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The Reconquista (Reconquest) was the process by which the Christian Kingdoms of northern Hispania defeated and conquered the southern Muslim and moorish states of the Iberian Peninsula, existing since the Arab invasion of 711. The Reconquista is commonly accepted to have started in 722, with the Battle of Covadonga, and finished in 1492, with the conquest of Granada.
In 1236 the Spanish Reconquista led to the subjugation of the last Islamic stronghold of Granada under Mohammed ibn Alhamar to the Christian forces of Ferdinand III of Castile. From there on Granada became a vassal state to the Christian kingdom for the following 250 years until January 2, 1492 when the last Muslim leader Boabdil of Granada surrendered complete control of the remnants of the last Moorish stronghold - Granada - to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Kings"). This united most of modern Spain under their rule, excluding Navarre, which remained separate until 1512.
The Portuguese Reconquista culminated in 1249 with the subjugation of Algarve by Afonso III.
Background
In the 5th century the Visigoths allied with the Roman Empire to force out the Alans and other tribes from Iberia. In return, the Visigoths received Roman Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) and Southern Gaul as foedus, a payment for their loyalty. However, once the last emperor was deposed by Odoacer in 476, the Visigoths ruled Hispania as an independent kingdom.
The death of the Visigoth king Wittiza in 710 led to conflict between his successor Roderic and the count of Ceuta, Julian who was sheltering Wittiza's family and partisans. In 711 Julian, who enjoyed good relations with the Moorish governor of nearby Tangier, Tariq ibn Ziyad, and his emir Musa ibn Nusair, provided ships for a Moorish force consisting of Africans, Berbers and Arabs to land in Gibraltar to assist him in his struggle with Roderic. Historians differ on whether Musa intended a full invasion at this point, a limited intervention for the sake of alliance-building, or an attack to gauge the strength of the Visigothic defences.
Julian's exact motivation is unclear -- legends attribute the dispute to his daughter being made pregnant by Roderic -- and may have stemmed from religious as well as political reasons. Julian, like most of the people in Hispania at the time, was an Arian by faith and disagreed with the Visigothic elite's conversion to Catholicism. The rebels may have preferred the simple monotheism of Islam to Catholic Trinitarianism.
Roderic was defeated and assumed to have been killed (Hitti, The Arabs: A Short History) at the battle of Guadalete in 711, partly because of the desertion of troops under his command at the urging of bishop Oppas (whose nephew Agila was Wittiza's son). After the battle, Visigothic rule fell apart, with Agila surrendering his lands in 712. Pelayo, a noble in charge of Roderic's royal guard (Comes Spatharius), escaped the battle and returned to his native Asturias.
During the next three years the Moors conquered the rest of Hispania, often helped and welcomed by the native population. The Moors continued marching north until they were defeated by Charles Martel in 732 in the Battle of Tours. The Moors then settled in the Iberian Peninsula, establishing an Emirate nominally subordinate to the Caliph in Damascus. The native population kept their property and social status, as the change of governors did not seriously disrupt their everyday affairs. The local administration was not changed, and county divisions were maintained.
After 714, most of the Iberian Peninsula had changed its name from Hispania to the Arabic name, Al-Andalus.
The beginning of the reconquista and early kingdom
The North central part of the peninsula was not conquered; two areas remained. At one side was the Duchy of Cantabria, an autonomous region that existed under the Visigothic realm and included the modern territories of Cantabria (which at the time included territories to the West that today are part of modern Asturias), and part of the Basque Country. On the other side, the northernmost part of Asturias also remained free. A great number of people from other areas took refuge in the North, fleeing the invaders, to the point that when Tarik entered Toledo (the Visigoth capital), he found it almost empty.
The invaders finished their conquest upon arriving at Gijón, where they stopped their campaign temporarily, leaving the Cantabrian range as the only stronghold to be conquered. The population in those territories opposed the Muslims in the same way they did before with the Romans and Visigoths. The invaders halted their campaign in Asturias, with the intention of continuing in the lands of Cantabros and Basques, the only ones left for the complete dominion of the peninsula. Nevertheless, that would be precisely the starting point for the Reconquista.
