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The ''Reconquista'' (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
and Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian
kingdoms Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...
waged against the Muslim kingdoms following the
Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (; 711–720s), also known as the Arab conquest of Spain, was the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the early 8th century. The conquest resulted in the end of Christian rule ...
by the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
, culminating in the reign of the
Catholic Monarchs of Spain The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile () and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the '' de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, ...
. The beginning of the ''Reconquista'' is traditionally dated to the
Battle of Covadonga The Battle of Covadonga took place in 722 between the army of Pelagius of Asturias and the army of commanders Alqama and Munuza, as part of the Umayyad Caliphate. Fought near Covadonga, in the Picos de Europa, it resulted in a victory for th ...
( or 722), in which an Asturian army achieved the first Christian victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion. The ''Reconquista'' ended in 1492 with the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
. In the late 10th century, the Umayyad vizier
Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...
waged a series of military campaigns for 30 years in order to subjugate the northern Christian kingdoms. When the
Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
disintegrated in the early 11th century, a series of petty successor states known as ''
taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...
s'' emerged. The northern kingdoms took advantage of this situation and struck deep into
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
; they fostered civil war, intimidated the weakened ''taifas'', and made them pay large tributes (''
parias In medieval Spain, ''parias'' (from medieval Latin ''pariāre'', "to make equal n account, i.e. pay) were a form of tribute paid by the ''taifas'' of al-Andalus to the Christian kingdoms of the north. ''Parias'' dominated relations between the ...
'') for "protection".Fletcher, 7–8. In the 12th century, the ''Reconquista'' was above all a political action to develop the kingdoms of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, León- Castile and
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
. The king's action took precedence over that of the local lords, with the help of the military orders and also supported by
repopulation Repopulation is the phenomenon of increasing the numerical size of human inhabitants or organisms of a particular species after they had almost gone extinct. Organisms An example of an organism that has repopulated after being on the brink of extin ...
. Following a Muslim resurgence under the
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
in the 12th century, the great Moorish strongholds fell to Christian forces in the 13th century, after the decisive
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...
(1212), the Siege of Córdoba (1236) and the
Siege of Seville The siege of Seville (July 1247 – November 1248) was a 16-month successful investment during the ''Reconquista'' of Seville by forces of Ferdinand III of Castile. Although perhaps eclipsed in geopolitical importance by the rapid capture of Có ...
(1248)—leaving only the Muslim enclave of Granada as a
tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...
in the south. After the surrender of Granada in January 1492, the entire Iberian peninsula was controlled by Christian rulers. On 30 July 1492, as a result of the
Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...
, the
Jewish communities Jewish ethnic divisions refer to many distinctive communities within the world's Jewish population. Although "Jewish" is considered an ethnicity itself, there are distinct ethnic subdivisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the result o ...
in Castile and Aragon—some 200,000 people—were forcibly expelled. The conquest was followed by a series of edicts (1499–1526) which forced the conversions of Muslims in Castile, Navarre, and Aragon, who were later expelled from the Iberian realms of the
Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
by a series of decrees starting in 1609. Approximately three million Muslims emigrated or were driven out of Spain between 1492 and 1610. Beginning in the 19th century, traditional historiography has used the term ''Reconquista'' for what was earlier thought of as a restoration of the
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
over conquered territories. The concept of ''Reconquista'', consolidated in Spanish historiography in the second half of the 19th century, was associated with the development of a Spanish national identity, emphasizing Spanish nationalist and romantic aspects. "Hay que reconocer que la irrupción de este concepto en la historiografía hispánica del siglo XIX, con su fuerte carga nacionalista, romántica y, en ocasiones, colonialista, tuvo un éxito notable y se transmitió, manteniendo algunos de sus rasgos identitarios más llamativos, a la del siglo XX. [It is necessary to recognize that the emergence of this concept in Iberian historiography of the 19th century, with its strong dual nationalistic, romantic and, at times, colonialist emphasis, had a remarkable success and was transmitted, retaining some of its most striking features, into the 20th century.]" It is rememorated in the ''Moros y cristianos, Moros y Cristianos'' festival, very popular in parts of Southeastern Spain, and which can also be found in a few places in former Spanish colonies. Pursuant to an
Islamophobic Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
worldview, the concept is a symbol of significance for the 21st century European
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
.


Concept and duration

The term ''Reconquista'', used to describe the struggle between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian peninsula during the
Middle Ages 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 global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, was not used by writers of the period. Since its development as a term in medieval historiography occurred centuries after the events it references, it has acquired various meanings. Its meaning as an actual reconquest has been subject to the particular concerns or prejudices of scholars, who have sometimes wielded it as a weapon in ideological disputes. A discernible
irredentist Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...
ideology that would later become part of the concept of "Reconquista", a Christian reconquest of the peninsula, appeared in writings by the end of the 9th century. For example, the anonymous Christian chronicle ''
Chronica Prophetica The ''Chronica Prophetica'' () is an anonymous medieval Latin chronicle written by a Christian in April 883 at or near the court of Alfonso III of Asturias in Oviedo. It uses the dating system of the Spanish Era and is essentially an interpretati ...
'' (883–884) claimed a historical connection between the
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
conquered by the Muslims in 711 and the
Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius who traditionally has been described as being of Visigothic stock. Modern research is leaning towards the view that Pelagius was of Hispano-Roman ...
in which the document was produced, and stressed a Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide in Hispania, and a necessity to drive out the Muslims and restore conquered territories. In fact, in the writings of both sides, there was a sense of divide based on ethnicity and culture between the inhabitants of the small Christian kingdoms in the north and the dominant elite in the Muslim-ruled south. The linear approach to the origins of a ''Reconquista'' taken in early twentieth-century historiography is complicated by a number of issues. For example, periods of peaceful coexistence, or at least of limited and localised skirmishes on the frontiers, were more prevalent over the 781 years of Muslim rule in Iberia than periods of military conflict between the Christian kingdoms and al-Andalus. Additionally, both Christian and Muslim rulers fought other Christians and Muslims, and cooperation and alliances between Muslims and Christians were not uncommon, such as between the Arista dynasty and
Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi (, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier territory of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, l ...
as early as the 9th century. Blurring distinctions even further were the mercenaries from both sides who simply fought for whoever paid the most. The period is seen today to have had long episodes of relative religious coexistence and tolerance. (see
Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain The golden age of Jewish culture in Spain was a Muslim ruled era of Spain, with the state name of Al-Andalus, lasting 800 years, whose state lasted from 711 to 1492 A.D. This coincides with the Islamic Golden Age within Muslim ruled territorie ...
).
The idea of a continuous ''Reconquista'' has been challenged by modern scholars. The
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
, which started late in the 11th century, bred the religious ideology of a Christian reconquest. In
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
at that time, the Christian states were confronted by the
Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
, and to an even greater degree, they were confronted by the
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
, who espoused a similarly staunch Muslim
Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
ideology. In fact, previous documents which date from the 10th and 11th centuries are mute on any idea of "reconquest". Propaganda accounts of Muslim-Christian hostility came into being to support that idea, most notably the ''
Chanson de Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish kingdom, Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Charlemagne, Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surv ...
'', an 11th-century French ''
chanson de geste The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poetry, epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly ...
'' that offers a fictionalised retelling of the
Battle of Roncevaux Pass The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, '' Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on ...
dealing with the Iberian ''
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
s'' (''Moors''), and centuries later introduced in the French school system with a view to instilling moral and national values in the population following the 1870 defeat of the French in the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
, regardless of the actual events. The consolidation of the modern idea of a "''Reconquista''" is inextricably linked to the foundational myths of
Spanish nationalism The creation of the tradition of the political community of Spaniards as common destiny over other communities has been argued to trace back to the Cortes of Cádiz. From 1812 on, revisiting the previous history of Spain, Spanish liberalism tende ...
in the 19th century, associated with the development of a Centralist, Castilian, and staunchly Catholic brand of nationalism, evoking nationalistic, romantic and sometimes colonialist themes. The concept gained further track in the 20th century during the
Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. It thus became one of the key tenets of the historiographical discourse of
National Catholicism National Catholicism ( Spanish: ''nacionalcatolicismo'') was part of the ideological identity of Francoism, the political system through which the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco governed the Spanish State between 1939 and 1975. Its most vis ...
, the mythological and ideological identity of the regime. The discourse was underpinned in its most traditional version by an avowed historical illegitimacy of al-Andalus and the subsequent glorification of the Christian conquest. The idea of a "liberation war" of ''reconquest'' against the Muslims, who were viewed as foreigners, suited the anti-Republican rebels during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the rebels agitated for the banner of a Spanish fatherland, a fatherland which, according to them, was being threatened by regional nationalisms and
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. Their rebellious pursuit was thus a crusade for the restoration of the Church's unity, where Franco stood for both
Pelagius of Asturias Pelagius (; – 737) was a nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718.; ; ; Pelagius is credited with initiating the ''Reconquista'', the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, and establishing the Asturian mona ...
and
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 ...
. The ''Reconquista'' has become a rallying call for right and far-right parties in Spain to expel from office incumbent progressive or peripheral nationalist options, as well as their values, in different political contexts as of 2018. The same kind of propaganda was circulated during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
by the
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, who wanted to portray their enemies as foreign invaders, especially given the prominence of the Army of Africa among Franco's troops, an army which was made up of native North African soldiers. Some contemporary authors consider the "''Reconquista''" proof that the process of Christian state-building in Iberia was frequently defined by the reclamation of lands that had been lost to the
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
in generations past. In this way, state-building might be characterised—at least in ideological, if not practical, terms—as a process by which Iberian states were being "rebuilt". In turn, other recent historians dispute the whole concept of "''Reconquista''" as a concept created ''a posteriori'' in the service of later political goals. A few historians point out that Spain and Portugal did not previously exist as nations, and therefore the heirs of the Christian
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
were not technically ''re''conquering them, as the name suggests. One of the first Spanish intellectuals to question the idea of a "reconquest" that lasted for eight centuries was
José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; ; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. His philosoph ...
, writing in the first half of the 20th century. However, the term ''Reconquista'' is still widely in use.


