UNIT 1: The Iberian Peninsula in Prehistoric and Pre-roman times.

When does Spanish history begin?

According to Ramón Menéndez Pidal a Spanish 'identity' was preserved over many
Centuries. Américo Castro on the other hand believed there was no 'Spain' before the 10th
century at a time when three religions -Islam, Christianity, and Judaism- shared the
same physical space. Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz refuted Américo Castro's thesis arguing that
Spain's peculiar trait, the 'spirit of Re-conquest', had taken shape fighting against Islam from
the 8th century onwards.
José Antonio Maravall sees Spain as one of several European cultures. Antonio Domínguez
Ortiz took distance from the theory of two irreconcilable * Spains'
pitched against each other

Linguistically: Spanish is a neo-Latin language, not prior to the 10th century

Politically: the peninsula was unified under Visigothic rule, 7th century
Geographically: Spanish culture expands beyond the peninsula, 16th century onwards
Religiously: Roman Catholicism embraced by the majority, 3rd/4th centuries

Is Spain exceptional or similar to the rest of Europe?

We run the risk of seeing Spain's history as a succession of horrors, mistakes and
abuses (Black Legend) or otherwise to accept a rosy view of things that overlooks
negative aspects and overplays the positive ones. Both approaches lack CRITICAL
distance and are methodologically flawed.

Prehistoric inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula

Areas in the peninsula with a wealth of archaeological sites:

NW cave paintings (Puente Viesgo, Altamira) which are like those found in
the Vézère Valley in France. FRANCO-CANTABRIAN
Fluvial terraces of the Jarama and Manzanares rivers at the heart of the Castilian
plain.
Levantine rock art in an area extending from Lleida to Albacete and particularly in
Teruel. These recall paintings found in the Sahara.

In the prehistoric world at the beginning of the Stone Age (Paleolithic) our first evolution from
simpler and more diagrammatic representations towards more descriptive ones appears to
take place. However, once we reach the famous cantabrian cave painting such as the ones at
Altamira a different type of evolution appears to be at work. At this later stage within the
representation .

primitive world the transition from very realistic depictions (Altamira, Lascaux, or Chauvet-
Pont in 1994) to more abstract ones (Cogul Paintings) can be
ascertained. In Levantine rock art, unlike the Franco cantabrian cave art, the human figure
takes center stage.
del beaten
oaienk Ferdi ! Zona
The 'Neolithic Revolution' began in the Fertile Crescent (Middle East). It entailed the
progressive discontinuance of nomadism and the lifestyle of the hunter-gatherers. Human
beings became increasingly sedentary. The beginning of the Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula
was delayed by millennia when compared to its early start in the Middle East. The transition
from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic was a decisive MILESTONE
him
FOR HUMANKIND.
,

Archaeologists usually distinguish between a Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic which should
alert us to the invention of pottery as a WATERSHED.
Punto de division
Between the 5th and the 3rd millennia BCE Europe joined the Neolithic Revolution
(agriculture). Primitive hunter- gatherers declined and slowly disappeared.

Appearance of first colonies and settlements in the Iberian Peninsula

Circa 5,000 BCE (before current era) travelers from the Eastern Mediterranean reached the
Iberian Peninsula. They were attracted by copper and tin ores. As a result, real colonies sprung
minerals
up in southern Spain.
At this stage we may detect:
Rudimentary agriculture
Taming of animals such as cows and goats
Basic crafts including pottery
Primitive copper metallurgy (area of Almeria)
Settlements surrounded by stone walls and round watch towers
Funerary rituals were introduced from the Eastern Mediterranean:
Group burials at first such as the dolmens in Levante, Andalusia, the Tajo estuary,
Galicia
Individual burials at a later stage
In Soria, Teruel and Levante remains of fortified settlements often sitting on hilltops.
The introduction of new crafts and ideas was helped by rivers. It can be traced along the
Guadalquivir and Tagus valleys into the peninsula's heartland and through the course of the
Guadiana into Extremadura.

Traditionally three 'metal ages' are established:

Cobre
Copper age
Bronze age (alloy of copper and tin)
Hierro
Iron age
Not all areas of the peninsula reach the same level of development at the same time.
The Levantine and southern regions were more
exposed to Oriental influence and
reached therefore a more advanced stage
significantly earlier than the rest of the
peninsula.