In the year 722, Pelayo, a noble Visigoth, took the leadership of the Astures. The Muslim governor of Oviedo, Munuza, sent against Pelayo an army that was surprised at Covadonga in the Picos de Europa mountains (at the time in Western Cantabria, today in modern Asturias). The Muslims were forced to flee through the Picos de Europa, crossing Lagos de Enol, Vega Mayor, Ostón, Culiembro, el Cares, Amuesa, Bulnes, Pan-débano, and Aliva. The army appeared finally at the other side of the Picos de Europa, close to Cosgaya, where a rockslide killed the last survivors.
As explained by historian Joaquín González Echegaray in his work Cantabria Antigua, Pelayo was named the leader of the Astures, liberated the southern part of Asturias from Muslim control, and decided to seal a pact with the other independent northern zone, which was controlled by the Duke of Cantabria, Pedro.
The pact arranged for the marriage of Ermesinda, Pelayo's daughter, to Alfonso, the heir to the Cantabrian duchy, thus consolidating the two Christian areas. After Pelayo died in 737, his son Fáfila (or Favila) succeeded him to the Asturian leadership, but two years later was killed by a bear while hunting in the Picos de Europa mountains. It was then that the Cantabrian Alfonso was proclaimed the sole ruler of all the Christian areas, due to his double linkage to the Asturian leadership through his wife, and as heir to the Cantabrian duchy.
Thus, a stable union was established. Upon becoming the ruler of this new, bigger territory, Alfonso considered the title of duke obsolete, and decided to use for the first time the title of king: Alfonso I, El Católico. The capital was at Cangas de Onis (at the time in Western Cantabria, today in modern Asturias). By the time of Alfonso II (760-842) the court had moved to Oviedo. The new monarch was the son of Fruela I and the Basque (from Alava) Munia, belonging to the lineage of Alfonso I. In the summers of 792, 793 and 794 several Muslim attacks plundered Alava and the heart of the Asturian kingdom, reaching up to the capital, Oviedo. In one of the retreats, Alfonso inflicted a severe defeat upon the Muslims in the swampy area of Lutos. In order to avoid these continuous attacks, the king initiated tight diplomatic contacts with the kings of Pamplona, and with Charlemagne and his successor, Louis the Pious.
The contacts with the Carolingian court introduced cultural, religious and political influences. Al-Hakam I tried to boycott those contacts, and heavily attacked Alava and Lisbon in the years 798 and 803.
Even when the Muslim success was very limited, Abd al-Rahman III continued with this policy of annual campaigns, using Galicia as their operations front. However, Asturias became stronger due to these campaigns; its possessions were strengthened in Castile, Galicia and León, starting an intensive work of repopulation in those territories.
There was a critical moment during his mandate, between the years 801 and 808, when the king was forced to retire to the monastery of Ablaña under the pressure of a group of nobles. He recovered the throne thanks to the noble Teudano, and started reorganizing the realm in order to reinforce the royal power. The anonymous author of the Crónica Albeldense states that Alfonso restored Oviedo, which became his center, and distanced himself from the Toledo and Frank churches, creating a new metropolitan see in Lugo.
Alfonso died without an heir, which caused the crown to be inherited by Ramiro I.
The Pyrenees: a natural barrier
Once the Franks had driven the Moors out of France, the necessity of defending the mountain passes of the Pyrenees became an important point in Charlemagne’s policy. Fortifications were built, and protection was given to the inhabitants of the old Roman cities, such as Jaca and Gerona. The main passes were (eastwards) Roncesvalles, Somport and Junquera. In each of them, Charlemagne settled the counties of Pamplona, Aragon and Catalonia (which was itself formed from a number of small counties, Pallars, Gerona, and Urgell being the most prominent).
In 778, the Frankish expedition against Saragossa failed and the rear guard of the army was destroyed while retreating back to France, this event being recorded in the “Chanson de Roland”. As a result the western Pyrenees were now free from both Moorish and Frankish rule. Four different states appeared: the kingdom of Pamplona (later known as Navarre) and the counties of Aragon, Sobarbe and Ribagorza. Navarre emerged as a kingdom around Pamplona, its capital, and controlled Roncesvalles pass. Its first king was Iñigo Arista. He expanded his domains up to the Bay of Biscay and conquered a small number of towns beyond the Pyrenees, but never directly attacked the Carolingian armies, as he was in theory their vassal. It was not until Queen Jimena in the 9th century that Pamplona was officially recognised as an independent kingdom by the Pope. Aragon, founded in 809 by Aznar Galíndez, grew around Jaca and the high valleys of the Aragon River, protecting the old Roman road. By the end of the 10th century, Aragon was annexed by Navarre. Sobarbe and Ribagorza were small counties and had little significance to the progress of the Reconquista.