Background


Landing in Visigothic Hispania and initial expansion

In 711, North African
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
soldiers with some
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
s commanded by
Tariq ibn Ziyad Tariq ibn Ziyad ( ; ), also known simply as Tarik in English, was an Umayyad commander who initiated the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain and Portugal) against the Visigothic Kingdom in 711–718 AD. He led an army and ...
crossed the
Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
, engaging a Visigothic force led by King
Roderic Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish language, Spanish and , ; died 711) was the Visigoths, Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well known as "the last king of the Goths". He is actually an ex ...
at the
Battle of Guadalete The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces o ...
(July 19–26) in a moment of severe in-fighting and division across the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania. Many of Roderic's troops deserted, leading to his defeat. He drowned while crossing the
Guadalquivir River The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigability, navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable ...
. After Roderic's defeat, the Umayyad governor of Ifrikiya Musa ibn-Nusayr joined Tariq, directing a campaign against different towns and strongholds in Hispania. Some, like Mérida, Cordova, or
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
in 712, probably
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
, were taken, but many agreed to a treaty in exchange for maintaining autonomy, in
Theodemir Theodemir, Theodemar, Theudemer or Theudimer was a Germanic name common among the various Germanic peoples of early medieval Europe. According to Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel (9th century), the form ''Theudemar'' is Frankish and ''Theudemir'' is ...
's dominion (region of Tudmir), or
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
, for example. The invading Islamic armies did not exceed 60,000 men.


Islamic rule

After the establishment of a local
Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...
,
Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
Al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (). As ...
, ruler of the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
, removed many of the successful Muslim commanders. Tariq ibn Ziyad was recalled to
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and replaced with Musa ibn-Nusayr, who had been his former superior. Musa's son, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, apparently married
Egilona Egilona (or Egilo) was a Visigothic noblewoman and the last known queen of the Visigoths. She was the wife first of Roderic, the Visigothic king (710–11), and then of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, Muslim governor ('' wālī'') of al-Andalus (714–16). H ...
,
Roderic Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish language, Spanish and , ; died 711) was the Visigoths, Visigothic king in Hispania between 710 and 711. He is well known as "the last king of the Goths". He is actually an ex ...
's widow, and established his regional government in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. He was suspected of being under the influence of his wife and was accused of wanting to convert to Christianity and of planning a secessionist rebellion. Apparently a concerned Al-Walid I ordered Abd al-Aziz's assassination. Caliph Al-Walid I died in 715 and was succeeded by his brother
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (, 24 September 717) was the seventh Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph, ruling from 715 until his death. He was the son of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705) and Wallada bint al-Abbas. He began his ...
. Sulayman seems to have punished the surviving Musa ibn-Nusayr, who very soon died during a pilgrimage in 716. In the end, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa's cousin,
Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi (''fl.'' AD 716) was the second Umayyad Governor of Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at ...
became the ''wali'' (governor) of al-Andalus. A serious weakness amongst the Muslim conquerors was the ethnic tension between Berbers and Arabs. The Berbers were indigenous inhabitants of North Africa who had only recently converted to Islam; they provided most of the soldiery of the invading Islamic armies but sensed Arab discrimination against them. This latent internal conflict jeopardised Umayyad unity. The Umayyad forces arrived and crossed the Pyrenees by 719. The last Visigothic king
Ardo Ardo (or ''Ardonus'', possibly short for ''Ardabastus''; died 720/721) is the last attested king of the Visigoths, reigning from 713 or 714 until his death in 720 or 721. The Visigothic Kingdom was already severely reduced in power and area at ...
resisted them in Septimania, where he fended off the Berber-Arab armies until 720. After the Islamic Moorish conquest of most of the Iberian Peninsula in 711–718 and the establishment of the emirate of al-Andalus, an Umayyad expedition suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Toulouse and was halted for a while on its way north.
Odo of Aquitaine Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a ...
had married his daughter to
Uthman ibn Naissa Uthman ibn Naissa () better known as Munuza, was an Umayyad governor depicted in different contradictory chronicles during the Muslim conquest of Hispania. Munuza in Asturias One account says that he was the governor of Gijón (or possibly León ...
, a rebel Berber and lord of
Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...
, in an attempt to secure his southern borders in order to fend off
Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
's attacks on the north. However, a major
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...
led by
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al-Ghafiqi (; died 732), was an Arab Umayyad commander and governor who led Andalusian Muslim forces against the Franks. He is most famous for leading the Muslim forces during the Battle of Tours (also known as the ...
, the latest emir of al-Andalus, defeated and killed Uthman, and the Muslim governor mustered an expedition north across the western Pyrenees, looted areas up to Bordeaux, and defeated Odo in the
Battle of the River Garonne The Battle of the River Garonne, also known as the Battle of Bordeaux,Matthew Bennett ''The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare'' 1579581161 1998 p319 "In 732 a large army of (70,000-80,000) men led by Abd ar-Rahman defeated the A ...
in 732. A desperate Odo turned to his archrival Charles Martel for help, who led the Frankish and remaining Aquitanian armies against the Umayyad armies and defeated them at the
Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a Kingdom of France, French army commanded by King John II of France, King JohnII and an Kingdom of England, Anglo-Gascony, Gascon force under Edward the Black Prince, Edward, the ...
in 732, killing Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. While Moorish rule began to recede in what is today France, it would remain in parts of the Iberian peninsula for another 760 years.


Early Reconquista


Beginning of the ''Reconquista''

A drastic increase of taxes on Christians by the emir Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi provoked several rebellions in al-Andalus, which a series of succeeding weak emirs were unable to suppress. Around 722, a Muslim military expedition was sent into the north in late summer to suppress a rebellion led by
Pelagius of Asturias Pelagius (; – 737) was a nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718.; ; ; Pelagius is credited with initiating the ''Reconquista'', the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, and establishing the Asturian mona ...
(Pelayo in Spanish, Pelayu in Asturian). Traditional historiography has hailed Pelagius's victory at Covadonga as the beginning of the ''Reconquista''. Two northern realms, Navarre and Asturias, despite their small size, demonstrated an ability to maintain their independence. Because the Umayyad rulers based in
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...
were unable to extend their power over the Pyrenees, they decided to consolidate their power within the Iberian peninsula. Arab-Berber forces made periodic incursions deep into Asturias, but this area was a ''cul-de-sac'' on the fringes of the Islamic world fraught with inconveniences during campaigns and of little interest. It comes then as no surprise that, besides focusing on raiding the Arab-Berber strongholds of the Meseta,
Alfonso I of Asturias Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (''el Católico''), ( – 757) 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 León. ...
centred on expanding his domains at the expense of the neighbouring Galicians and Basques at either side of his realm just as much. During the first decades, Asturian control over part of the kingdom was weak, and for this reason it had to be continually strengthened through matrimonial alliances and war with other peoples from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. After Pelayo's death in 737, his son
Favila of Asturias Favila or Fafila (died 739) was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his death. He was the only son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch. In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís, bu ...
was elected king. Favila, according to the chronicles, was killed by a bear during a trial of courage. Pelayo's dynasty in Asturias survived and gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries until all of northwest Hispania was included by roughly 775. However, credit is due to him and to his successors, the ''Banu Alfons'' from the Arab chronicles. Further expansion of the northwestern kingdom towards the south occurred during the reign of
Alfonso II of Asturias Alfonso II of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste (), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian of Asturias, Nepotian ...
(from 791 to 842). A king's expedition arrived in and pillaged Lisbon in 798, probably concerted with the Carolingians. The Asturian kingdom became firmly established with the recognition of Alfonso II as king of Asturias by
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
and the Pope. During his reign, the bones of St. James the Great were declared to have been found in Galicia, at
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
. Pilgrims from all over Europe opened a channel of communication between the isolated Asturias and the Carolingian lands and beyond, centuries later.