Almeriense culture

Necrópolis at Los Millares, Almería. 3500-3100 BCE

Between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE this farming culture (agriculture and livestock) settled
in this area. They used 'campaniform' (bell-shaped) pottery. Walls were built as part of a
collective effort.

also remarkable the megalithic culture, where we can difference between menhirs,
dolmens, and cromlech.
 The pre-roman inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula.
The indigenous population is traditionally divided into groups:
Iberian peoples (not Indo-European) in the South and the East (zona de Aragon)
Celtic peoples (Indo-European): first wave c. 1000 BCE (come from central Europe)
The NW characterized Celticized
clan structures and kinship prevail
Celtic-Iberians settle in the Ebro Valley and the Plain
Basque population (less easy to classify) whose origin (both ethnic and linguistic) is still
debated.
The study of Iberian culture (Tartessos is included among Iberian peoples) has progressed
thanks to numerous archaeological finds, especially in the Guadalquivir valley, the Algarve
coastline, Roussillon and Languedoc. Iberian peoples were not ethnically uniform but shared
the same culture. The autochthonous, late Bronze-age megalithic culture (second millennium
BCE) was supplemented by exchanges with the more advanced cultures of the Eastern
Mediterranean (Phoenicians and Greeks). It gave rise to a culture unrivalled
inigvalable
.
elsewhere in the
peninsula and comparable to the Etruscan culture in the Italic peninsula.

Amongst Iberian cultures TARTESSOS (los Tartessos eran iberos) reached the highest level of
development with a high point around the 7th and 6th centuries BCE in the Guadalquivir
Valley. The area included the Huelva estuary were extant (and mostly depleted) ores that
empleada
witness to silver, iron, and copper mining. The influence of Tartessos was exerted over a wide
area, including Extremadura. They were in contact with Phoenicians (Phoenicians were
looking for precious metals) and Greeks.
Urbanization
Developed political system
Poetry
Complex social stratification
Luxury products
Writing
Road system
UNIT 2: Hispania, the Iberian Peninsula under Roman rule.
The historical roots of Hispania, a Roman province

Iberian Peninsula is the direct result of the power struggle between

the Carthaginian empire whose capital was at Carthage in North Africa and the Roman
Republican. Carthage and Rome were fighting for Mediterranean supremacy. As a result of the
FIRST PUNIC WAR (264-241 BCE), Carthage lost control of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. The
three great islands fell under Roman control. To make up for these territorial losses, Carthage
ventured into the Iberian Peninsula. Although the inroads were not as significant as one might
franjas
have expected, by 219 BCE the Carthaginians ruled over great swaths of peninsular land. The
NW drew little interest. South and East, on the other hand, commanded attention. As had Especial men te
been the case with Phoenicians and Greeks, the southern and especially SE areas were sought es areas as se

bus Caron primero

-

after first. These had more resources and were culturally more advanced. The successful
Carthaginian leader Hannibal Barca, as part of his progress through the peninsula, decided to
lay siege to Sagunto (Saguntum in Latin) in 219 BCE. Sagunto was a Greek city and an ally of
Rome under its protection. The inhabitants of Sagunto proved tenacious during the merciless
La segunda
Carthaginian siege but were finally defeated after eight long months of resistance. The garn
SECOND PUNIC WAR (218-201 BCE) was unleashed. HISPANIA was born. pirie enpietndebidv
↳ 6am Hannibal 6 to
a de
Segundo
me .

It took two centuries (218-19 BCE) for Rome to control the entire peninsula: from the arrival
of the Roman legions to Ampurias or Emporion, also a Greek colony, until few unconquered
territories and far reaches were finally subdued under Emperor Augustus.

En la Cuenca del Mediterraneo

In the Mediterranean basin successive waves of colonization and empires take hold. As
were
regards the Iberian Peninsula two prove particularly relevant:
Phoenician
Greek lengua asada des de la anguish de Alejandro Magno
HELLENISTIC KOIN from Alexander the Great to Augustus (4th century BCE-1st century AD)
Carthaginian
Roman conquest of the peninsula, 218 19 BCE HISPANIA, province of Rome.

IMPERIAL ROME 44 BCE Rome transitions from Republic to Empire

A LASTING PROCESSS OF ROMANISATION
Aunque no uniforme del punto de vista social o geográfico, la romanización de Hispania
se encontraba entre los más profundos con el imperio)
(Albeit not uniform from the social or geographic point of view, the Romanization of Hispania
was amongst the most thorough with the Empire) which was evident in:
* A political and administrative system with a territory structured in
provinces rules by governors. These provinces were divided into
Roma established a local administrative system based on:
Roman colonies (ruled by Roman law)
Roman municipalities or municipia (ruled by Roman law)
Municipalities ruled by Latin law
Indigenous cities (civitates): federated, free, or stipendiary
Villages
A- Ideas
or settlements (populi)
Hamlets (vicus or pag.us)
The different types, ranging from colonies and municipia to settlements and hamlets, were
placed under the rule of Roman codified law and municipal ordinances. Magistrates and other
officials were responsible for their application.
Rome spearheaded the URBANISATION OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA. We find:
ITALICA Santiponce 206 BCE Settlement for
veterans of the 2nd
Punic War
CARTEIA Algeciras 171 BCE

