessed two large parallel chambers, it may have served both functions. The remains of a Roman theatre stand some down the hillside to the northwest of the forum. The cistern is likely to have been built when the city was rebuilt after the Second Punic War. The Roman forum was excavated in 1985. The original forum dated to the Late Republican period, and was largely demolished in the Early Imperial period in order to build a new forum. The replacement was built during the reign of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, and paid for by Gnaeus Baebius Geminus, a local aristocrat. The hilltop was levelled, and retaining walls reinforced by buttresses supported the artificial platform that served as a foundation for the forum. On the north side of the forum, the retaining walls and buttressing are still visible.

History

The site was apparently first settled by the Iberians in the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. These early inhabitants belonged to the

Edetani The Edetani were an ancient Iberians, Iberian (Pre-Ancient Rome, Roman) people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania). They are believed to have spoken a form of the Iberian language. See also *Iberians *Edeta *Pre-Roman peoples of the I ...

tribe. As the

Carthaginian Empire Ancient Carthage ( ; , ) was an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa. Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia, it later became a city-state, and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians ...

expanded, the inhabitants formed a defensive alliance with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The Carthaginian general

sacked the Iberian settlement in 219 BC, an action that led to the outbreak of the

. In 214 BC, the Romans took Sargunto from the Carthaginians. Between 175 and 100 BC, the Romans built a temple or ''capitolium'' on the hill. A water cistern was built close to the temple, and was later incorporated into the Imperial forum, in the 1st century AD. The history of the castle during the Islamic period is poorly studied, with Sagunto being overshadowed by Valencia during that time. It was during the Islamic period that the Albacar portion of the castle was built, as well as most of the outer wall.Baixauli i Bach 2013, p. 6. 8th century Arab records from the reign of

Abd al-Rahman I Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (; 7 March 731 – 30 September 788), commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, ...

(ruled 755–788 AD) indicate that Sagunto fell within the jurisdiction of

Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...

at that time, rather than that of Valencia. Muslim historian

Ibn Hayyan Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī () (987–1075), usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was an Arab Muslim historian from Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Pen ...

recorded that the castle was taken by force in 929–930, and mentions it again, under its Arab name, as submitting to the sultan

Abd-ar-Rahman III ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn Abd al-Rahman I, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil (; 890–961), or simply ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the Umayyad dyna ...

in 933 AD. Sagunto Castle was used as a fortress by the Muslims to defend the regions of Catalonia and Valencia. It was seized and occupied by

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

from 1098 to 1102, and was definitively removed from Muslim rule by Christian king Jaume I in 1238, who incorporated it into the

Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...

.Baixauli i Bach 2013, p. 5. By the mid-13th century, the castle was garrisoned by Christians, although the majority of the town's inhabitants were still Muslims. By the early 14th century, Sagunto (still known as Morvedre) had a growing Jewish population, resulting in the establishment of a Jewish cemetery under the castle walls in 1328.

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

reinforced the castle defences in the 14th century. In 1363, King

Peter of Castile Peter (; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called Peter the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for h ...

took the castle after laying siege to it. In 1562, Juan Bautista Antonelli was commissioned by King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

to improve and modernise the castle's defences; it was at this time that the castle precinct was divided into seven plazas. During the

Spanish War of Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, in the early 18th century, the castle was surrendered to the

Archduke of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

, but soon afterwards it passed under the control of King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

. In 1811, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, Brigadier Andriani defended the castle against French troops commanded by General Suchet, who laid siege to the fortress on 23 September of that year.Gates 1986, 2001, p. 472. Andriani withstood the siege and several assaults,Chabret 1901, 2008, p. 24. although Suchet was ultimately victorious.Gates 1986, 2001, p. 326. After taking the castle, Suchet ordered it to be repaired and strengthened the defences. These modifications were overseen by Andriani. In 1932, M. González Simancas excavated the general area of the Roman remains in the Plaza de Armas,Aranegui Gascó 1984, p. 195. but left few records of his investigations.Aranegui Gascó 1984, p. 202.

Citations

General and cited references

* Agència Valenciana del Turisme (2016).
Castillo de Sagunto
' . Valencia, Spain:

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Valen ...

. Archived fro
the original
on 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2017-03-28. * Aranegui Gascó, Carmen (1984)
La cisterna del flanco septentrional del foro de Saguntum
() . ''SAGVNTVM'', 18, pp. 195–203. Valencia, Spain: Departament de Prehistòria i Arqueologia de la Universitat de València. . . * Baixauli i Bach, Vicent (2013).
Alberg per a estudiosos i viatgers al Castell de Sagunt
' () . Valencia, Spain: Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de València, Universitat Politècnica de València. * Carruana Martínez, José Ángel; Manuel Civera i Gómez (2000)
El gliptograma de la porta nord de la Plaça del Refectori del Castell de Sagunt
. ''Revista ARSE'', 34, pp. 17–30. Sagunto, Spain: Centro Arqueológico Saguntino. * Centro Arqueológico Saguntino (1972)
Aspectos gráficos del Castillo de Sagunto
. ''Revista ARSE'', 12, pp. 35–36/67-68. Sagunto, Spain: Centro Arqueológico Saguntino. * Chabret, Antonio (2008) 901br>Sagunto. Nomenclator de las calles, plazas y puertas antiguas y modernas de la ciudad
. Valladolid, Spain: Editorial MAXTOR. . * Collins, Roger (1998). ''Spain: An Oxford Archaeological Guide''. Oxford, England:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. . * Franco Sánchez, Francisco (2006)
Sagunto/Murbĩtar en el período islámico: Su historia a través de los textos
. ''De Murbiter a Morvedre''. Valencia and Alicante, Spain: Fundación Bancaja and Universidad de Alicante. . * Gates, David (2001) 986br>The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US: Da Capo Press. . * Mateu y Llopis, Felipe (1983),
Del Municipium Saguntinum al Morvedre mozárabe
' (). ''Revista ARSE'', 18, pp. 23–28/361-366. Sagunto, Spain: Centro Arqueológico Saguntino. * Meyerson, Mark D. (2004).
Jews in an Iberian Frontier Kingdom: Society, Economy, and Politics in Morvedre, 1248–1391
' (). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. . . * Tourist Info Sagunto.
Sagunto Histórico: 26 Castillo
' (). Sagunto, Spain: Oficina de Turismo. Retrieved 2017-03-30

External links

* {{Authority control Castles in the Valencian Community Roman sites in Spain Iberians Moorish architecture in Spain Peninsular War Second Punic War Jewish Spanish history Alcazars and Alcazabas in Spain Sagunto