Frankish invasions

After the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian heartland of the Visigothic kingdom, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees and gradually took control of
Septimania Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theod ...
, starting in 719 with the conquest of
Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
through 725 when
Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...
and
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
were secured. From the stronghold of Narbonne, they tried to conquer
Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
but suffered a major defeat at the
Battle of Toulouse (721) The Battle of Toulouse (721) was a victory of an Aquitanian Christian army led by Odo the Great, Duke of Aquitaine over an Umayyad Muslim army besieging the city of Toulouse, led by al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, the Umayyad '' wāli'' (g ...
. Ten years after halting their advance north,
Odo of Aquitaine Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a ...
married his daughter to
Uthman ibn Naissa Uthman ibn Naissa () better known as Munuza, was an Umayyad governor depicted in different contradictory chronicles during the Muslim conquest of Hispania. Munuza in Asturias One account says that he was the governor of Gijón (or possibly León ...
, a rebel Berber and lord of
Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...
(perhaps all of contemporary Catalonia as well), in an attempt to secure his southern borders to fend off
Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
's attacks on the north. However, a major
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...
led by
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al-Ghafiqi (; died 732), was an Arab Umayyad commander and governor who led Andalusian Muslim forces against the Franks. He is most famous for leading the Muslim forces during the Battle of Tours (also known as the ...
, the latest emir of al-Andalus, defeated and killed Uthman. After expelling the Muslims from Narbonne in 759 and driving their forces back over the Pyrenees, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short conquered Aquitaine in a ruthless eight-year war. Charlemagne followed his father by subduing Aquitaine by creating counties, taking the Church as his ally and appointing counts of Frankish or Burgundian stock, like his loyal
William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.
, making
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
his base for expeditions against al-Andalus. Charlemagne decided to organize a regional subkingdom, the
Spanish March The Spanish March or Hispanic March was a march or military buffer zone established c. 795 by Charlemagne in the eastern Pyrenees and nearby areas, to protect the new territories of the Christian Carolingian Empire—the Duchy of Gascony, the D ...
, which included part of contemporary
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, in order to keep the Aquitanians in check and to secure the southern border of the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
against Muslim incursions. In 781, his three-year-old son
Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
was crowned king of
Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
, under the supervision of Charlemagne's trustee William of Gellone, and was nominally in charge of the incipient Spanish March. Meanwhile, the takeover of the southern fringes of al-Andalus by Abd ar-Rahman I in 756 was opposed by Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman, autonomous governor (''
wāli ''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim world (including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and the Ottoman Empire) to designate governors of administrative divis ...
'') or king (''malik'') of al-Andalus. Abd ar-Rahman I expelled Yusuf from Cordova, but it took still decades for him to expand to the north-western Andalusian districts. He was also opposed externally by the
Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes i ...
of Baghdad who failed in their attempts to overthrow him. In 778, Abd al-Rahman closed in on the Ebro valley. Regional lords saw the Umayyad emir at the gates and decided to enlist the nearby Christian Franks. According to Ali ibn al-Athir, a Kurdish historian of the 12th century, Charlemagne received the envoys of
Sulayman al-Arabi Sulayman ibn Yaqzan al-Kalbi al-Arabi (al-A'rabi meaning the Bedouin; full name in ) was an Arab Muslim wāli (governor) of Barcelona and Girona in the year 777. For the history of al-Arabi, we must rely on the Muslim historian Abu al-Hassan Ali i ...
, Husayn, and Abu Taur at the Diet of Paderborn in 777. These rulers of
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
,
Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, and
Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
were enemies of Abd ar-Rahman I, and in return for Frankish military aid against him offered their homage and allegiance. Charlemagne, seeing an opportunity, agreed upon an expedition and crossed the Pyrenees in 778. Near the city of
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
Charlemagne received the homage of
Sulayman al-Arabi Sulayman ibn Yaqzan al-Kalbi al-Arabi (al-A'rabi meaning the Bedouin; full name in ) was an Arab Muslim wāli (governor) of Barcelona and Girona in the year 777. For the history of al-Arabi, we must rely on the Muslim historian Abu al-Hassan Ali i ...
. However the city, under the leadership of
Husayn Hussein, Hossein, Hussain, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein, Hussin, Hoessein, Houcine, Hocine or Husain (; ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-N (), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "handsome" or ...
, closed its gates and refused to submit. Unable to conquer the city by force, Charlemagne decided to retreat. On the way home the rearguard of the army was ambushed and destroyed by Basque forces at the
Battle of Roncevaux Pass The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, '' Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on ...
. ''
The Song of Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French li ...
'', a highly romanticised account of this battle, would later become one of the most famous of the Middle Ages. Around 788 Abd ar-Rahman I died and was succeeded by
Hisham I Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...
. In 792 Hisham proclaimed a
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
, advancing in 793 against the
Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius who traditionally has been described as being of Visigothic stock. Modern research is leaning towards the view that Pelagius was of Hispano-Roman ...
and Carolingian Septimania (Gothia). They defeated William of Gellone, Count of Toulouse, in battle, but
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
led an expedition the following year across the eastern Pyrenees.
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, a major city, became a potential target for the Franks in 797, as its governor Zeid rebelled against the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. An army of the emir managed to recapture it in 799, but Louis, at the head of an army, crossed the Pyrenees and besieged the city for seven months until it finally capitulated in 801. It took place on 28 December 801. The main passes in the Pyrenees were
Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French border as the crow flies, or by road. Histo ...
,
Somport Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin ''Summus portus''. It was one of the most po ...
and
La Jonquera La Jonquera (; ) is a municipality in the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of Alt Empordà, l'Alt Empordà, in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated next to the border with Northern Catalonia, nowadays France, opposite the municipality of Le Perthu ...
. Charlemagne established across them the vassal regions of
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
,
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, and
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
respectively. Catalonia was itself formed from a number of small counties, including
Pallars Pallars is a historical region, historical and natural region of Catalonia. Located in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees area, most of its territory is mountainous. The Noguera Pallaresa river is named after this region. Geography The physiography o ...
,
Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
, and
Urgell Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Upper Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Ponent, Catalonia (Spain), forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Urgel ...
; it was called the ''Marca Hispanica'' by the late 8th century. They protected the eastern Pyrenees passes and shores and were under the direct control of the Frankish kings. Pamplona's first king was Iñigo Arista, who allied with his Muslim kinsmen the
Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi (, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier territory of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, l ...
and rebelled against Frankish overlordship and overcame a Carolingian expedition in 824 that led to the setup of the
Kingdom of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...
. Aragon, founded in 809 by Aznar Galíndez, grew around
Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca (province), Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón (river), ...
and the high valleys of the Aragon River, protecting the old Roman road. By the end of the 10th century, Aragon, which then was just a county, was annexed by Navarre. Sobrarbe and Ribagorza were small counties and had little significance to the progress of the ''Reconquista''. In the late 9th century under Count Wilfred, Barcelona became the ''de facto'' capital of the region. It controlled the other counties' policies in a union, which led in 948 to the independence of Barcelona under Count Borrel II, who declared that the new dynasty in France (the
Capet The House of Capet () ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an e ...
s) were not the legitimate rulers of France nor, as a result, of his county. These states were small and, with the exception of Navarre, did not have the capacity for attacking the Muslims in the way that Asturias did, but their mountainous geography rendered them relatively safe from being conquered, and their borders remained stable for two centuries.


Northern Christian realms

The northern principalities and kingdoms survived in their mountainous strongholds (see above). However, they started a definite territorial expansion south at the turn of the 10th century (Leon, Najera). The fall of the Caliphate of Cordova (1031) heralded a period of military expansion for the northern kingdoms, now divided into several mighty regional powers after the division of the Kingdom of Navarre (1035). Myriad autonomous Christian kingdoms emerged thereafter.


Kingdom of Asturias (718–924)

The Kingdom of Asturias was located in the
Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...
, a wet and mountainous region in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It was the first Christian power to emerge. The kingdom was established by a Visigothic nobleman, named Pelagius (''Pelayo''), who had possibly returned after the Battle of Guadalete in 711 and was elected leader of the Asturians,Ruiz De La Peña. La monarquia asturiana 718–910, p. 27. Cangas de Onís, 2000. / Fernández Conde. Estudios Sobre La Monarquía Asturiana, pp. 35–76. Estudios Históricos La Olmeda, 2015. and the remnants of the ''gens Gothorum'' (the Hispano-Gothic aristocracy and the Hispano-Visigothic population who took refuge in the North). Historian Joseph F. O'Callaghan says an unknown number of them fled and took refuge in Asturias or Septimania. In Asturias they supported Pelagius's uprising, and joining with the indigenous leaders, formed a new
aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
. The population of the mountain region consisted of native Astures, Galicians, Cantabri, Basques and other groups unassimilated into Hispano-Gothic society, laying the foundations for the Kingdom of Asturias and starting the
Astur-Leonese dynasty The Asturian or Astur-Leonese dynasty (Spanish ''dinastía asturiana'' or ''astur-leonesa'', Asturian ''dinastía asturllionesa''), known in Arabic as the Banī Adhfūnsh ("sons of Alfonso"), was the ruling family of the kingdom of Asturias and ...
that spanned from 718 to 1037 and led the initial efforts in the Iberian peninsula to take back the territories then ruled by the Moors. Although the new dynasty first ruled in the mountains of Asturias, with the capital of the kingdom established initially in
Cangas de Onís Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the north ...
, and was in its dawn mostly concerned with securing the territory and settling the monarchy, the latest kings (particularly
Alfonso III of Asturias Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great (), was king of Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. After his death, the Kingdom of Asturias was split between his sons, with García inheriting León, ...
) emphasised the nature of the new kingdom as heir of that in
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
and the restoration of the Visigothic nation in order to vindicate the expansion to the south. However, such claims have been overall dismissed by modern historiography, emphasizing the distinct, autochthonous nature of the Cantabro-Asturian and Vasconic domains with no continuation to the Gothic Kingdom of Toledo. Pelagius's kingdom initially was little more than a gathering point for the existing guerrilla forces. During the first decades, the Asturian dominion over the different areas of the kingdom was still lax, and for this reason it had to be continually strengthened through matrimonial alliances with other powerful families from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, Ermesinda, Pelagius's daughter, was married to
Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...
, Dux Peter of Cantabria's son. Alfonso's son Fruela married Munia, a Basque from
Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...
, after crushing a Basque uprising (probably resistance). Their son is reported to be Alfonso II, while Alfonso I's daughter Adosinda married Silo, a local chief from the area of Flavionavia, Pravia. Alfonso's military strategy was typical of Iberian warfare at the time. Lacking the means needed for wholesale conquest of large territories, his tactics consisted of raids in the border regions of Vardulia. With the plunder he gained further military forces could be paid, enabling him to raid the Muslim cities of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Zamora, and
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
. Alfonso I also expanded his realm westwards conquering Galicia. During the reign of King Alfonso II (791–842), the kingdom was firmly established, and a series of Muslim raids caused the transfer of the Asturian capital to
Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
. The king is believed to have initiated diplomatic contacts with the kings of
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
and the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
s, thereby gaining official recognition for his kingdom and his crown from the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
and
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
. The
bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
of St.
James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...
were proclaimed to have been found in Iria Flavia (present day
Padrón Padrón () is a ''concello'' ( Galician for municipality) in the Province of A Coruña, in Galicia (Spain) within the comarca of O Sar. It covers an area of , is from A Coruña and from Santiago de Compostela. , the town had population of 8,9 ...
) in 813 or probably two or three decades later. The cult of the saint was transferred later to Compostela (from Latin ''campus stellae'', literally "the star field"), possibly in the early 10th century when the focus of Asturian power moved from the mountains over to Leon, to become the
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
or Galicia-Leon. Santiago's were among many saint relics proclaimed to have been found across north-western Hispania. Pilgrims started to flow in from other Iberian Christian realms, sowing the seeds of the later
Way of Saint James The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tr ...
(11–12th century) that sparked the enthusiasm and religious zeal of continental
Christian Europe The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
for centuries. Despite numerous battles, neither the Umayyads nor the Asturians had sufficient forces to secure control over these northern territories. Under the reign of
Ramiro Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name from the latinisation of the Gothic given name *𐍂𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌹𐍂 (*Ranamir). Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias * Ramiro ...
, famed for the highly legendary
Battle of Clavijo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, the border began to slowly move southward and Asturian holdings in Castile, Galicia, and
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
were fortified, and an intensive program of re-population of the countryside began in those territories. In 924 the Kingdom of Asturias became the
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
, when Leon became the seat of the royal court (it didn't bear any official name).


