There are wars that have become legends. Not only because of the large number of heroic battles, the cunning moves of the sovereigns or the use of new weapons, but also because of the role played by the outcome of the war. The Reconquista also became a legend. This is a whole chain of battles that has had a significant impact on modern history. It can be called the war of liberation, which determined the fate of the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula. Bloody battles claimed many lives. The completion of the Reconquista came only eight centuries after its inception. These were difficult centuries for all the conquered peoples. But liberation from oppression was heroic. And, of course, he cannot but be interested in which city took the Reconquista.
Reasons for the war
In 711, the Visigoth tribes lived on the lands where beautiful Spain is currently located. They were not savages and pagans. Thanks to Rome, the Visigoths adopted Christianity. However, it was different from the faith of the Romans. Visigoths brought to the fore the human nature of Jesus. These times cannot be called calm. The Arabs had already conquered all of northwestern Africa and, believing that they were accompanied by military success, did not want to stop. Ahead were the lands of the Visigoths.
There are several stories about how the Arabs were able to subjugate the tribes. The first is a story about love and revenge. If you believe her, then at that time there lived the beautiful La Cava, who overshadowed the sun with her face. Of course, King Rodrigo could not help falling in love with her. But the proud beauty refused to associate her fate with him. Then Rodrigo took the girl by force. The La Cava family could not leave such a crime without punishment. At night, the father of the unfortunate beauty let the Arabs into the city to punish Rodrigo.
According to another version, Rodrigo was not supposed to be king. The former ruler called his son the heir, but he did not enjoy the support of noble families. Much stronger they liked Rodrigo. And then they helped him become the head of state. But supporters of the crown king were not ready to reconcile. One of them made an alliance with the Arabs, so that they entered the city, killed Rodrigo and his supporters. As a reward, they were promised the treasury of the capital. But the Arabs, having killed the king, did not stop. The treasury was not enough for them. They wanted to get the whole state.
For a year, the Arabs were able to subjugate the whole territory, which after centuries will be called Spain. The Christian state was conquered by Muslims. Visigoths no one forced to convert to Islam. Arab caliphs tolerated foreign religion. However, taxes and ongoing hostilities still made the Reconquista difficult times for the conquered peoples.
Rebellious Asturias
The Visigoths were not ready to give a fitting rebuff to the Arabs. They did not have a large, strong army and enough weapons. Therefore, many cities surrendered to the invaders without a fight. Unaware of the difficulties, the Arabs moved north. But Asturias was on their way - a city that did not want to give up. Most of the Spanish aristocracy remained to live where it lived. The Arabs had mercy on them. But the remnants of the defeated troops and people who did not want to live in submission, fled to Asturias. It was this city that brought the end of the Reconquista.
In order to win, the aristocrats from Asturias had to unite with the poor, uneducated inhabitants of the Vascona. These two cities were different worlds. But they were united by a common goal. Don Pelayo stood at the head of Asturias. The Arabs could not understand how a small group of resisting people can inflict one defeat after another. Thanks to don Pelayo, who became the national hero of Spain, the inhabitants of Asturias and the Vascons realized that the Arabs could be defeated. The Christians, who launched the partisan struggle in the rear, as well as the raids from the north by the Vikings, caused much trouble to the conquerors.
Beginning of the Reconquista
The independence of Asturias infuriated the conquerors. Therefore, in 722 a punitive detachment went there, which was called to defeat the resistance and subjugate the city. At the head stood Alcama. Together with Bishop Opp, he tried to persuade Christians to surrender. Otherwise, they would all have died. But Alkama failed to break their spirit. It seemed that Asturias had no chance. But the army of Christians guarded Alkama and his soldiers in the gorge and defeated them. Alkama himself was killed that day.
The invaders still continued attempts to subjugate the rebellious city. In the same year, another detachment, headed by Munus, was sent to Asturias as a punishment for the death of Amalkama. But this detachment was defeated. Munus was killed. And his failure marked the beginning of the Reconquista.
Fighting in France
The Arabs decide to continue their conquests and move deeper into Europe. On the way was France. There are many legends about how this country heroically fought. Perhaps the most famous literary work that has come down to us is the epic about Ronceval.
