The Reconquista is the centuries-long process of seizing land from Muslims (Moors) by Christian rulers in the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista ended on January 2, 1492 with the occupation of Granada. The end of the Reconquista was also the beginning of the construction of Spain's largest state.
Spanish occupation
The Muslims of the Umayyad dynasty (Moors) conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula controlled by the Visigoths in the early 8th century. In 711, a decisive battle with the Visigoths led by King Roderick took place (Battle of the Guadalupe River; another name for this battle: Battle of Jerez de la Frontera), during which the Muslims defeated the Christians. The Visigothic state ceased to exist on the Iberian Peninsula.
It is generally believed that the Reconquista began in the 11th century, but the first battles with the Muslims, aimed at recapturing the territories they occupied, took place shortly after the Islamic conquest, that is, as early as the 8th century.
The first to confront the Moors was the leader of the Visigoths, Pelagius (Pelaio), who, after the Battle of Covadonga, forced the Muslims to leave Asturias, where he founded his kingdom. At the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, it was transformed into the Kingdom of Leon.
Reconquista
From 1031 there was a civil war in the Caliphate of Córdoba (the Caliphate was founded in 929 by the Umayyads; formerly the Emirate of Córdoba), which eventually led to the disintegration of the state into smaller Muslim principalities.
The Christian rulers who ruled part of the Iberian Peninsula decided to take advantage of the weakness of the Moors and take back the rest of Spain from them. Aragon, Catalonia, Castile, Leon, Navarre and Portugal were allies in the fight against the Moors.
At the end of the 11th century, the Almoravids, the ruling Berber Muslim dynasty in Morocco, joined the battle on the Iberian Peninsula. They took power over a large part of Spain and united many small Muslim states.
The Reconquista began in earnest when Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile, captured Toledo in 1085. At the time, Pope Urban II—the same one who initiated the idea of the Crusades to the Holy Land—also called for a reconquista against the Spanish Muslims.
The Pope promised a great spiritual reward to all who would participate in the Reconquista. However, the Reconquista was different from the Crusades that would capture Jerusalem. In the case of the battles against the Muslims in the Holy Land – at least initially – the decisive factor encouraging people to join the expedition was the promise of eternal life. Participation in the Reconquista was motivated almost from the beginning by the desire to obtain booty – the Spanish Muslims were famous for their great wealth. Nevertheless, slogans about eternal life in case of death on the battlefield also appeared in the battles against the Moors.
Many chivalric orders were involved in the fight against the Muslims in Spain, including the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and smaller orders established locally such as Calatrava, Santiago, and Evora. Many knights from different parts of Europe came to the Iberian Peninsula and wanted to join the fight against the Moors.
One of the greatest heroes of the Reconquista (to this day he is a national hero of Spain) was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as Cid or Cid the Brave. In 1094, he took over Valencia, which had been ruled by Muslims for years. The city remained in the hands of the Christians (it came under the rule of Leon).
In 1147, the Crusaders helped retake Lisbon from the Muslims. The first king of Portugal was Alfonso I the Conqueror, who led a siege of the city that lasted half a year. In the following months, other cities fell into Christian hands.
However, the Christians did not always fight side by side against the Moors. There were also disagreements between Christian rulers, which led to the annulment of alliances and even alliances with Muslims – which happened, for example, in the late 12th century, when King Alfonso IX of León reached an agreement with the Moors. which was excommunicated by Pope Celestine III.
Very slowly, however, further Spanish towns and cities fell into Christian hands. In 1212, one of the decisive battles took place in Las Navas de Tolosa. In 1236, they captured Cordoba – one of the most important cities of the Muslims, their former capital. Two years later, Valencia surrendered, and in 1248 – Seville. Muslims still ruled only in Granada in southern Spain, where the Emirate of Granada was established in 1237.
The Christian rulers forced the Emir of Granada to pay tribute in exchange for allowing a Muslim state to exist in that place. In the decades that followed, no major expeditions were made to Grenada or Moorish-ruled North Africa.
Muslims living in the Spanish kingdoms enjoyed considerable religious freedom, although many were forced to leave the Iberian Peninsula. Christians were encouraged to migrate to the south, and the Arabic names of cities began to be replaced by names of the Latin alphabet. Most of the mosques were converted into churches, although the Muslim call to prayer could still be heard in various parts of the peninsula.
End of the Reconquista
Aragon conquered Gibraltar in 1309. However, further expansion was halted due to internal conflicts and civil wars that broke out within the borders of the Christian kingdoms.
The idea of Reconquista was revived during the reign of the “ultra-Catholic” rulers – Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who by their marriage (1468) led to the unification of Spain.
The war with the Emirate of Granada started in 1481 and lasted more than ten years. On January 2, 1492, after a long siege, Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, was captured.
During the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, most Muslims were forced to convert to Christianity or leave Spain. After the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) between Spain and Portugal, the world was divided into two spheres of influence. Then began the period of greatest strength of Spain.
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(tags translate)Reconquista