Kingdom of León (910–1230)

Alfonso III of Asturias Alfonso III (20 December 910), called the Great (), was king of Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. After his death, the Kingdom of Asturias was split between his sons, with García inheriting León, ...
repopulated the strategically important city
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
and established it as his capital. King Alfonso began a series of campaigns to establish control over all the lands north of the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
river. He reorganised his territories into the major duchies ( Galicia and Portugal) and major counties ( Saldaña and Castile), and fortified the borders with many castles. At his death in 910 the shift in regional power was completed as the kingdom became the
Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...
. From this power base, his heir Ordoño II was able to organize attacks against
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
and even
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. The
Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
was gaining power, and began to attack Leon. King Ordoño allied with Navarre against Abd-al-Rahman, but they were defeated in Valdejunquera in 920. For the next 80 years, the Kingdom of León suffered civil wars, Moorish attack, internal intrigues and assassinations, and the partial independence of Galicia and Castile, thus delaying the reconquest and weakening the Christian forces. It was not until the following century that the Christians started to see their conquests as part of a long-term effort to restore the unity of the Visigothic kingdom. The only point during this period when the situation became hopeful for Leon was the reign of Ramiro II. King Ramiro, in alliance with
Fernán González of Castile Fernán González (died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile. Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberia, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the foundations for i ...
and his retinue of ''caballeros villanos'', defeated the Caliph in Simancas in 939. After this battle, when the Caliph barely escaped with his guard and the rest of the army was destroyed, King Ramiro obtained 12 years of peace, but he had to give González the independence of Castile as payment for his help in the battle. After this defeat, Moorish attacks abated until
Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...
began his campaigns.
Alfonso V Alfonso V (Spanish), Afonso V (Portuguese), Alfons V (Catalan) or Alphonse V (French) may refer to: * Alfonso V of León (999–1028) * Alfonso V of Aragon (1416–1458), The Magnanimous * Afonso V of Portugal (), The African * Afonso V of Kongo Af ...
finally regained control over his domains in 1002. Navarre, though attacked by Almanzor, remained intact. The conquest of Leon did not include Galicia which was left to temporary independence after the withdrawal of the Leonese king. Galicia was conquered soon after (by Ferdinand, son of Sancho the Great, around 1038). Subsequent kings titled themselves kings of Galicia and Leon, instead of merely king of Leon as the two were in a
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
. At the end of the 11th century, King Afonso VI of León reached the Tagus (1085), repeating the same policy of alliances and developing collaboration with
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
knights. The original ''
repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; , ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista and became known as the ''Desert of the D ...
'' was then complete. His aim was to create a Hispanic empire like the
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
(418–720) to reclaim his hegemony over the entire
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. Within this context, the territory between the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
and the
Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...
was repopulated and a western nucleus was formed in Portugal that wanted independence.Porto Editora – Reconquista Cristã na Infopédia m linha Porto: Porto Editora. onsult. 2024-03-19 17:48:31 Disponível em https://www.infopedia.pt/$reconquista-crista This marks the beginning of the Portuguese ''Repovoação'' ou ''Repovoamento'' occurred during the reigns of the
House of Burgundy The House of Burgundy () was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, descending from Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, a younger son of King Robert II of France. The House ruled the Duchy of Burgundy from 1032 to 1361 and achieved the recognized title ...
up to the middle of the thirteenth century when the Portuguese Reconquista was also brought to an end with the ultimate conquering of
Gharb al-Andalus Gharb al-Andalus (, trans. ''gharb al-ʼandalus''; "west of al-Andalus"), or just al-Gharb (, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal and part of West-central ...
when in March 1249 the city of Faro was conquered by
Afonso III of Portugal Afonso IIIrare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 5 May 121016 February 1279), ca ...
.


Kingdom of Castile (1037–1230)

Ferdinand I of Leon was the leading king of the mid-11th century. He conquered
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
and attacked the
taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...
kingdoms, often demanding the tributes known as
parias In medieval Spain, ''parias'' (from medieval Latin ''pariāre'', "to make equal n account, i.e. pay) were a form of tribute paid by the ''taifas'' of al-Andalus to the Christian kingdoms of the north. ''Parias'' dominated relations between the ...
. Ferdinand's strategy was to continue to demand parias until the taifa was greatly weakened both militarily and financially. He also repopulated the Borders with numerous ''fueros''. Following the Navarrese tradition, on his death in 1064 he divided his kingdom between his sons. His son
Sancho II of Castile The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...
wanted to reunite the kingdom of his father and attacked his brothers, with a young noble at his side: Rodrigo Díaz, later known as El Cid Campeador. Sancho was killed in the siege of Zamora by the traitor Bellido Dolfos (also known as Vellido Adolfo) in 1072. His brother
Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...
took over Leon, Castile and Galicia. Alfonso VI the Brave gave more power to the ''fueros'' and repopulated
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...
,
Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...
and
Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...
. Once he had secured the Borders, King Alfonso conquered the powerful Taifa kingdom of Toledo in 1085.
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
, which was the former capital of the Visigoths, was a very important landmark, and the conquest made Alfonso renowned throughout the
Christian world The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
. However, this "conquest" was conducted rather gradually, and mostly peacefully, during the course of several decades. However, Toledo was not fully secured and integrated into Alfonso's kingdom until after a period of gradual resettlement and consolidation, during which Christian settlers were encouraged to move into the area. Alfonso VI was first and foremost a tactful monarch who chose to understand the kings of taifa and employed unprecedented diplomatic measures to attain political feats before considering the use of force. He adopted the title ''
Imperator totius Hispaniae is a Latin title meaning "Emperor of All Spain". In Spain in the Middle Ages, the title "emperor" (from Latin ''imperator'') was used under a variety of circumstances from the ninth century onwards, but its usage peaked, as a formal and practi ...
'' ("Emperor of all
Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
", referring to all the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, and not just the modern country of Spain). Alfonso's more aggressive policy towards the taifas worried the rulers of those kingdoms, who called on the African
Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
s for help.


Kingdom of Navarre (824–1620)

The
Kingdom of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...
primarily extended along either side of the Pyrenees on the Atlantic Ocean. The kingdom was formed when local leader Íñigo Arista led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority and was elected or declared King in Pamplona (traditionally in 824), establishing a kingdom inextricably linked at this stage to their kinsmen, the muwallad
Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi (, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier territory of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, l ...
of Tudela. Although relatively weak until the early 11th century, Pamplona took a more active role after the accession of
Sancho the Great Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of Castile, Álava and Monzón. ...
(1004–1035). The kingdom expanded greatly under his reign, as it absorbed Castile, Leon, and what was to be Aragon, in addition to other small counties that would unite and become the
Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...
. This expansion also led to the independence of Galicia, as well as gaining overlordship over
Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
. In the 12th century, however, the kingdom contracted to its core, and in 1162 King Sancho VI declared himself
king of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...
. Throughout its early history, the Navarrese kingdom engaged in frequent skirmishes with the Carolingian Empire, from which it maintained its independence, a key feature of its history until 1513.


Kingdom and Crown of Aragon (1035–1706)

The Kingdom of Aragon started off as an offshoot of the Kingdom of Navarre. It was formed when
Sancho III of Navarre Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of Castile, Álava and Monzón ...
decided to divide his large realm among all his sons. Aragon was the portion of the realm which passed to
Ramiro I of Aragon Ramiro I (bef. 10078 May 1063) was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death. His kingdomship was petit, and unfederated, which was sometimes referred to as a petty kingdom. Although his legacy was a minor kingdom, he would expand th ...
, an illegitimate son of Sancho III. The kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre were several times united in personal union until the death of
Alfonso the Battler Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I of Arago ...
in 1135. In 1137, the heiress of the kingdom married the
count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...
, and their son Alfonso II ruled from 1162 the combined possessions of his parents, resulting in the composite monarchy that modern historians call the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
. Alfonso successfully reincorporated the
Principality of Tarragona The Principality of Tarragona was a state in and around the city of Tarragona on the northeastern side of the Iberian peninsula. It existed from its founding by the Norman adventurer Robert d'Aguilo I (also known as Robert Bordet or Robert de Cu ...
into their realm, expelling the Norman d'Aguiló family. In the following centuries, the Crown of Aragon conquered a number of territories in the Iberian peninsula and the Mediterranean, including 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 ...
and the
kingdom of Mallorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, and ...
.
James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...
, also known as James the Conqueror, expanded his territories to the north, south and east. James also signed the
Treaty of Corbeil (1258) The Treaty of Corbeil was an agreement signed on 11 May 1258, in Corbeil (today Corbeil-Essonnes, in the region of Île-de-France) between Louis IX of France and James I of Aragon. The French king, as the heir of Charlemagne, renounced the claim ...
, in which the French king renounced to any feudal claim over Catalonia. Early in his reign, James attempted to reunite the Aragonese and Navarrese crowns through a treaty with the childless
Sancho VII of Navarre Sancho VII (; 11577 April 1234) called the Strong (, ) was King of Navarre from 1194 until his death in 1234. He was the son and heir of Sancho VI, whom he followed as the second king to hold the title of ''King of Navarre''. Sancho VII was ...
. But the Navarrese nobles rejected him, and chose
Theobald IV of Champagne Theobald I (, ; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was ...
in his stead. Later on,
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...
, married
Isabella of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her deat ...
, leading to a dynastic union which eventually gave birth to modern Spain, after the conquest of Upper
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
(Navarre south of the Pyrenees) and the
Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...
.