Founded in Republican times: Valentia, Corduba, Palma

Founded under Caesar and Augustus: Tarraco, Barcino, Cartago Nova, Hispalis,
Emerita Augusta, Olisipo, Cesaraugusta

Founded in the 1st century AD: Clunia, Complutum (Alcal ), Toletum,

Asturica (Astorga), Iria Flavia (Padr n), etc.
In HISPANIA there were about 400 cities. One fourth of these or approximately 100 had a
proper urban scale to them, that is, their population was between 14,000 and 40,000
inhabitants. Cities were shaped after Rome, which meant
they had:
Baths and thermal establishments
Sewage alcantaritlado.

Theatres (Mérida, it lica, Sagunto, corduba, Cesaraugusta, etc.) amphitheatres

Temples
Basilicas
Aqueducts
Fora
Triumphal arches
Circuses

Walls

ROME
capital city of an empire Rome reached 1 million inhabitants, which was exceptional for the
Ancient World
ROMAN CITIZENSHIP Had legal significance
Rome created a new society in the peninsula which became part of the Roman economic
world, including its fiscal system and currency. In fact, Rome kept the monopoly on the minting
awñar
of coins in precious metal. .

HISPANIA
MINING copper in Riotinto (Huelva)
gold in the N and NO (Las M dulas, Le n)
silver and lead in Ja n, Almer a and Cartagena

FARMING cereal (wheat)

based in a system of olive oil
villae or farms wine
manned by tenants or vegetables and fruits
arrendatcrios
servants horse breeding aria de caballos
wool
esparto grass
salted products (such as the garum from Cadiz or mackerel from
Cartagena)

Hispania imported manufactures, textiles, foodstuffs, metals, pottery, marbles, etc.)

Legal status: Roman citizen / Latin citizen / foreigner or peregrinus / freedman / servant or
slave / tenants, settlers
Family: paterfamilias / wife / children / kinsmen and family clients
Hierarchical rank: senatorial / equestrian (knights) / decurional (decurions)

and powerful families that kept a grip on magistracies and the state bureaucracy. The plebs or
common people was either urban or rustic. The peregrine as foreigners were not citizens. Next
stood the freedmen (manumitted slaves) and the slaves. Slaves and servants were not free.
The Romans did not impose their religion, which was polytheistic as the Greek one, upon the
alto
conquered. Nonetheless Roman forms of worship gained ground in the Iberian Peninsula
coexisting with pre-Roman cults, many of which were local, and with cults that had been
introduced by Phoenicians, Greeks or Carthaginians.

Hispania was the birthplace of numerous Roman worthies:

WRITERS EMPERORS

Seneca Trajan (r. 98 117)

Lucan Hadrian (r. 117 138)
Marcial Pomponius Mela Theodosius (r. 378 395) who put an end to
Columella paganism in AD 391
Quintilian
AD 74 Vespasian grants the IUS LATII to Hispania
AD 212 Caracalla grants full Roman citizenship to the
inhabitants of Hispania
The Christianization of the Iberian Peninsula was slow and relatively late. Evidence is lacking
anno Domini ,
Despres Cristo
de

until the 3rd century AD. In some areas which had not been extensively Romanized (or
escaped Romanization) the arrival of Christianity will have to wait until the High Middle Ages.
The new Christian religion took root specially in urban areas, amongst traders and artisans,
particularly in the coast cities of the Baetica and the Mediterranean Levant.
Persecutions of Christians are documented from the 3rd century AD. The main reason why
rebeldia participant
en

Rome imperial
did not embrace Christians was their defiance. Christians refused to engage in
Adoration
IMPERIAL WORSHIP which was both public and compulsory. Diocletian decreed the most
ferocious measures against the new religion. It was finally legalized under Constantine in AD
313. It spread far and wide becoming the majority religion in urban centers of the Roman
empire during the 4th century.
The bishops (obispos) of Hispania called a first council between 303 and 314 in (Elvira,
Granada). Hosius, bishop de C rdoba, presided over the Council of Nicea (AD 325), the first
 danos hes ttnbn hebian sidoromanizados
van dabs uisigodos eran
germanos pero
.

La gente german sews z

.

a eran

major council of the Christina world. The sect that gathered around Priscillian, bishop of vila,
from AD 381 onwards gave rise to internecine conflict before the situation was resolved with

9
The decadence of the Roman world was already present in the 3rd century but became
evident in the 4th century, leading eventually to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
The imperial bureaucracy was slowly impaired and broken down, the power was delegitimized,
los indicia social revolts were on the rise, all of which happened in a context of socio-economic crisis with
de decadenceunsecure borders andimpu-caba.tl
Germanic peoples pressuring at them.
del imperio The decadence of Rome entailed RURALISATION, which was the opposite of the urbanization
-

process the Roman had brought about.

