Living in Alcossebre today, surrounded by the hills of Sierra de Irta, it's difficult to imagine the turbulent history of this part of Spain: from the medieval Reconquista, fought against the muslims, through to the Carlist wars of the 19th century, culminating in the fratricidal hatred of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).
But this relatively insignificant section of Spain's Mediterranean coast has borne witness to war, siege, and mass movements of population from the medieval period right up to the twentieth century.
In the 1230s the muslim inhabitants of Alcalá de Xivert would have heard from their brothers in Peñiscola of the victorious advance of James I's armies along the eastern coast of the peninsula, south of the Ebro. Indeed James relied on word of his victories weakening the muslim will to fight. Often he could avoid a costly siege simply by pointing to his earlier successes. His Chronicle records a master-stroke of propaganda, in which he "insisted with the Saracens of Chivert and Cervera that since I had taken Peñiscola, they should surrender their castles. For as ... Peñiscola was the most renowned place in that district, and yet had surrendered, there would be no shame or disgrace in their surrendering also. Thereupon the Saracens did surrender the said castles"
But James I's success was underwritten by a hundred years of hard fighting which allowed the Aragonese crown to push forward the frontier against the muslim kingdoms south of the Ebro river.
Alfonso I of Aragon (1073 - 1134) was a remarkable precursor to James I: he was 'el Batallador' (the Battler) who prepared the ground for James I 'el Conquistador' (the Conqueror), Alfonso succeeded to the throne of Aragon in 1104, but at the time of his accession, Aragon was little more than the mountainous fringe of the Pyrenees. Five years later a judicious marriage brought Castile and Leon under Alfonso's control, allowing him to adopt the title 'Emperor of Spain', and assume the responsibility of prosecuting war against the muslims.
Alfonso relied upon fear rather than propaganda to aid in his campaigns against the muslim kingdoms: the Chronicle of Alfonso the Emperor notes that his campaign in the south against Seville was accompanied by the destruction of all the mosques they came upon, "and they killed all [the muslim] priests and doctors of the Law. The sacred books which they found in the mosques were burned"
One by one the various muslim kingdoms in Aragon fell under his control. By 1120 Zaragoza was taken, establishing the city as the capital of christian Aragon. Alfonso el Batallador died in September 1134, worn out by a combination of old age and fatigue, weakened by the wounds received in battle. The work of chipping away at the muslim kingdoms, begun by Alfonso would reach its successful culmination in the thirteenth century when James I established the christian Kingdom of Valencia and Alcalá de Xivert passed into the hands of the Templars.
Showing posts with label Reconquista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reconquista. Show all posts
Monday, 1 June 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
Understanding the Spanish
One possible starting point would be to consider the theme of frontiers. Growing up in the UK, it's difficult to grasp the notion of a 'frontier society', but Spain was the quintessential frontier society throughout much of its history, whether establishing a defensive line against Islam in the peninsula, or expanding its American empire after 1492.
The muslims arrived in Spain on July 19th 711, landing on a rocky promontory of the Pillars of Hercules, which they renamed Tariq's Mount, 'Jabal al Tariq' (Gibralter). Within a scant seven years the armies of Islam had conquered almost the entire Iberian peninsula.
Christian counter-offensives over the next two centuries managed to establish a frontier zone in the east which ran south of the Ebro river down into what is now the province of Castellon.
From the tenth to the thirteenth century Alcossebre was part of the no-man's land separating the christian north, defended by the kingdom of Aragon, from the muslim south with a local power base in Valencia.
The castle towering above Alcalá de Xivert, dates from the late tenth or early eleventh century, built by the muslims as part of a defensive chain of castles which stretched from Peñiscola to Polpis. Xivert Castle remained a bulwark against the ambitions of christian armies for almost 250 years.
If you visit the castle, look half-way up the east wall, where you can still see an inscription in arabic. It has faced the morning sun for over 750 years proclaiming Al-fatih Allah - 'Allah is the One who gives victory'. Underneath the castle lie the remains of the aljama or muslim township, which remained under continuous habitation until the expulsions of 1609.
This on-going confrontation with Islam over 900 years is one key to understanding the Spanish. In the past, even if a muslim converted to christianity that conversion was viewed with some suspicion; no hay peor enemigo que el vecino - 'there's no worse enemy than a neighbour'. The convert could never become 100% christian, un viejo cristiano; he remained a 'new convert' or 'morisco'. The suspicion that moorish conversion to christianity was a convenient veneer drove the terrible expulsions of 1609, when over 100,000 Valencian moriscos were driven from Spain.