Kingdom of Portugal (1139–1249)

In 1139, after an overwhelming victory in the
Battle of Ourique The Battle of Ourique () took place on 25 July 1139, in which the forces of Portuguese count Afonso Henriques (of the House of Burgundy) defeated those led by the Almoravid governor of Córdoba, Muhammad Az-Zubayr Ibn Umar, identified as "Ki ...
against the
Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
,
Afonso Henriques Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...
was proclaimed the first
King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...
by his troops. According to the legend, Christ announced from heaven Afonso's great deeds, whereby he would establish the first
Portuguese Cortes In the medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm – the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing.O' ...
at
Lamego Lamego (; ) is a city and municipality in the Viseu District, in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of the Douro Subregion, Douro in northern Portugal. Located on the shores of the Balsemão River, the municipality has a population of 26,691 ...
and be crowned by the
Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
Archbishop of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgical ...
. In 1142 a group of Anglo-Norman crusaders on their way to the Holy Land helped King Afonso Henriques in a failed
Siege of Lisbon (1142) In or about 1142 according to a brief reference in the Anglo-Norman text known as '' De expugnatione Lyxbonensi'' and the Portuguese text known as the '' Chronica Gothorum'', a group of Anglo-Norman crusaders on their way to Jerusalem were inv ...
. In the
Treaty of Zamora The Conference of Zamora was a diplomatic meeting held on 4–5 October 1143 between Afonso Henriques, then styled Infante of Portugal, and his cousin Alfonso VII of León, King of León and Castile. It took place at the Cathedral of Zamora ...
in 1143, Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile recognized Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León. In 1147, Portugal captured Santarém, and seven months later the city of Lisbon was also brought under Portuguese control after the
Siege of Lisbon The siege of Lisbon, from 1 July to 25 October 1147, was the military action against the Almoravid dynasty that brought the city of Lisbon under the definitive control of the new Christian power, the Kingdom of Portugal. The siege of Lisbon w ...
. By the papal bull
Manifestis Probatum is a papal bull and the founding document of Portugal. On 23 May 1179 Pope Alexander III promulgated the bull. The bull officially recognized the independence of Portugal from Leon by confirming the Kingdom of Portugal to, the now recognized, k ...
,
Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...
recognized Afonso Henriques as King of Portugal in 1179. With
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
finally recognized as an independent kingdom by its neighbors,
Afonso Henriques Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...
and his successors, aided by
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
and the military monastic orders the
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
, the
Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...
or the Order of Saint James, pushed the
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
to the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
on the southern coast of Portugal. After several campaigns, the Portuguese part in the ''Reconquista'' came to an end with the definitive capture of the Algarve in 1249. With all of Portugal now under the control of
Afonso III of Portugal Afonso IIIrare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 5 May 121016 February 1279), ca ...
, religious, cultural and ethnic groups became gradually homogenized. After the completion of the ''Reconquista'', the Portuguese territory was a Roman Catholic realm. Nonetheless,
Denis of Portugal Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal from 1279 until his death in 1325. Dinis was the eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second ...
carried out a short war with Castile for possession of the towns of
Serpa Serpa (), officially the Municipality of Serpa (), is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the Districts of Portugal, district of Beja District, Beja in Alentejo region, southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of ...
and Moura. After this, Denis avoided war. In 1297, he signed the
Treaty of Alcanizes A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
with
Ferdinand IV of Castile Ferdinand IV of Castile (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312) called the Summoned (''el Emplazado''), was King of Castile and King of León, León from 1295 until his death. Ferdinand's upbringing and personal custody was entered to his mother ...
, establishing a permanent border between the two kingdoms. During the suppression of the Knights Templar all over Europe, under the influence of
Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...
and
Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...
requesting its annihilation by 1312, King Denis reinstituted the Templars of
Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...
as the Order of Christ in 1319. Denis believed that the Order's assets should by their nature stay in any given Order instead of being taken by the King, largely for the Templars' contribution to the ''Reconquista'' and the reconstruction of Portugal after the wars. The experience gained during the battles of the ''Reconquista'' was fundamental to
Conquest of Ceuta The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid Sultanate, Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell unde ...
, the first step to the establishment of the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
. Likewise, the contact with Muslim's navigation techniques and sciences enabled the creation of Portuguese nautical innovations such as the
caravel The caravel (Portuguese language, Portuguese: , ) is a small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that may be rigged with just lateen sails, or with a combination of lateen and Square rig, square sails. It was known for its agility and s ...
– the principal Portuguese ship during their voyages of exploration in the
Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...
.


Minor Christian realms

Minor Christian realms were the
Kingdom of Viguera The Kingdom of Viguera (Basque: ''Viguerako Erresuma'') was a small ephemeral subsidiary kingdom centered on the town of Viguera from 970 into the early 11th century. The kingdom was created by King García Sánchez I of Pamplona for the eldest ...
(970–1005), the Lordship of Albarracín (1167–1300), the
Principality of Tarragona The Principality of Tarragona was a state in and around the city of Tarragona on the northeastern side of the Iberian peninsula. It existed from its founding by the Norman adventurer Robert d'Aguilo I (also known as Robert Bordet or Robert de Cu ...
(1129–1173), and the
Principality of Valencia The Lordship or Principality of Valencia was the state established by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar in the city of Valencia and its surroundings and which existed between the years 1094 and 1102. History Conquest Towards the beginning of November ...
(1094–1102).


Southern Islamic realms


Umayyads

During the 9th century the Berbers returned to North Africa in the aftermath of revolts. Many governors of large cities distant from the capital, Córdoba, had planned to establish their independence. Then, in 929, the
Emir of Córdoba Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...
(
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 ...
), the leader of the Umayyad dynasty, declared himself
Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
, independent from the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
s in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. He took all the military, religious, and political power and reorganised the army and the bureaucracy. After regaining control over the dissident governors, Abd-ar-Rahman III tried to conquer the remaining Christian kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, attacking them several times and forcing them back beyond the
Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...
. Abd-ar-Rahman's grandson later became a puppet in the hands of the great
Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...
(''al-Mansur'', "the victorious"). Almanzor waged several campaigns attacking and sacking
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
, Leon,
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, and
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
before his death in 1002.


''Taifas''

Between Almanzor's death and 1031, al-Andalus suffered many civil wars, which ended in the division into the Taifa kingdoms. The taifas were small kingdoms, established by the city governors. The result was many (up to 34) small kingdoms, each centered upon its capital. Their governors had no larger-scale vision of the Moorish presence in the Iberian peninsula and had no qualms about attacking their neighbouring kingdoms whenever they could gain advantage by doing so. The split into the taifa states weakened the Islamic presence, and the Christian kingdoms further advanced as Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile conquered
Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...
in 1085. Surrounded by enemies, taifa rulers sent a desperate appeal to the Berber chieftain
Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...
, leader of the Almoravids. ''Taifas'' reemerged when the Almoravid dynasty collapsed in the 1140s, and again when the Almohad Caliphate declined in the 1220s.


Almoravids

The
Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
s were a Muslim militia composed of Berbers, and unlike previous Muslim rulers, they were not so tolerant towards Christians and Jews. Their armies entered the Iberian peninsula on several occasions (1086, 1088, 1093) and defeated King Alfonso at the
Battle of Sagrajas The Battle of Sagrajas (23 October 1086), also called Zalaca or Zallaqah (), was a conflict fought in 1086 between the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravid army, led by their king, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and the forces of King Alfonso VI of León and Cas ...
in 1086, but initially their purpose was to unite all the taifas into a single Almoravid Caliphate. Their actions halted the southward expansion of the Christian kingdoms. Their only defeat came at
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 ...
in 1094, due to the actions of
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 ...
. Meanwhile, Navarre lost all importance under King Sancho IV, for he lost Rioja to
Sancho II of Castile The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...
, and nearly became the vassal of Aragon. At his death, the Navarrese chose as their king
Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V (). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the first king of Aragon ...
, King of Aragon, who thus became Sancho V of Navarre and I of Aragon. Sancho Ramírez gained international recognition for Aragon, uniting it with Navarre and expanding the borders south, conquering ''Wasqat''
Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
deep in the valleys in 1096 and building a fort, El Castellar, 25 km from ''Saraqustat''
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
. Catalonia came under intense pressure from the taifas of Zaragoza and
Lérida Lleida (, ; ; ''#Name, see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià, Segrià county, the Ponent, Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Cent ...
, as well as from internal disputes, as Barcelona suffered a dynastic crisis that led to open war among the smaller counties. But by the 1080s, the situation had calmed down, and the dominion of Barcelona over the smaller counties was restored.


Almohads

After a brief period of disintegration (the second Taifa period), the Almohads, the rising power in North Africa, took over most of ''al-Andalus''. However they were decisively defeated at the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...
(1212) by a Christian coalition, losing almost all the remaining lands of ''al-Andalus'' in the following decades. By 1252 only the
Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...
remained intact but as a vassal state of Castile.


