Kingdom of Asturias

The Kingdom of Asturias was the earliest Christian political entity to be established in the Iberian peninsula after the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. This followed the defeat of King Rodrigo at the Battle of Guadalete and the subsequent Islamic conquest of Iberia.

Establishment

The kingdom was established by a nobleman, Pelayo who had returned to his county after the Battle of Guadalete, and became leader of the Astures and founded the Kingdom of Asturias. However, Pelayo's kingdom initially was little more than a banner for the existing guerilla forces.

Under his leadership, the attacks on the Berbers increased. In 722 (or possibly in 724 or as early as 718), the Emir sent a force led by Munuza to quell this rebellion and establish Moorish control of the region. This force was defeated in the valley of Battle of Covadonga. The most commonly accepted hypothesis for this battle (epic as described by Christian chronicles, but a mere skirmish in Muslim texts) is that the Moorish column was attacked from the cliffs and then fell back through the valleys towards present day Gijón, but was attacked whilst in retreat by the retinue and nearly destroyed. After this first battle, the Astures grew stronger. Once he had expelled the Moors from the eastern valleys of Asturias, Pelayo attacked León, the main city in north-west Spain and secured the mountain passes, isolating the region from Moorish attack.

Pelayo continued attacking those Berbers which remained north of the Asturian Mountains until they withdrew. He then married his son Favila to Duke Pedro’s daughter, a descendant of the former Astur dynasty.

Pelayo founded a dynasty in Asturias that survived for centuries and gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries until all of northwest Iberia was included by roughly 775. The reign of Alfonso II from 791–842 saw further expansion of the kingdom to the south, almost as far as Lisbon, Portugal.

Recognition

It was not until King Alfonso II of Asturias (791-842), that the kingdom was firmly established with Alfonso's recognition as king of Asturias by Charlemagne and the Pope. He conquered Galicia and the Basques. During his reign, the holy bones of St. James the Great were declared to be found in Galicia, at Santiago de Compostela (from Latin campus stellae, literally "the field of the star"). Pilgrims from all over Europe opened a way of communication between the isolated Asturias and the Carolingian lands and beyond.

The first capital city was Cangas de Onís. Then, in Silo´s time, it was moved to Pravia. Alfonso II choose Oviedo as the definite capital of the Kingdom. The kingdom was known as Asturias until 924, when it became the Kingdom of León. It continued under that name until incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile in 1230, after Ferdinand III became joint king of the two kingdoms.

Legacy

The Kingdom of Asturias was, in its infancy, an indigenous reaction of astures and cantabri peoples to a foreign invasion. Those people had fought hard against the Romans of the Ancient Ages, and resisted partially to Romanisation (although it was deep. In fact, the Celtic languages were lost). Thus, they conserved part of its prelatin features, such as matrilineal heritage, and a certain amount of social equality. However, when Visigothic influence of the people who migrated to the Christian Kingdom of the North grew, Feudalism settled up in Asturias.

This kingdom is the birthplace of one of the most outstanding European Medieval Architectural styles: Asturian Preromanesque. This style of Architecture was largely founded by Ramiro I.

This small kingdom was a milestone in the fight against Adoptionist heresy, with Beatus of Liébana as a major figure. In the time of Alfonso II, the shrine of Santiago was "found." The pilgrimage to Santiago, Camino de Santiago, was a nexus within Europe, and many pilgrims (and their money) passed through Asturias on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

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Establishment

Recognition

Legacy

See also