The crisis of Hispania was brutally felt when Germanic tribes entered the Iberian Peninsula in
AD 409: the - Vandals, the Alani and the Suevi. Rome seeks help from the Visigoths who were
also Germanic tribesmen but who had been partly Romanizedmodern
and Christianized and federated
France

under Rome and who had settled principally in southern Gaul. The Visigoths were defeated by
their rivals the Franks in 507 prompting their descent across the Pyrenees into Hispania where
they would establish the Visigothic monarchy. This put an effective end to Roman rule in has ñsigodos esteban en

Hispania. et node "jéÑ al

"
se denotedos
by the Franks seven for tados a

entrar en le peninsula gestablecer su

capita er Toledo
UNIT 3: Visigoth Hispania and the High Middle Ages

ROMAN DECADENCE
Signs of the decadence of the Roman Empire were already showing in the 3rd century after the
high point represented by the rule of the great Antonine emperors of the 2nd century (Trajan,
Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius). In the 4th century the symptoms of a generalized crisis were
present
more acute
In AD 212 Emperor Caracalla granted to all the IUS
which made them full Roman citizens.
As economic hardships worsened, many well-to-do citizens forsake the cities and settled
permanently in their large country estates (latifundia). They lived in VILLAE (villas) the best of
dotadas

building for the staff and livestock and surrounded by agricultural land.
If URBANISATION had gone hand in hand with ROMANISATION, the decline of Roman
standards of living resulted in a process of RURALISATION. The territorial disintegration of the
Western Roman Empire took place in the 5th century. The economic, social, and cultural
fabric was lastingly and thoroughly altered.
It was an unstable world. The earliest invasions date back to the 4th century in which the PAX
ROMANA was impaired requiring many cities to build walls to protect themselves.
damaged

VISIGOTHIC KINGDOM IN HISPANIA

The first barbarians to enter into Hispania were the Vandals, the Suevi and the Alani.
At a later stage, between 409 and 507, the Visigoths arrived in a series of migratory waves.
Amongst the Germanic tribes, the Visigoths were the most Romanized in keeping with the fact
 that they were longstanding allies of Rome. In fact, in 451 the Visigoths contributed to fend

From 468 onwards the Visigoths spread to the entire Iberian Peninsula. They constituted an
ethnic minority of around 2% of the population, dwarfed by a mass of 4 to 5 million Catholic
Hispano-Romans. Visigoths were Arians, that is, Christians who reject the unity and the co-
substantial and co-eternal nature of the three persons of the Holy Trinity.
507 the Visigoths transfer from Gaul to Hispania

531 Amalaric establishes his court at Barcelona

r. 551-567 Athanagild established his capital at Toledo

→ c. 556 Saint Isidore of Seville is born (in

top Cartagena?)
587 Reccared converts to Catholicism

589 3rd Council of Toledo: Catholicism became

the official religion of the kingdom; mixed
marriages were authorized

r. 621-631 Suintila took over the Byzantine enclave in

the peninsular SE thus unifying the Iberian
Peninsula under a single Visigothic monarchy

In 636 Saint Isidore died in Seville. He brought about the unification of the Spanish liturgy
(Mozarabic or Isidorian) which will be used in the peninsula until in the 11th century Roman
liturgy will prevail. His best-known work was the Etymologies (around 634), an encyclopedic
summa of Ancient pagan and Christian knowledge: theology, history, literature, art, law,
grammar, cosmology, natural sciences, et cetera. Alcuin of York praised Isidore as the
«doctor of all the Latin language churches».

I
654 Recceswinth enacted the Forum judicum
(Book of the Judges), which was inspired by
Roman law. It entailed the legal unification
of the peninsula. Distinctions between
inhabitants were suppressed under a
common law and the same body of
magistrates

En 636 murió San Isidoro en Sevilla. Provocó la unificación de la liturgia

española (mozárabe o isidoriana) que se utilizará en la península hasta
que en el siglo XI prevalezca la liturgia romana. Su obra más conocida
fueron las Etimologías (alrededor de 634), una suma enciclopédica del
conocimiento pagano y cristiano antiguo: teología, historia, literatura,
arte, derecho, gramática, cosmología, ciencias naturales, etcétera.
Alcuin de York elogió a Isidoro como el «médico de todas las iglesias de
lengua latina».
During the Visigothic period building activity decreased enormously with respect to Roman
times. In general, economic transactions lost pace and the society became increasingly
ruralized
The Visigothic monarchy was elective. In theory all Goths (Godos) were could upon to choose
the new king although in reality only the more powerful, that is, those with an entry into the
royal household (officium palatium) and the Council (Aula Regia) had an actual saying.
Obispo
so sente d
poder en la Iglesia .