Granada War and the end of Muslim rule

Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella completed the ''Reconquista'' with a war against the
Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...
that started in 1482 and ended with Granada's surrender on 2 January 1492. The Moors in Castile previously numbered "half a million within the realm". By 1492 some 100,000 had died or been enslaved, 200,000 had emigrated, and 200,000 remained in Castile. Many of the Muslim elite, including Granada's former Emir Muhammad XII of Granada, Muhammad XII, who had been given the area of the Alpujarras mountains as a principality, found life under Christian rule intolerable and emigrated to Fez, Morocco, Fez in North Africa."نفح الطيب من غصن الاندلس الرطيب" p. 1317. احمد المقري المغربي المالكي الاشعري In 1497, Spanish forces took Melilla, west of Oran, and the island of Djerba, south of Tunis, and went on to more important gains, with the bloody Spanish conquest of Oran (1509), seizure of Oran in 1509, and the capture of Bougie and Spanish conquest of Tripoli (1510), Tripoli in 1510. The Spanish capture of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli cost them some 300 men, while the inhabitants suffered between 3,000 and 5,000 killed and another 5,000–6,000 carried off as slaves. Soon thereafter, however, they faced competition from the rapidly expanding Ottoman Empire in the east and were pushed back.


Infighting


Christian infighting

Clashes and raids on bordering Andalusian lands did not keep the Christian kingdoms from battling among themselves or allying with Muslim kings. Some Muslim kings had Christian-born wives or mothers. Some Christian mercenaries, like
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 ...
, were contracted by
taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...
kings to fight against their neighbours. Indeed, El Cid's first battle experience was gained fighting for a Muslim state against a Christian state. At the Battle of Graus in 1063, he and other Castilians fought on the side of Ahmad al-Muqtadir, al-Muqtadir, Muslim sultan of
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, against the forces of
Ramiro I of Aragon Ramiro I (bef. 10078 May 1063) was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death. His kingdomship was petit, and unfederated, which was sometimes referred to as a petty kingdom. Although his legacy was a minor kingdom, he would expand th ...
. There is even an instance of a crusade being declared against another Christian king in Hispania.Joseph O'Callaghan (2003). ''Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain'', Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press. p. 62. Although Christian rulers
Fernán González of Castile Fernán González (died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile. Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberia, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the foundations for i ...
and Ramiro II of León had cooperated to defeat the Muslims at the Battle of Simancas (939), Fernán attacked Ramiro soon after and the Leonese–Castilian war that followed lasted until Ramiro's victory in 944. Ramiro II's death caused the war of the Leonese succession (951–956) between his sons, and the winner Ordoño III of León concluded peace with caliph Abd al-Rahman III of Córdoba. After the defeat of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, at Battle of Alarcos, Alarcos, Kings Alfonso IX of Leon and Sancho VII of Navarre entered an alliance with the
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
and invaded Castile in 1196. By the end of the year Sancho VII had dropped out of the war under Papal pressure. Early in 1197, at the request of Sancho I of Portugal, Sancho I, King of Portugal, Pope Celestine III declared a crusade against Alfonso IX and released his subjects from their responsibilities to the king, declaring that "the men of his realm shall be absolved from their fidelity and his dominion by authority of the apostolic see." Together the Kings of Portugal, Castile, and
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
invaded Leon. In the face of this onslaught combined with pressure from the Pope, Alfonso IX was finally forced to sue for peace in October 1197. In the late years of ''al-Andalus'', Castile had the might to conquer the remnants of the kingdom of Granada, but the kings preferred to wait and claim the tribute of the Muslim ''
parias In medieval Spain, ''parias'' (from medieval Latin ''pariāre'', "to make equal n account, i.e. pay) were a form of tribute paid by the ''taifas'' of al-Andalus to the Christian kingdoms of the north. ''Parias'' dominated relations between the ...
''. The trade of Granadan goods and the parias were a major means by which African gold entered medieval Europe.


Muslim infighting

Similarly, there was frequent Muslim infighting throughout the existence of al-Andalus. The Abbasid Revolution (747–750) divided Muslim rulers in Iberia into the pro-Abbasid Caliphate faction (based in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
) and the pro-Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad faction (reconstituted as the Emirate of Córdoba).
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
's failed Abbasid-Carolingian Alliance#Military alliance in Spain (777–778), 778 campaign into Iberia was prompted by the invitation of the pro-Abbasid governor of Barcelona,
Sulayman al-Arabi Sulayman ibn Yaqzan al-Kalbi al-Arabi (al-A'rabi meaning the Bedouin; full name in ) was an Arab Muslim wāli (governor) of Barcelona and Girona in the year 777. For the history of al-Arabi, we must rely on the Muslim historian Abu al-Hassan Ali i ...
, which led to a brief Abbasid-Carolingian Alliance against the Umayyads. During the Fitna of al-Andalus (1009–1031), the Umayyad-run
Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
fell apart into rival
taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...
s headed by Islamic emirs warring each other. After the Christian king of Castile and León History of Toledo, Spain#Medieval Toledo after the Reconquest, conquered Toledo in 1085, the emirs requested
Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...
, leader of the strict Islamic Almoravid dynasty, Almoravid sect, to come to their defence, which he did at the
Battle of Sagrajas The Battle of Sagrajas (23 October 1086), also called Zalaca or Zallaqah (), was a conflict fought in 1086 between the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravid army, led by their king, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and the forces of King Alfonso VI of León and Cas ...
(1086). However, Yusuf soon turned on the Muslim emirs of Spain, defeating them all and conquering their lands by 1091. A similar scenario occurred in 1147–1157, when the Almoravid dynasty fell, a Second Taifas period happened, and the Muslim-controlled cities of al-Andalus were conquered by the new Almohad Caliphate. The Nasrid dynasty#Conflicts of succession and civil war, War of the Granada succession (1482–1492) took place after the deposition of emir Abu'l-Hasan Ali of Granada by his son Muhammad XII of Granada; the deposed emir's brother Muhammad XIII of Granada also joined the fight. This succession conflict took place simultaneously with the Granada War, and was ended only by the Castilian conquest in 1492.


Christian repopulation

The ''Reconquista'' was a process not only of war and conquest, but also of colonization, repopulation. Christian kings moved their own people to locations abandoned by Muslims in order to have a population capable of defending the borders. The main repopulation areas were the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
Basin (the northern plateau), the high Ebro valley (La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja) and central
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. The repopulation of the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
Basin took place in two distinct phases. North of the river, between the 9th and 10th centuries, the "pressure" (or ''presura'') system was employed. South of the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the ''presura'' led to the "charters" (''foral, forais'' or ''fueros''). ''Fueros'' were used even south of the Central Range. The ''presura'' referred to a group of peasants who crossed the mountains and settled in the abandoned lands of the Douro Basin. Asturian laws promoted this system, for instance granting a peasant all the land he was able to work and defend as his own property. Of course, Asturian and Galician minor nobles and clergymen sent their own expeditions with the peasants they maintained. This led to very feudalised areas, such as
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
and Portugal, whereas Castile, an arid land with vast plains and harsh climate, only attracted peasants with no hope in Biscay. As a consequence, Castile was governed by a single count, but had a largely non-feudal territory with many wikt:freeman, free peasants. ''Presuras'' also appear in Catalonia, when the count of Barcelona ordered the Bishop of Urgell and the count of Gerona to repopulate the plains of Vic, Barcelona, Vic. During the 10th century and onwards, cities and towns gained more importance and power, as commerce reappeared and the population kept growing. ''Fueros'' were charters documenting the privileges and usages given to all the people repopulating a town. The ''fueros'' provided a means of escape from the feudal system, as ''fueros'' were only granted by the monarch. As a result, the town council was dependent on the monarch alone and, in turn, was required to provide ''auxilium''—aid or troops—for their monarch. The military force of the towns became the ''caballeros villanos''. The first ''fuero'' was given by count Fernán González to the inhabitants of Castrojeriz in the 940's. The most important towns of medieval Hispania had ''fueros'', or ''forais''. In Navarre, ''fueros'' were the main repopulating system. Later on, in the 12th century, Aragon also employed the system; for example, the ''fuero'' of Teruel, which was one of the last fueros, in the early 13th century. From the mid-13th century on, no more charters were granted, as the demographic pressure had disappeared and other means of re-population were created. ''Fueros'' remained as city charters until the 18th century in Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia and until the 19th century in Castile and Navarre. ''Fueros'' had an immense importance for those living under them, who were prepared to go to war to defend their rights under the charter. In the 19th century, the abolition of the ''fueros'' in Navarre would be one of the causes of the Carlist Wars. In Castile, disputes over the system contributed to the war against Charles I (Castilian War of the Communities).


Christian military culture


Reconquista as Crusade

At the First Council of the Lateran, Pope Callixtus II declared the Reconquista as part of Crusades and its participants as Crusaders having an equal spiritual standing with those in the east. In the 13th century, Pope Innocent III declared a crusade and persuaded warriors from many parts of Europe in and outside the Iberian peninsula to assist the Iberians against the Almohad, Almohad Caliphate army. The Almohads then advanced into Europe with the intent of undoing the previous achievements of the Reconquista and marching on Rome itself. The crusading campaign culminated in a resounding Crusader victory at the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...
, effectively turning the tide of war in favour of the Christians.


Other Motivations

Jim Bradbury (2004) noted that the Christian belligerents in the ''Reconquista'' were not all equally motivated by religion, and that a distinction should be made between 'secular rulers' on the one hand, and on the other hand Christian military orders which came from elsewhere (including the three main orders of
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
, Knights Hospitaller and Teutonic Knights), or were Orders, decorations, and medals of Spain, established inside Iberia (such as those of Order of Santiago, Santiago, Order of Alcántara, Alcántara and Order of Calatrava, Calatrava). '[The Knights] were more committed to religious war than some of their secular counterparts, were opposed to treating with Muslims and carried out raids and even atrocities, such as decapitating Muslim prisoners.' On the other hand, Christian armies sometimes forged temporary alliances with Islamic emirs, and Christian mercenaries were quite willing to fight for Arab and Berber rulers if the price was right.
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 ...
is a well-known example of a Christian mercenary leader who was in El Cid#Moorish service, paid military service of the Islamic kings of Zaragoza for years. Mercenaries were an important factor, as many kings did not have enough soldiers available. Norsemen, Flemings, Flemish spearmen, Frankish knights, Moorish mounted archers (archers who travelled on horseback), and Berber light cavalry were the main types of mercenaries available and used in the conflict.