The Catalonian counties protected the eastern Pyrenees passes and shores. They were under the direct control of the Frankish kings and were the last remains of the Spanish Marches. Catalonia included not only the southern Pyrenees counties of Gerona, Pallars, Urgell, Vic and Andorra but also some which were on the northern side of the mountains, such as Perpignan and Foix. However, the most important role was played by Barcelona, once it was conquered in 801 by Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne. 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 Capets) 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 same capacity for expansion as Asturias had. Their mountainous geography rendered them relatively safe from attack but also made launching attacks against a united and strong Al-Andalus impractical. In consequence, these states' borders remained stable for two centuries.
Military culture in medieval Iberian Peninsula
In a situation of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were strongly interlinked during this period. Small, lightly equipped armies reflect how the society had to be on the alert at all times. These forces were capable of moving long distances in short times, allowing a quick return home after sacking a target. Battles which took place were mainly between clans, expelling intruder armies or sacking expeditions.
The cultural context of Medieval Spain was markedly different to that of the rest of Continental Europe, due to contact with the Moorish culture and the isolation provided by the Pyrenees (an exception to this is Catalonia, where Frankish influence remained strong). These cultural differences implied the use of doctrines, equipment, and tactics markedly different from those found in the rest of Europe during this period.
Medieval Spanish armies were mainly comprised of two types of forces: cavalry (mostly nobles, but including commoner knights from the 10th century onwards) and infantry, or peones (peasants). Infantry only went to war if needed, which was not common.
Spanish cavalry tactics involved knights approaching the enemy and throwing javelins, before 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: royal knights, noble knights (caballeros hidalgos) and commoner knights (caballeros villanos). Royal knights were mainly nobles with a close relationship with the king, and thus claimed a direct Gothic inheritance. Royal knights were equipped in the same manner as their Gothic predecessors - braceplate, kite shield, a long sword (designed to fight from the horse) and as well as the javelins and spears, a Visigothic double-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 the fueros (see below: Repopulating Hispania: the origin of fueros). Both noble and common knights wore leather armour, javelins, spears and round-tasselled shields (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 (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.
Typically armour was made of leather, with iron scales; full coats of chain mail were extremely rare and horse barding completely unknown. 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 head piece. 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 calvary used long double-bladed swords and the infantry short, single-bladed ones. Guards were either semicircular or straight, but always highly ornamented with geometrical patterns. The spears and javelins were up to 1.5 metres long and had an iron tip. The double-axe, made of iron and 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.
Finally, mercenaries were an important factor, as many kings did not have enough soldiers and could afford them. Norsemen, Flemish spearmen, Frankish knights, Moorish mounted archers and Berber light cavalry were the main types of mercenary available and used in the conflict.
This style of warfare remained dominant in the Iberian Peninsula until the late 11th century, when couched lance tactics entered from France and replaced the traditional horse javelin-shot techniques. In the 12th and 13th centuries, horse barding, suits of armour, double-handed swords and crossbows finally rendered the early Spanish tactics obsolete.
Repopulating Hispania: the origin of fueros
The Reconquista was a process not only of war and conquest, but mainly of repopulation. Christian kings took their own people to locations abandoned by the Berbers, in order to have a population capable of defending the borders. The main repopulation areas were the Duero Basin (the northern plateau), the high Ebro valley (La Rioja) and central Catalonia.
The repopulation of the Duero Basin took place in two distinct phases. North of the river, between the 9th and 10th centuries, the presura system was employed. South of the Duero, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the presura led to the fueros. Fueros were used even south of the Central Range.
The presura referred to a group of peasants which crossed the mountains and settled in the abandoned lands of the Duero Basin. Asturian laws promoted this system with laws, 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 and Portugal, whereas Castile, an arid land with vast plains and hard climate only attracted peasants with no hope in Biscay. As a consequence, Castile was governed by a single count, but had a largely mostly non-feudal territory with many 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.
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 (the concejo) was dependent on the monarch alone and had to help their lord (auxilium). 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 940s. The most important towns of medieval Spain had fueros. 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 repopulation were created. While presuras allowed Castile to have the only non-feudal peasants in Europe other than cossacks, 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 defend their rights under the charter militarily if necessary. The abolition of the fueros in Navarre was 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).