After the 3rd Council of Toledo (589) Catholic prelates came to be part of the electors. They
contributed to protect the monarch even more with a sacred aura: he was anointed with holy
oil.
Words of Visigothic
modern Spanish.
Trade, which was reduced, was in the hands of Jews, a religious minority that felt the weight of
the repressive measures undertaken after the 3rd Council of Toledo. These measures brought
about forced conversions.
Campesinos .

The biggest share of the population consisted of peasants. Many were placed under the
authority and protection of a lord in the capacity of bucelarios, which was similar to being
A kind of inquiline .

Tenants were already present in the Late Roman Empire. They were bound to the lands they
tilled and were under the obligation of giving part of the harvest to their lord. Their situation
siervos
may be described as somewhere in between slavery and freedom. There were many serfs in
Visigothic society. Even the churchmen had slaves. The lack of initiative of the elites, both
secular and ecclesiastic, and the inertia of the mass of people living under the yoke of an
unjust social order result in the inoperativeness of the Visigothic state and its inability to
counter the Islamic invasion.
Provoked by the inner struggles within the Visigoth kingdom, the Islamic invasion put most of
the Iberian Peninsula under the authority of the Umayyad Caliph at Damascus. It became an
emirate. The invading army consisted mostly of Berbers from North Africa and some Arabs.

pool was negligible.

In 755 an Umayyad prince, Abd al-Rahman, escaped from the systematic extermination of his
family ordered by the Abbasids. He arrived in Spain and, after his proclamation at Cordoba as
independent emir of Al-Andalus, unified and strengthened Muslim Spain.

Abd al-Rahman III (912-

Shiites (f -in-law). In 929 Abd al-Rahman III
cortando LAZOS
proclaimed himself caliph, severing ties with the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad. The elite of
.

Arabs, Berbers, mercenary Maghrebis, and civil

servants and officials of servile origin who came from various places ranging from black Africa
(Sudanese) to Eastern Europe. Teutonic knights regularly sold Slavic captives in high demand
in Islamic territories.
Muslim society was both URBAN and PRO-SLAVERY. There were large cities like Medina,
Baghdad, Tehran, Mosul, Aleppo, Damascus, Cairo, Kairouan, Fez, Palermo, Seville, Granada,
and Cordoba.
Between the 8th and 11th centuries a network was created uniting:
Samarkand Baghdad Damascus Cairo Kairouan Palermo Cordoba
As opposed to what was usual in High Medieval Europe, Al-Andalus enjoyed an advanced
urban culture. In the 10th century Toledo had 37,000 inhabitants. With few exceptions the
invaders did not find new cities in Hispania but rather adapted those existents to their
civilization. Manufacture and trade were responsible for the prosperity of Al- Andalus. Quality
silk, wool and cotton textiles were produced in workshops. Until the 12th century the Islamic
world was culturally more advanced than the Christian West.
The only gold coins that circulated widely in the High Middle Ages were minted in the
Byzantine Empire or in Arab mints (including the ones in Al-Andalus). Relying on techniques
dating back to the Roman Empire, which they revived and perfected, the Arabs developed
sophisticated canalization systems and used waterwheels extensively.
The Koranic ban not withstanding, it would appear wine was used frequently in Islamic
Spain.
Al-Hakem II (r. 961 76) welcomed in Cordoba eastern learned men and founded a public
library housing over 50,000 works. On top of Hindu and Arab sources Al-Andalus also
benefitted from the Greek and Hellenistic heritage. In the mid 11th century an increasing
interest for the sciences developed. Around this time are translated from Greek to Arab
(sometimes through Syrian) Ancient texts. By way of an example these included in the field of
medicine the works of Hippocrates and Galen.
In philosophy Avicenna (c.980-1037) was the most relevant. He came up with a synthesis of
Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy combined with the religious principles of Islam.
Levi-Proven al believes AL- derived from its relative isolation from
the rest of the Muslim world and from the close contacts with the Jewish and Christian
minorities. Muslims considered both the Jews and the Christian as or
dhimmi. As such they deserved more respect than idolaters, polytheists or atheists.
Christian converts to Islam were known as Muladites or Muwalladin whilst those who held
onto their ancestral faith under Islamic rule were called Mozarabs. There was both civic and
legal discrimination as the Christians and the Jews were minority communities under the
tutelage of Islamic rulers.
The Jews had been persecuted during the final period of the Visigoth monarchy. As a result
they welcomed the Islamic invaders with open arms.
Even though bilingualism remained in some place into the 12th century, Arabic was the
language of culture and of the administration in Al-Andalus and as such was adopted by all
including the religious minorities.
Scholars who question the extent of ARABISATION in the peninsula point to the status of
women in Al-Andalus being different from the rest of the Islamic world. Arab tribal and clan
structures had an impact on Islamic society.
The typical house in Islamic Spain recalls the one found in the Maghreb. Both are underpinned
by earlier Graeco- Roman typologies and lifestyles.
MOZARABS
Christian Mozarabs preserved the rites and liturgy of the Visigoth Church. Living as they did
under Islamic rule, they were subject to a significant degree of acculturation:
Use of Arab names
They live and dress like the Muslims. They ate the same type of food and cooking style,
dressed and shoed themselves in the same way the majority did
From the 10th century they abstained from pork
Their churches were not filled with images
Non-Christians were invited to some of their feasts and rejoicings possible doctrinal
slippage and/or tendency to religious syncretism
Once they fled Al-Andalus and settled in Christian territories, Mozarabic migr s displayed a
certain degree of intransigence. They will encourage the Christian kings of northern Spain to
proclaim themselves heirs of the Visigoth monarchy. The conceptual and doctrinal framework
- scholars see a sort of reverse jihad.

