MIDDLE AGE

The Middle Age in Castellón is marked by the Muslim predominance between the 8th and the 13th centuries after the arrival of Visigoths and Byzantines between the VIth and the VIIIth centuries.

Umayyad Caliphate’s forces conquered Spain in 711 and the territory progressively became part of Cordoba Caliphate until 1031. After the death Almanzor in 1030, Cordoba Caliphate split up, dividing Al-Andalus in about thirty independent states, the first kingdoms of Taifas. The territory became a part of the Taifa of Valencia.

In 1065, the Taifa of Valencia was subsequently incorporated by the Taifa of Toledo, until 1076 when it recovered its independence with the help of Castile. In 1085, after the conquest of Toledo by Christians and the death of the king of the Taifa of Valencia, Al-Qadir, the former king of the Taifa of Toledo, was raised to the throne of this Taifa, with the military help of Alphonse VI of Castile.

At the end of the 11th century, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called “el Cid Campeador” (the outstanding warrior), was a nobleman whose task was to protect Al-Qadir, ally of the Christians, from the attacks of the Taifa of Zaragoza and the popular uprisings. When Al-Qadir was murdered, el Cid died afterwards and the Almoravids took the control of the area in 1102. In the middle of the 12th century, they were removed from power by the Almohads.

These lands were basically rural until the 11th century. The caliphate and the Taifas provided irrigation systems to the region and developed the artisan activity and commerce.

After the defeat of the Muslims in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), the Almohad state collapsed. In 1232 the Aragonese king, James I the Conqueror, began the conquest of the Valencian territory, structuring it as an autonomous kingdom within the Crown of Aragon.

In 1283 Pedro III of Aragon authorized the installation of the Consulate of the Sea in Valencia, being the first of Spain.

The kingdom of Valencia, which was mostly Mudejar Muslim, began to be colonized with the repopulation of Christians from the Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia. Together with the Jews, it resulted in a multi-denominational and multicultural society. However, Christians enjoyed full rights compared to the rest of the cultures. They created the bases of an economic system taking advantage of the existing Andalusian infrastructures (azud (diversion dams), terraces, irrigation systems, mosques, watchtowers etc.), as well as the settled agricultural products (citruses, rice, tiger nuts, vegetables, palms, etc.). The process of repopulation in the Kingdom of Valencia was a long process that would not end until the 17th century, after the expulsion of Moors.

After the Black Death reached the area in 1348 and the so-called “war of the two Peters” against Castile, began a period of prosperity, considered the Valencian Gold Age, until the 15th century

 On the road you can see el Tossal de la Vila in la Serra d'Engarcerán and Santa Llúcia in Alcalà de Xivert

Una creación de AD&D 4D Creative Commons
I agree
In this website we use our own and third party cookies to provide you with our best service. If you continue browsing, we will consider that you accept its use. More information here.