Christian cavalry and infantry

Medieval Christian armies mainly comprised two types of forces: the cavalry (mostly nobles, but including commoner knights from the 10th century on) and the infantry, or ''peones'' (peasants). Infantry only went to war if needed, which was not frequent. In an atmosphere of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were strongly intertwined during this period. These armies reflected the need for society to be on constant alert during the first chapters of the Reconquista. These forces were capable of moving long distances in short times. Cavalry tactics in Hispania involved knights approaching the enemy, throwing javelins, then withdrawing to a safe distance before commencing another assault. Once the enemy formation was sufficiently weakened, the knights charged with thrusting spears (lances did not arrive in Hispania until the 11th century). There were three types of knights (''caballeros''): royal knights, noble knights (''caballeros Hidalgo (nobility), hidalgos''), and commoner knights (Caballero villano, ''caballeros villanos'', or "mounted soldier from a Villa#Post-Roman era, villa"). Royal knights were mainly nobles with a close relationship with the king, and thus claimed a direct Gothic inheritance. Royal knights in the early stages of the Reconquista were equipped with mail hauberk, kite shield, a long sword (designed to fight from the horse), javelins, spears and an francisca, axe. Noble knights came from the ranks of the ''infanzones'' or lower nobles, whereas the commoner knights were not noble but were wealthy enough to afford a horse. Uniquely in Europe, these horsemen comprised a militia cavalry force with no feudal links, being under the sole control of the king or the count of Castile because of ''fueros'' (charters) with the crown. Both noble and common knights wore padded armour and carried javelins, spears and round-tasselled shield (influenced by Moorish shields), as well as a sword. The ''peones'' were peasants who went to battle in service of their feudal lord. Poorly equipped, with bows and arrows, spears and short swords, they were mainly used as auxiliary troops. Their function in battle was to contain the enemy troops until the cavalry arrived and to block the enemy infantry from charging the knights. The longbow, the composite bow, and the crossbow were the basic types of bows and were especially popular in the infantry.


Equipment

In the early Middle Ages in Hispania, armour was typically made of leather, with iron scales. Head protections consisted of a round helmet with nose protector (influenced by the designs used by Vikings, who attacked during the 8th and 9th centuries) and a chain mail headpiece. Shields were often round or kidney-shaped, except for the kite-shaped designs used by the royal knights. Usually adorned with geometric designs, crosses or tassels, shields were made out of wood and had a leather cover. Steel swords were the most common weapon. The cavalry used long double-edged swords and the infantry short, single-edged ones. Guards were either semicircular or straight, but always highly ornamented with geometrical patterns. Spears and javelins were up to 1.5 metres long and had an iron tip. The double-axe—made of iron, 30 cm long, and possessing an extremely sharp edge—was designed to be equally useful as a thrown weapon or in close combat. Maces and hammers were not common, but some specimens have remained and are thought to have been used by members of the cavalry.


Technological changes

This style of warfare remained dominant in the Iberian Peninsula until the late 11th century, when lance tactics entered from France, although the traditional horse javelin-shot techniques continued to be used. In the 12th and 13th centuries, soldiers typically carried a sword, a lance, a javelin, and either bow and arrows or crossbow and darts/bolts. Armor consisted of a coat of mail over a quilted jacket, extending at least to the knees, a helmet or iron cap, and bracers protecting the arms and thighs, either metal or leather. Shields were round or triangular, made of wood, covered with leather, and protected by an iron band; the shields of knights and nobles would bear the family's coat of arms. Knights rode in both the Muslim style, ''a la jineta'' (i.e. the equivalent of a modern jockey's seat), a short stirrup strap and bended knees allowed for better control and speed, or in the French style, ''a la brida'', a long stirrup strap allowed for more security in the saddle (i.e. the equivalent of the modern cavalry seat, which is more secure) when acting as heavy cavalry. Horses were occasionally fitted with a coat of mail as well. Around the 14th and 15th centuries heavy cavalry gained a predominant role, including knights wearing full plate armor.


Conversions and expulsions

The new Christian hierarchy demanded heavy taxes from non-Christians and gave them rights, such as in the Treaty of Granada (1491) only for Moors in recently Islamic Granada. On 30 July 1492, all the Jewish community—some 200,000 people—were forcibly expelled. The next year, the Alhambra decree ordered the expulsion of practicing Jews, leading many of them to convert to Catholicism. In 1502, Queen Isabella I declared that conversion to Catholicism was compulsory within the Kingdom of Castile. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V imposed the same religious requirement on Moors in the Kingdom of Aragon in 1526, forcing its Muslim population to convert during the Revolt of the Germanies.Censorship and Book Production in Spain During the Age of the Incunabula
, Ignacio Tofiño-Quesada. Graduate Center, CUNY.


Spanish Inquisition

Making things more complex were the many former Muslims and Jews known as ''Moriscos'', ''Marranos'', and ''Conversos'', who shared ancestors in common with many Christians, especially among the aristocracy, causing much concern over loyalty and attempts by the aristocracy to hide their non-Christian ancestry. Some—the numbers are debated—continued to secretly practice their religions and use their languages well into the sixteenth century. Those that the Spanish Inquisition found to be secretly practicing Islam or Judaism were executed, imprisoned, or exiled. Nevertheless, all those deemed to be "New Christians" were repeatedly suspected of illegally continuing in secret to practice their religions. Various treason, crimes against the Spanish state including continued practice of Islam or Judaism. New Christians were subject to many discriminatory practices starting in the sixteenth century.


Classifications and later consequences

The many advances and retreats created several social types: * The ''Muwallad'': native Iberians under Islamic rule who converted to Islam after the arrival of the Muslim Arabs and Berbers. * The ''Mozarabs'': Christians in Muslim-held lands. Some of them migrated to the north of the peninsula in times of persecution bringing elements of the styles, food and agricultural practices learned from the Andalusians, while they continued practicing their Christianity with older forms of Catholic worship and their own versions of the Latin language. * "New Christians": Jews converting to Christianity called ''conversos'', or pejoratively ''Marranos''. Jews converted to Christianity voluntarily or through force. Some were Crypto-Jews who continued practicing Judaism secretly. All remaining Jews were expelled from Spain as a consequence of the 1492
Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...
, and from Portugal in 1497. Former Jews were subject to the Spanish Inquisition, Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, established to enforce Christian faith and practice, which often resulted in secret investigations and public punishments of ''conversos'' in auto-da-fé, autos-da-fé ("acts of faith"), often public executions by burning the victim alive * The ''Mudéjar'': Muslims in Christian-held lands. * ''Moriscos'': Muslim ''conversos''. Muslims who converted to Catholicism. A significant number were Crypto-Muslims who continued practicing Islam secretly. They ranged from successful skilled artisans, valued and protected in Aragon, to impoverished peasants in Castile. After the Alhambra Decree the entire Islamic population was forced to convert or leave, and at the beginning of the seventeenth century a significant number were expelled in the expulsion of the Moriscos.


Legacy

Since the 19th century, traditional Western and especially Iberian historiography has stressed the existence of the ''Reconquista'', "Queda claro, pues, que el concepto de Reconquista, tal como surgió en el siglo XIX y se consolidó en la historiografía de la primera mitad del XX, se convirtió en uno de los principales mitos originarios alumbrados por el nacionalismo español. [It is clear, then, that the concept of Reconquista, as it emerged in the 19th century and was consolidated in the historiography of the first half of the 20th, became one of the principal origin myths illuminated by Spanish nationalism.]" a continual phenomenon by which the Christian Iberian kingdoms opposed and conquered the Muslim kingdoms, understood as a common enemy who had militarily seized territory from native Iberian Christians. However, modern scholarship has challenged this concept of a "reconquista" as a national myth tied to Spanish nationalism. The concept has served the idea "that Spain is a nation shaped against Islam", contributing to "a largely biased and distorted vision of the Iberian medieval past, aimed at delegitimizing the Islamic presence (al-Andalus) and therefore at legitimizing the Christian conquest of the Muslim territory." Among other arguments, one of those advanced by scholars is that "no military campaign lasts eight centuries." The term "reconquista" in this sense first appeared in the 19th century, and only entered the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy in 1936, with the rise of Francisco Franco. The concept of the reconquista continues to have significance and has even experienced a resurgence in modern politics—especially for the extreme right Spanish party Vox (political party), Vox, but also more broadly among Xenophobia, xenophobic and especially Islamophobia, Islamophobic conservatives in the West, with the influence of the doctrine of a "''Clash of Civilizations''". Real, legendary, and fictional episodes from the ''Reconquista'' are the subject of much of medieval Galician-Portuguese, Spanish literature, Spanish, and Catalan literature such as the ''cantar de gesta''. Some noble genealogy, genealogies show the close, though not numerous, relations between Muslims and Christians. For example, Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, whose rule is considered to have marked the peak of power for Moorish ''al-Andalus'' Hispania, married Abda, daughter of Sancho II of Navarra, Sancho Garcés II of Navarra, who bore him a son, named Abd al-Rahman and commonly known in a pejorative sense as Sanchuelo (''Little Sancho''; in Arabic: ''Shanjoul''). After his father's death, Sanchuelo/Abd al-Rahman, as a son of a Christian princess, was a strong contender to take over the ultimate power in Muslim al-Andalus. A hundred years later, King Alfonso VI of Castile, regarded as one of the greatest medieval Spanish kings, designated his son (also named Sancho) by the Muslim princess refugee Zaida of Seville, as his heir. The ''Reconquista'' was a war with long periods of respite between the adversaries, partly for pragmatic reasons and also due to infighting among the Christian kingdoms of the North spanning over seven centuries. Some populations practiced Islam or Christianity as their own religion during these centuries, so the identity of contenders changed over time. It is noteworthy that the popular hero
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 ...
, whose name is very much associated with the Reconquista, had at one part of his career actually fought for the Muslim rulers of Taifa of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, whom he defended from its traditional enemy, the Christian
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
. The most important achievement of El Cid's career, the conquest of the Taifa of Valencia, kingdom-city of Valencia, was actually achieved in close alliance with the Banu Hud and other Muslim dynasties opposed to the
Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
.