A SPAIN OF THREE RELIGIONS AND TWO CIVILISATIONS

Save for frequent incursions and periods of war, forms of tense but mostly peaceful
coexistence sense to have prevailed until the end of the 11th century.
Islamic Spain was more prosperous and advanced than its Christian counterpart until the 12th
century in which the Christian kingdoms of the north become mightier (more powerful).
It would be mistaken to assume Al-Andalus was a paradigm of a tolerant society. (Taifa
kingdoms were the most tolerant)

centuries)
to free territories from the grip of a
foreign power. But it was not a movement sparked automatically after 711. Not until the
second half of the 9th century did the Battle of Covadonga (718 o 722?) become a symbol of

In the 10th century the process acquired a proper historical sense and was conceptualised as a
return to the unity of the Iberian Peninsula lost after the Islamic invasion. This took place
during the reign of Alfonso II. The Crown of Le n inherited this unification project from the
kings of Asturias. However, the other Christian realms (Navarre, Aragon and the Catalonian
counties) did not acknowledge Le n ip. Soon new Christian states appear: Castile
and Portugal. The last standard-
1126-1157).
ms and not until 1212
(Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa) did it become a shared goal.
Significantly, the northern areas left unconquered by the Muslim invaders were the least
Romanised and by the same token less thoroughly Christianized. These mountain peoples
were used to resisting foreign invaders.
The kingdom of Asturias, covering from Galicia to the Basque Country, took shape under
Alfonso I (739-757). Scholars do not seem to agree on the extent to which the Valley of the
Duero, which lay between the Christians in the Cantabria fringe and the Muslim-controlled
lands, became a deserted no-man's-land.
The Catalan counties comprising the Carolingian did not attain their
independence from the Carolingian empire until 987. Navarre and the county of Aragon also
started as territories under Carolingian overlords. Aragon became independent in the early
9th century and so did Navarre about the same time. In 1035 as the result of a dynastic
f Aragon.
35) Navarre became the most powerful
kingdom of Christian Spain. It comprised (comprendia) N jera, part of La Rioja, Sobrarbe,
Ribagorza and the county of Castile. In 1034 it occupied Le n. But death the lands
were divided between his sons. From 1076 to 1134 Navarre was not an independent
kingdom. Lacking direct borders with Muslim-controlled territories, the kingdom of ASTURIAS
could grow southwards, eastwards and westwards. It was therefore in a privileged position
with respect to the rest, something that became evident during the reigns of Alfonso II (791-
842) and Alfonso III (866-911), the one man most responsible for issuing forth an ideal of
In 814 the remains of a Roman sarcophagus were found in Iria Flavia (modern-day Padr n). In
780 the Beatus of Li bana first mentioned the Evangelisation of Hispania by the Apostle James
the Elder. This would help the identification of the remains found in 814 with those of James.
Alfonso II ordered the building of a church. But Alfonso III would be the one to see the
potential. These were the earliest stages of what would become the Way of Saint James. Pope
Calixtus II (1119-1124) granted to Santiago the same privileges Roma or Jerusalem already
had. -

Ordo o II (r. 914-924) established his capital beyond Asturias choosing the city of Le n (Legio
in Roman times). The Kingdom of Le n would take over from the Kingdom of Asturias.
the most decisive fact was the creation in
the borders of Le n of a new territory named CASTILE, which was initially a county. Castile, a

the 11th century its great hero would be El Cid was the typical frontier warrior. Strips of
borderland required colonizing. Castile the result of a repopulation and colonization process.