The 10th and 11th centuries: crisis and splendour
The situation in the Moorish-ruled region of the Iberian Peninsula, Al-Andalus, during the 10th and 11th centuries played an important role in the development of the Christian kingdoms.
The Caliph of Córdoba
The 9th century saw the Berbers return to Africa in the aftermath of their revolts. During this period, many governors of big cities distant from the capital (Córdoba) planned to establish their independence. Then, in 923 the Emir of Córdoba (Abd-ar-Rahman III), the leader of the Umayyad dynasty, declared himself Caliph, independent from the Abbasids in Baghdad. He took all the military, religious and political power and reorganised the army and the bureaucracy.Once he had regained control over the dissident governors, the Caliph desired to expel the Christian leadership from the Iberian peninsula, attacking the Christian states several times and forcing them back beyond the Cantabric range. These were not attacks upon his Christian subjects, however.
Christian political forces then openly accused Abd-ar-Rahman III of the pederastic abuse of a Christian boy who was later canonized Saint Pelagius of Cordova as a result of the event. This became a rallying cry for subsequent generations of Christian soldiers, and is reputed to have provided much political strength and popular support to the Spanish Reconquista for centuries. The episode is seen by modern scholars as part of a pattern of demonization of Muslims, portraying Islam as a morally inferior religion. Walter Andrews and Mehmet Kalpaklı, The Age of Beloveds, Duke Univesity Press, 2005; p.2
Abd-ar-Rahman's grandson became a puppet in the hands of the great Vizier Almanzor (al-Mansur, "the victorious"). Almanzor waged a strong campaign against the Christian kings, attacking and sacking Burgos, Leon, Pamplona, Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela before his death in 1002.
Civil War
Between Almanzor’s death and 1031, Al-Andalus suffered many civil wars which ended in the appearance of the Taifa kingdoms. The taifas were small kingdoms, established by the city governors establishing their long wished-for independence. The result was many (up to 34) small kingdoms each centered upon their capital, and the governors, not subscribing to any larger-scale vision of the Moorish presence, had no qualms about attacking their neighbouring kingdoms whenever they could gain advantage by doing so.The Kingdom of León
Alfonso III of Asturias repopulated the strategically-important Leon and established it as his capital. From his new capital, King Alfonso began a series of campaigns to establish control over all the lands north of the Duero. He reorganized 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 Leon. From this power base, his heir Ordoño II was able to organize attacks against Toledo and even Seville. The Caliphate of Córdoba was gaining power, and began to attack Leon. Navarre and king Ordoño allied against Abd-al-Rahman but were defeated in Valdejunquera, in 920. For the next 80 years, the kingdom of Leon suffered civil wars, Moorish attack, internal intrigues and assassinations, and the partial independence of Galicia and Castile.King Ramiro
The only point during this period when the situation became hopeful for Leon was the reign of Ramiro II. King Ramiro, in alliance with Count Fernán González of Castile 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 had to give González the independence of Castile as a payment for his help in the battle. After this defeat, Moorish attacks abated until Almanzor began his campaigns.Alfonso V
It was Alfonso V in 1002 who finally defeated Almanzor and regained the control over his domains. Navarre, though attacked by Almanzor, remained. Alfonso annexed Aragon in the 10th century and expanded its control over southern France.Navarrese Hegemony
In the late 10th century, King Garcia II of Navarre received Biscay from Castile and under his reign, Navarre became the hegemonic kingdom in medieval Spain. His son, Sancho the Great, who reigned between 1004 and 1035, annexed Castile due to his marriage, conquered Sobrarbe and Ribagorza and made the Kingdom of Leon his vassal after killing the only son of king Bermudo III. But following the Navarrese custom, king Sancho divided his kingdom among his sons: Castile (and Biscay) for Fernando, Navarre and Rioja for Sancho IV, Aragon for Ramiro and Sobrarbe (with Ribagorza) to Gonzalo. Ramiro soon had his brother Gonzalo killed and annexed his domains, while Fernando (naming himself king) married the daughter of Bermudo III, becoming king of Leon and Castile.King Ferdinand I of Leon
Ferdinand was the leading king of the mid-11th century. He conquered Coimbra and attacked the taifa kingdoms, though unwilling to conquer he instead demanded the tributes known as parias. Ferdinand’s strategy was to continue to demand parias until the taifa was greatly weakened both miltiarily 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 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 in 1072. His brother Alfonso VI took over Leon, Castile and Galicia.King Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI the Brave gave more power to the fueros and repopulated Segovia, Ávila and Salamanca. Then, once he had secured the Borders, king Alfonso conquered the powerful Taifa kingdom of Toledo in 1085. Toledo, which was the former capital of the Visigoths was a very important landmark, and the conquest made Alfonso renowned throughout the Christian world. He adopted the title Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all the Spains", referring to all the Christian kingdoms of Spain). Alfonso's more aggressive policy towards the Taifas worried the rulers of those kingdoms, who called on the African Almoravids for help.The Almoravids