By contrast, the conquest of England in 1066 was undertaken by a christian army. William had been given the pope's blessing to invade England, supplanting Harold of Wessex with a Norman king. Apart from scattered uprisings the english were neatly absorbed into an anglo-norman regnum. At ground level it probably mattered little if the lord was anglo-saxon or norman.
Another reason for norman success was the purely local scope of the Conquest. it was limited by geography and constrained by law. Once complete, the norman success was formalised by the publication of the Domesday Book in 1086 - a meticulous record of the wealth of 11th century England.
Conversely, the muslim conquest of Spain was only one part of a co-ordinated attack on christianity: the warrior nobility of Galicia and Asturias in the west and the Byzantine state in the east were the only hindrances to the muslim conquest of all of Europe. It must have been clear to christians of both east and west that 'après nous le déluge'.
The Spanish today, have been in almost continuous contact with Islam for nearly 1300 years. In the middle ages Reconquista gave an outlet to the aggressive, expansionist ideals of the Spanish kings. However, even as late as the 20th century, the idea of reconquista retained a powerful hold on sections of the Spanish population; a notion exploited by Franco to justify a 'crusade' against communists and separatists.
Were the Spanish ambivalent about Islam? Prior to the horrific events of 11-M (the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid) there seems to have been a romantic attachment to Islam. Even Franco was not immune from this lure: his personal mounted guard, the Guardia Mora, who accompanied him up to 1957, was formed from the muslim troops who fought on the nationalist side during the Civil War.
The muslims arrived in Spain on July 19th 711, landing on a rocky promontory of the Pillars of Hercules, which they renamed Tariq's Mount, 'Jabal al Tariq' (Gibralter). Within a scant seven years the armies of Islam had conquered almost the entire Iberian peninsula.
Christian counter-offensives over the next two centuries managed to establish a frontier zone in the east which ran south of the Ebro river down into what is now the province of Castellon.
From the tenth to the thirteenth century Alcossebre was part of the no-man's land separating the christian north, defended by the kingdom of Aragon, from the muslim south with a local power base in Valencia.
The castle towering above Alcalá de Xivert, dates from the late tenth or early eleventh century, built by the muslims as part of a defensive chain of castles which stretched from Peñiscola to Polpis. Xivert Castle remained a bulwark against the ambitions of christian armies for almost 250 years.
If you visit the castle, look half-way up the east wall, where you can still see an inscription in arabic. It has faced the morning sun for over 750 years proclaiming Al-fatih Allah - 'Allah is the One who gives victory'. Underneath the castle lie the remains of the aljama or muslim township, which remained under continuous habitation until the expulsions of 1609.
This on-going confrontation with Islam over 900 years is one key to understanding the Spanish. In the past, even if a muslim converted to christianity that conversion was viewed with some suspicion; no hay peor enemigo que el vecino - 'there's no worse enemy than a neighbour'. The convert could never become 100% christian, un viejo cristiano; he remained a 'new convert' or 'morisco'. The suspicion that moorish conversion to christianity was a convenient veneer drove the terrible expulsions of 1609, when over 100,000 Valencian moriscos were driven from Spain.
By contrast, the conquest of England in 1066 was undertaken by a christian army. William had been given the pope's blessing to invade England, supplanting Harold of Wessex with a Norman king. Apart from scattered uprisings the english were neatly absorbed into an anglo-norman regnum. At ground level it probably mattered little if the lord was anglo-saxon or norman.
Another reason for norman success was the purely local scope of the Conquest. it was limited by geography and constrained by law. Once complete, the norman success was formalised by the publication of the Domesday Book in 1086 - a meticulous record of the wealth of 11th century England.
Conversely, the muslim conquest of Spain was only one part of a co-ordinated attack on christianity: the warrior nobility of Galicia and Asturias in the west and the Byzantine state in the east were the only hindrances to the muslim conquest of all of Europe. It must have been clear to christians of both east and west that 'après nous le déluge'.
The Spanish today, have been in almost continuous contact with Islam for nearly 1300 years. In the middle ages Reconquista gave an outlet to the aggressive, expansionist ideals of the Spanish kings. However, even as late as the 20th century, the idea of reconquista retained a powerful hold on sections of the Spanish population; a notion exploited by Franco to justify a 'crusade' against communists and separatists.
Were the Spanish ambivalent about Islam? Prior to the horrific events of 11-M (the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid) there seems to have been a romantic attachment to Islam. Even Franco was not immune from this lure: his personal mounted guard, the Guardia Mora, who accompanied him up to 1957, was formed from the muslim troops who fought on the nationalist side during the Civil War.
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