in the first half of the 13th century the map of

the peninsular kingdom took shape:
PORTUGAL emerged with Henry of Burgundy,
Alfo -in-law. Alfonso VI gave the
territory as dowry to his wife Teresa. Henry

king of Portugal in 1139. With Theobald of

Champagne NAVARRE began a cycle of
successive French dynasties: Champagne,
France, Evreux, and Foix.
CASTILLA and LE N united in 1072 but were
separated in 1157. Their definitive union had
to wait until 1230 at the time Ferdinand III
inherited Le n from his father and Castile
from his mother. The Basque provinces underwent their own process of union with Castile
which was achieved in 1379 and implied a certain degree of autonomy.
 antepasados
forebears Alfonso VI and Alfonso VII.
ARAGON became a power to be reckoned (se convertio en un poder a tener en cuenta) with
thanks to its union with the county of Barcelona. Petronila of Aragon, daughter of Ramiro II
Ram n Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, in 1150. The
Catalan-Aragonese confederation took a definitive form in 1344 during the reign of Peter IV
it became the CROWN OF ARAGON comprising Aragon,
Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca. To these new Mediterranean territories were added through
conquest: Sicily, Sardinia and Naples. The historical project of shaping, on the basis of the
Carolingian Marca Hispanica, a Catalan state straddling the Pyrenees was still alive in the
second half of the 12th century. It rested on a series of shared traits: Occitan language, lay
culture, urban life, mercantile bourgeoisie, middle-class craftsmen, Roman law and a southern
European lifestyle. The crusade against the Albigensians (1209 44) upset everything. After the
treaty of Corbeil (1258) the Catalans renounced their Occitan rights and became a
thalassocracy aimed at eastern Mediterranean expansion.
Attracting settler became a central feature of the emerge of CASTILE. Free men settled in
frontier lands in order to till and defend them. At this formation stage Castile was less bound
than the rest of Europe to feudal vassalage and its mechanisms to promote serfdom. Peasant
owned the lands they cultivated. Most villages and hamlets had the right to choose their lord.
As was appropriate for a realm comprised of reconquered territory, feudalism did not ran
deep. It took root in Catalonia and Aragon.
The people who settled in the Duero Valley were of thoroughly rural background. New cities
sprang up such as Burgos and Zamora. In the 10th century the only urban centre of
importance was Le n. Cities had a large administrative territory (alfoz). Municipal decisions

did not survive pass the 12th/13th centuries. Be that as it may, Castilians always showed
themselves to be reluctant to embrace the increasing of social HIERARCHY.
Social classes in Castile were not fixed. There was social mobility and the sort of upward
mobility military endeavours and exploits facilitated. The main strata were:
Ricoshombres (high nobility)
Infanzones (mid and low-ranking nobility) (el Cid belonged to this category)
Pecheros (villains)
possessed a horse

THE COUNTY OF CASTILE, which belonged to the Kingdom of Le n, became an autonomous

realm in 932 and an independent KINGDOM in 1065 at the time of Sancho II. In the meantime
it had been united to Navarre. In 1072 Castile and Le n united. There were difference
between the two. Castile had taken shape on a popular and contractual basis. Le n, on the
other hand, was an aristocratic and unified state inspired by the Visigoth monarchy. As a result
there was a clear distinction between the Basque-Castilian and the Asturian-Leonese realms.
Rodrigo D az de V

TAIFA KINGDOMS, ALMORAVIDS AND ALMOHADS

The authority of the Umayyad Caliphs at Cordoba was increasingly threatened in the late
10th and early 11th centuries by local and personal interests. After Al-
Muslim Spain was divided into Arab, Berber, Sclavonian and other taifa realms. Some authors
take the view that it was not a process of atomization of power and generalized anarchy but
rather a regionalization of the Ca seven taifa kingdoms
were left:
Seville / Granada / Murcia / Toledo / Badajoz / Saragossa / Valencia
The taifa period witnessed a cultural Renaissance based on a return to Oriental sources.
Seville was a capital for poets; Toledo and Saragossa welcomed scientists and philosophers.
The study of Arab philosophers was on the rise. These had drawn from Greek philosophy and

Jews became an important and influential minority.

Taifa realms paid tributes to the Christian kingdom supplying them with crucial revenue
invested in impressive Romanesque buildings (Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos, San Isidoro de
Le n, etc.)
Alfonso VI conquered Toledo in 1085. This provoked a state of alarm in Islamic Spain. The king
of Seville sought the help of North African Almoravids who disembarked in 1086. From their
powerbase in North Africa the Almoravids had embraced a rigid and purist Islam. They
managed to unite Al-Andalus under their authority in 1103. Almoravid intransigence led to
the persecution and exile of Christian Mozarabs and Jews who emigrated northwards to the
Christian kingdoms.
When around 1148 49 the Almoravid grip weakens the ALMOHADS take over. Equally
intransigent they unify Muslim Spain and choose Seville as the capital of their transcontinental
empire.
The arrival of the Almoravids first and later the Almohads encouraged Christian Europe to
fight alongside their Spanish coreligionists ach Spain to fight the
infidel. Cluniac and Cistercian monks popularized in the peninsula the idea of the
as a CRUSADE. Christian Spaniards were more tolerant with Muslim infidels than
the Christian knights crossing the Pyrenees.