French emulation

In 1558, the armies of King Henry II of France managed to conquer the city of Calais, which had been under English rule for centuries. Queen Mary I of England considered the loss of Calais as the greatest disaster of her reign. The region around Calais, then-known as the ''Calaisis'', was renamed the ''Pays Reconquis'' ("Reconquered Country") in commemoration of its recovery by the French. The French were certainly aware of the Spanish Reconquista, and since at the time Philip II of Spain was Queen Mary's consort, use of this term might have been intended as a deliberate snub to him.


Festivals in modern Spain and Portugal

Currently, festivals called ''moros y cristianos'' (Spanish), ''moros i cristians'' (Catalan language, Catalan), ''mouros e cristãos'' (Portuguese) and ''mouros e cristiáns'' (Galician), which all mean "Moors and Christians", recreate the fights as colorful parades with elaborate garments and many fireworks, especially on the central and southern towns of the Land of Valencia, like Alcoi, Ontinyent or Villena.


Persistent effects

A 2016 study found that the "rate of Reconquest"—how rapidly the Christian frontier was expanded—has persistent effects on the Spanish economy to this day. After an initial phase of military conquest, Christians states incorporated the conquered land. When large frontier regions were incorporated at once, the land was mostly given to the nobility and the military orders, with negative effects on long-term development. The incorporation of small regions, on the other hand, generally allowed for the participation of individual settlers and was more likely to fall under the auspices of the crown. This led to a more equitable distribution of land and greater social equality, with positive effects on long-term development.


Reverberations

As the Christian kingdoms completed their conquest of territory on the Iberian Peninsula, they shifted their impetus elsewhere, even to the Maghreb, which is located across the Strait of Gibraltar. A Castilian Crown-sanctioned punitive expedition against Tetouan, a corsair stronghold, was launched as early as 1399–1400. The conquest of Ceuta in 1415 marked the beginning of Portuguese expansion in Africa. Thereby, it allowed Portugal to exert control over Castilian and Aragonese trade through the Strait, and it also allowed Portugal to establish a powerbase for the launching of raid expeditions in Muslim-ruled lands. Some 15th-century political writers promoted the idea of a "Gothic Monarchy", an heir to Ancient Rome, Rome, that included territory across the Strait. The African enterprise which was undertaken during the rule of the Catholic Monarchs was nominally endorsed by papal bulls and it was also financed with donations which were used to pay the crusade tax, even if it was viewed with some suspicion by the Papacy. Conquest efforts in Africa on the part of the Catholic Monarchy by and large stalled following the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon. The model of conquest and repopulation by Christian powers in the Peninsula was however never reproduced in Northern Africa, and with the conquered territory—a fortified mark with very few fortresses scattered along an extensive coastline—merely adopting a defensive role, it allowed for Ottoman expansion in the region. The Portuguese Ottoman–Portuguese conflicts, warred with the Ottoman Caliphate in the Portuguese expedition to Otranto, Mediterranean, Ottoman naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean and Ottoman expedition to Aceh, Southeast Asia as the Portuguese conquered the Ottomans' allies: the Adal Sultanate, Sultanate of Adal in East Africa, the Sultanate of Delhi in South Asia and the Sultanate of Malacca in Southeast Asia. Christopher Columbus's initial 1492 Voyages of Christopher Columbus, voyage to the Americas was predicated on the completion of the Granada War, with the Spanish monarchy only able to assent to his overseas journeys once it had completed the process of defeating the Moors. Columbus's views of the New World and the Christian convictions that shaped his actions there were influenced by historical European anti-Muslim ideas that had underpinned the Reconquista itself; he believed that by his voyaging, he would be able to reach the Grand Khan of Asia and create a coalition that could attack the Middle East from both sides and thus bring Jerusalem back under Christian rule.


Far-right motif

Along with the rhetoric of the crusades, the rhetoric of the 'Reconquista' serves as a rallying point in the political discourse of the contemporary
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
in Spain, Portugal and, more broadly, it also serves as a rallying point in the political discourse of the Radical right (Europe), far-right in Europe. Frequently, references to the Reconquista and the crusades are allegorically played as internet meme by 21st-century online far-right groups which seek to convey Islamophobia, anti-Muslim sentiments. The theme has also been used as a major rallying point by Identitarian movement, identitarian groups in France and Italy. The annual commemoration of the surrender of Sultan Boabdil in Granada on 2 January acquired a markedly nationalistic undertone during the early years of the Francoist regime and, since the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, it has served as glue for extreme right groups by facilitating their open-air physical gatherings and providing them with an occasion which they can use to explicitly state their political demands. A Spanish Legion unit usually parades and sings ''El novio de la muerte'' ("Boyfriend of death"). The far right has also waged a culture war by claiming dates in the history of the Reconquista, such as the aforementioned 2 January or 2 February, regional festivities for the related autonomous communities (Andalusia and Region of Murcia, Murcia).


See also

* Convivencia


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Barton, Simon. ''Beyond the Reconquista: New Directions in the History of Medieval Iberia (711–1085)'' (2020
online
* Bishko, Charles Julian, 1975. ''The Spanish and Portuguese Reconquest, 1095–1492'' in ''A History of the Crusades, vol. 3: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries'', edited by Harry W. Hazard, (University of Wisconsin Press
online edition
* * Brescó, Ignacio, and Floor van Alphen. "Chapter 4 – Reenacting the Reconquista Myth? Some Reflections on Moros y Cristianos Festivals in Spain" in ''Historical Reenactment'' (Berghahn, 2022) * * * Dedieu, Jean-Pierre (1987) ''L'Inquisition''. Les Editions Fides * * * Fletcher, R. A. "Reconquest and Crusade in Spain c. 1050–1150", ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' 37, (1987). pp. 252–285. * García Fitz, Francisco, ''Guerra y relaciones políticas. Castilla-León y los musulmanes, ss. XI–XIII'', Universidad de Sevilla, 2002. * * García Fitz, Francisco & Feliciano Novoa Portela ''Cruzados en la Reconquista'', Madrid, 2014. * García-Sanjuán, Alejandro. "Rejecting al-Andalus, exalting the Reconquista: historical memory in contemporary Spain." ''Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies'' 10.1 (2018): 127–145
online
* * * Linehan, Peter. ''History and the historians of medieval Spain'' (Oxford UP, 1993) pp. 95–127
online
* Lomax, Derek William: ''The Reconquest of Spain.'' Longman, London 1978. * Lopez, Cesar, Mario Carretero, and Maria Rodriguez-Moneo. "Conquest or reconquest? Students’ conceptions of nation embedded in a historical narrative." ''Journal of the Learning Sciences'' 24.2 (2015): 252–285

* McKitterick, Rosamond, ed. ''The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 2, c. 700–c. 900'' (2015) * Monter, William (1990). ''Frontiers of Heresy. The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Land to Sicily''. Cambridge University Press * Nicolle, David and Angus McBride. ''El Cid and the Reconquista 1050–1492'' (Men-At-Arms, No 200) (1988), focus on soldiers * O'Callaghan, Joseph F.: ''Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), * * Payne, Stanley,
The Emergence of Portugal
, in ''A History of Spain and Portugal'': Volume One. * Perez, Joseph (2006) ''The Spanish Inquisition: A History'', Yale University Press. , * Queimada e Silva, Tiago . "The Reconquista revisited: mobilising medieval Iberian history in Spain, Portugal and beyond." in ''The Crusades in the Modern World'' (2019) pp: 57–74. * * Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ''The Atlas of the Crusades''. Facts on File, Oxford (1991) * Roth, Cecil. The Spanish Inquisition. (W.W Norton & Company, New York Press, 1964) * Van Alphen, Floor, and Brady Wagoner. "Reconstructing the ‘Reconquista’: Students’ negotiation of a Spanish master narrative." ''Memory studies'' 16.5 (2023): 1156–1172
online
* Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, 2013, "Revisiting the Anglo-Norman Crusaders' Failed Attempt to Conquer Lisbon c. 1142", Portuguese Studies 29:1, pp. 7–20. * Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, 2009,
Anglo-Norman Involvement in the Conquest and Settlement of Tortosa, 1148–1180
, Crusades 8, pp. 63–129. * Villegas-Aristizábal, Lucas, 2018, "Was the Portuguese Led Military Campaign against Alcácer do Sal in the Autumn of 1217 Part of the Fifth Crusade?" Al-Masāq 30:1 * Watt, W. Montgomery: A History of Islamic Spain. Edinburgh University Press (1992). * Watt, W. Montgomery: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe. (Edinburgh 1972).


External links


Islamic Spain and the ''Reconquista'' – Atlas and Article


{{Authority control Reconquista, Christendom Christian terminology Crusades 1490s in Spain 1492 in Europe Christianity and law in the 15th century Anti-Islam sentiment in Spain History of Catholicism in Spain Military history of al-Andalus Crown of Aragon Wars involving the Republic of Genoa Wars involving the Kingdom of Castile Battles involving the Caliphate of Córdoba Military history of the Carolingian Empire Almohad Caliphate Wars of the Middle Ages Wars involving Portugal Decolonization Political terminology Military history of the Mediterranean