The Almoravids were a fanatical Muslim militia, their ranks mainly composed of African and Berber Moors. Their armies entered the Iberian peninsula on several occasions (1086, 1088, 1093) and defeated king Alfonso, but their purpose was not to conquer the Christian kingdoms but to unite all the Taifas in a single Almoravid Caliphate. Their actions halted the southward expansion of the Christian kingdoms. Their only defeat came at Valencia in 1094, at the hands of El Cid.Sancho Ramírez
Meanwhile, Navarre lost all importance under king Sancho IV, for he lost Rioja to Sancho II of Castile, and nearly became the vassal of Aragon. At his death, the Navarrese chose as their king Sancho Ramirez, 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, expanding the borders south, conquering Huesca deep in the valleys in 1096 and building a fort 25 km away from Saragossa.Catalonia came under intense pressure from the Taifa of Saragossa and of Lleida, and also internal disputes, as Barcelona suffered a dynastical crisis which led to open war among the smaller counties, but by the 1080’s, the situation calmed, and the domain of Barcelona over the smaller counties was restored.
It was not until later centuries that the Christians started to see their conquests as part of an effort of centuries to restore the unity of the Visigothic kingdom.
Expansion into the Crusades and military orders
In the High Middle Ages, the fight against the Moors in Iberia became linked to the fight of the whole of Christendom. The Reconquista was originally a mere war of conquest. It only later underwent a significant shift in meaning toward a religiously justified war of liberation (see the Augustinean concept of a Just War) inasmuch the papacy and the influential reform-oriented Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy not only justified the anti-Islamic acts of war but also encouraged Christian knights to seek the armed confrontation with the Moorish infidels in the first place and thus prevent them from fighting each other--which was considered, in a way, a waste of Christian resources in addition to being devastating to the people of Christian Europe. From the 11th Century onwards indulgences were granted: In 1064 Pope Alexander II promised the participants of an expedition against Barbastro a collective indulgence 30 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade. Other than the spectacular crusades to the Holy Land the Reconquista did not amalgamate the - until 1095 and the Council of Clermont - conflicting concepts of a peaceful pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre and armed kight-errantry (and was thus less popular with the Christian knights). But the papacy left no doubt about the heavenly reward for knights fighting for Christ (militia Christi): In a letter Urban II tried to persuade the reconquistadores fighting at Tarragona to stay in Spain and not to join the armed pilgrimage to liberate Jerusalem since their contribution for Christianity was equally important. The pope promised them the same rewarding indulgence that awaited the first crusaders. Later military orders like the order of Santiago, Montesa, Order of Calatrava and the Knights Templar were founded or called to fight in Iberia. The Popes called the knights of Europe to the Crusades in the peninsula. After the so called Disaster of Alarcos, French, Navarrese, Castilian and Aragonese armies united in the massive battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). The big territories awarded to military orders and nobles were the origin of the latifundia in today's Andalusia and Extremadura, in Spain, and Alentejo, in Portugal.Cultural influence
Real or imaginary episodes of the Reconquista are the subject of much of Medieval Portuguese-, Spanish- and Catalan-language literature, such as the cantar de gesta.
Modern views
Many scholars dispute the idea that "Reconquista" was merely a war of Christians against Muslims. They note that the Muslims had occupied significant parts of the Iberian Peninsula for eight centuries, over which time it would have been impossible to differentiate separate ethnic groups. Noble genealogies clearly show the close relations between Muslims and Christians. The word Reconquista itself should be regarded as an easy explanation for a long unplanned historical shift or even as propaganda by the new reigning houses to justify their rule as heirdom.
It has also been proposed that the war left the Iberian kingdoms with deep economic crises, leading to the expulsion of the Jews (who had lived in the Iberian Peninsula for over ten centuries) in order to confiscate their funds and property. It should be noted however that the Portuguese Reconquista ended in 1257 and that the Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms were already profiting from their maritime expansion before the Jews were expelled (see Portugal in the period of discoveries and History of Spain).