Cluniac monks entered the Iberian Peninsula through Catalonia. They were very influential in
Castile. Cistercians arrive at a later stage. They founded Poblet and Santes Creus in Catalonia
and
John of Malta (c. 1088) and the Knights Templar (founded in 1118/1119).
The peninsular military orders were:
KINGDOM FOUNDATION YEAR MILITARY ORDER
Le n 1154 Order of Alc ntara

Le n 1158 Orden of Santiago (Saint

James)
Castile 1158 Orden of Calatrava, inherited
rents and possessions from
the Templars
Aragon 1317 Orden of Montesa, received

their were disbanded

- who entered vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity.

The key battle against the Almohads was fought at LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA in 1212. It was the
key Christians needed to enter the Guadalquivir Valley. C rdoba fell in 1236, Ja n in 1246 and
Seville in 1248.
After this conquest the crusading spirit took back seat again. REPOPULATING new, conquered
lands was the main concern. Efforts were aimed at organizing a new society and undoing
internal strife.

SPAIN OF THREE RELIGIONS

the end of Mozarabic minority communities, the settlement of Jews in Christian kingdom and
the presence of Mudejares, that is, Muslims living under a Christian sovereign.

- Toledo, Mozarabic Christians confronted ecclesiastical authorities in

order to defend their traditional Visigoth liturgy to which they held on, refusing to adopt the
Roman ritual. They were also attached to the Visigoth code of law (Fuero Juzgo).
After the Almohad invasion, Jews settled in communities (aljamas) in cities like Toledo or
Saragossa. They were granted considerable autonomy.

In. the Tagus Valley, the Ebro Valley and Valencia many Muslims found themselves under the
authority of Christian sovereigns. They organized themselves in aljamas which included:
Alam n in charge of economic and fiscal matters council of elders
General assembly
Alfaqu es (priests or alfaquin)
Almu dano (muezzin)
Ca des (qadis) judges and notaries in charge of collective goods, wills, marriages,
divorces, civil and criminal justice involving Muslims only (their ruling was subject to
revision by Christian authorities)
In Mudejar aljamas one would find:
Mosque
shop
Rather than tolerance one may speak of forced coexistence. Mixed marriages were out of the
question. Jews were useful intermediaries for Christian kings.

Broadly speaking, the repopulation of Andalusia was accomplished with northern Spaniards.
Mudejares amounted to about 0.5% of the total population. In Aragon the shortage of
Christian settlers (only 30,000 arrived and most were not peasants) made it necessary to resort
to Mudejares for agricultural activities. As a rule, Christian states, sovereigns and lords were
.
In certain Castilian elites there was a certain and a keen interest for Mudejar arts

The so-called TOLEDO SCHOOL OF TRANSLATORS

in Toledo. Muslim Spain functioned as a bridge between the eastern world (Byzantine and
Arab empires) and western Christendom. Christian Spain took advantage from the cultural
wealth of Al-Andalus.
Beginning in the 12th century, universities appear and expand: Paris and Oxford and, in the
13th century, Salamanca and Toulouse.

The expulsion of the Jews from Al-Andalus brought about by the Almoravids and specially by
the Almohads forced them to emigrate to the Christian kingdoms. Once there they shared the
Greek and eastern learning they possessed thus helping its transmission to the Christian West.
Peter the Venerable travelled to Spain in 1143 to draw from and help spread Arab learning. As
a result, the we
on Aristotle.

Alfonso X (r. 1252 84) officially sanctioned these exchanges, fostering translations in Toledo
and specially in Seville. Jewish rabbis, Moorish alfaquin and Christian clergy worked together.
Alfonso X defended Castilian romance as a language of learning. A Jew or Mozarabic scholar
translated aloud from Arab to Castilian. A cleric would write down this translation and then
translate it to Latin. Greek and Arab works on science, medicine and philosophy were
translated and diffused. The Tablas alfonsinas (1263 72) was the result of the cooperation of
Christian, Jewish and Muslim astronomers. Algebra and trigonometry were developed
greatly. Indian ciphers (cifrados) were adopted. The same was the case with the compass
(Chinese invention) and the perfected astrolabe. Yet no-one bothered translate the Quran.