The Reconquista is a war with long periods of respite between the "adversaries", spanning over eight centuries. Large populations converted and practised Islam or Christianity as own religion during centuries, so the identity of contenders changed over time.
Christian in-fighting
The battle against Moors did not keep the Christian kingdoms from battling among themselves or allying with Islamic kings. For example, the earlier kings of Navarre were family of the Banu Qasi of Tudela. The Moorish kings often had wives or mothers born Christians. Also Christian champions like El Cid were contracted by Taifa kings to fight against their neighbours.In the late years of Al-Andalus, Castile had the military power to conquer the remains of the kingdom of Granada, but the kings preferred to claim the tribute of the parias. The trade of Granadan goods and the parias were a main way for African gold to enter medieval Europe.
Expulsion of the Muslims and Jews
The mixing of Christians, Muslims and Jews was later officially ended by the rules of ethnic or religious purity of the Modern Age, namely the Spanish limpieza de sangre and the expulsion of Jews by Manuel I in Portugal.Most Muslims and Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or leave Spain and Portugal and have their assets seized. Many Muslims and Jews moved to North Africa rather than submit to forced conversion. During the Islamic administration Christians and Jews were allowed to retain their religions with some reduced rights and a token tax. The new Christian hierarchy on the other hand, demanded heavy taxes and gave them nominal rights, but only in heavily-Islamic regions, such as Granada, until their own power was sufficient, and the inertia of the Inquisition strong enough, to make further expulsion both possible and economically feasible. In 1496, under Archbishop Hernando de Talavera, even the Muslim population of Granada was forced to accept Christianity. In 1502, the Catholic Kings declared submission to Catholicism officially compulsory in Castilian domains. Emperor Charles V did the same for the Kingdom of Aragon in 1526 (2). Tolerance for the Jews was more widespread and was likely economically motivated. These policies were not only officially religious in nature but also effectively seized the wealth of the vanquished.
The descendants of those Muslims and Jews who sumbitted to compulsory conversion to Christianity rather than exile during the early parts of the Inquisition, the Moriscos and Conversos respectively, were later expelled from Spain and Portugal under the full swing of the same Inquisition. The expulsion was carried out more severely in Eastern Spain (Valencia and Aragon), due to local animosity towards Muslims and Moriscos - mainly for economic reasons. In the regions of Andalusia and Castille documents point to a significant number of Moriscos having remained or being allowed to return to their homes.
Because most Muslims and Christians actually shared common ancestors, it was impossible to expel all of those with Muslim ancestors from Spain. Nor was the Spanish state successful in expelling all the Moriscos. Those descended from practicing Muslims at the time of the Reconquista, however, were for a long time suspected of various crimes including practicing Islam, or crimes against the Spanish state.
Social types under the Reconquista
The advances and retreats created several social types:
- The Mozarabs: Christian minorities in Muslim-held lands. Some of them migrated to the North in times of persecution.
- The Muladi: Christians who converted to Islam after the arrival of the Moors.
- The Renegade: Christian individuals who embraced Islam and often fought against their former compatriots.
- The Jewish conversos: Jews who either voluntarily or forced became Christians. Some of them were crypto-Jews who kept practicing Judaism. Eventually all Jews were forced to leave Spain in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella, and Portugal some years later. Their Converso descendants became victims of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.
- The Mudejar: Muslims dwelling in land conquered by the Christians, usually peasants. Their characteristic architecture of adobe bricks was frequently employed in churches commissioned by the new lords. Their descendants after 1492 were called Moriscos
Currently, the festivals of moros y cristianos (Spanish) and mouros e cristãos (Portuguese) both meaning "Moors and Christians" recreate the fights as colorful parades with elaborate garments and lots of fireworks, especially in the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
See also
External links
- Timeline of the Reconquista; The University of Calgary
- Battles of Castile & Leon: 844 - 1521
- Exiles from Andalusia
Sources
- Payne, Stanley, "The Emergence of Portugal", A History of Spain and Portugal: Volume One. Available online at *.
- Tofiño-Quesada, Ignacio, "Censorship and Book Production in Spain During the Age of the Incunabula", Graduate Center CUNY. Available online at *
- Watt, W. Montgomery: A History of Islamic Spain. University Press of Edinburgh (1992)
- Watt, W. Montgomery: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe. (Edinburgh 1972)
Further reading
- 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)
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"Reconquista"