At that time, Charlemagne ruled the Franks. The governor of Zaragoza turned to him for help. For assistance in hostilities, he promised the king military glory and great wealth. Karl accepted the seductive offer. It was said that the king’s army would not have to fight. The doors of the city will be opened to them to pass. But the gates were not open. They did not open after a while. Karl realized that he and his army were trapped. He captured the governor, and sent his sons back to France with his nephew. It seemed to Karl that he would not be able to return home alive. But he was wrong.
What was Karl’s surprise when, on his return home, he found out that his nephew Roland had not yet arrived with the captives. Karl went in search. He found them in the Ronselvan Gorge. A terrible sight was opened to his eyes: the army was practically torn to pieces, not a single living person remained. Each soldier was robbed, not even clothes left on them. Among the piles of dead bodies, Karl found his nephew, but there were no small captives there. It still remains a mystery who killed Roland and his warriors. It is believed that these were Christians. But in this case, we can assume that the Christians went to war against the Christians.
Civil wars during the Reconquista
Slowly Christians gained strength. The soldiers conquered ever new lands, founded new cities and even states. Many of them have reached their peak. Such were Aragon, Castile, Navarre, Catalonia and Leon. Sometimes the rulers of these states were at enmity with each other, but sometimes they could form alliances through dynastic marriages. For example, King Fernando I was able to unite Leon and Castile, two prosperous states. It seemed that later others could be attached to them and begin to collect land. But suddenly Fernando decides that after his death the kingdoms should be divided between sons, and the daughters should go to beautiful cities famous for their wealth. So they did.
The thirst for power deprived young people of reason. Brothers and sisters started an internecine war. And each of them wanted, having killed his most dear people, to stand at the head of a large number of lands. The victory was won by the middle son Alfonso. After the war with brothers and sisters, he went to the Muslims and recaptured the city of Toledo from them, expanding the boundaries of the Christian world. Alfonso's heir, Alfonso VII, will be called the king of Spain. Although far from all of Spain was liberated, Christians already felt that the Reconquista was nearing completion. Civil wars were not uncommon for that time. Many brothers and sisters started a struggle among themselves. Such quarrels were only in the hands of Muslims. Their enemies destroyed themselves.
Pope's blessing
In the XI century, the life of Christians under the oppression of the Arabs was significantly complicated. Almoravids came to power. These were cruel people who did not accept someone else's religion. They executed people with special sadism and put things in order on their lands. The time has come for militant Islam.
The Pope could not ignore the death of a large number of Christians. In 1212, he announces that the crusade begins. Those Christians who will take part in it and liberate their native lands from Muslims will go to heaven, they will be forgiven of all sins. The call had its result. On July 16, a battle took place in which a huge Christian army defeated the Almoravid army. Since then, the Muslim army has never been so strong. Slowly began the liberation of the Spanish lands from the invaders.
High Reconquista
XIII and XIV centuries - this is the real flowering of war. Finally, those peoples who lived in the occupied and already liberated territories realized themselves as one. They considered themselves Spaniards, who should free themselves from the oppression of Muslims, unite in a single state and begin to build a new life under the rule of the Spanish king. A large role in the liberation of the land was played by the Crusader knights. The Reconquista advanced with varying success. It will not be possible to briefly talk about this, we can only note that it was not possible to finish the battles with minimal losses. Some cities several times passed from the hands of Christians to Muslims and vice versa.
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon
In 1469, the wedding of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile took place. No one could have imagined then that it was this couple who could change not only the life of all of Spain, but of the whole world. The year of completion of the Reconquista was drawing near. Thanks to cunning and military talent, Ferdinand was able to unite a large number of lands. But he and his wife possessed exceptional ambition and a lot of ambition. Therefore, such a kingdom was small for them. Isabella and Ferdinand were true Catholics. For them, their faith was the only right and permissible in Spain.
The End of the Three Religions Policy
Before this couple came to power in Spain, three religions tried to get along with each other: Christianity, Islam and the Jewish faith. However, the Pope did not like the fact that people who refused to convert to Christianity lived in the liberated territories. The rulers of Spain did not demand from them to accept Catholicism, because they were afraid that the Gentiles would start revolts.
Everything changed when Ferdinand and Isabella came to power. They, being Catholics and having secured the support of Rome, began to plant Christianity. This contributed to the further liberation of land from Muslim invaders. In 1487, the siege of Malaga, one of the main Muslim cities in Spain, began. Ferdinand and his wife were successful. Only Grenada was ahead. The year was approaching when the Reconquista ended.
Capture of grenada
For all people studying this chain of fighting, the most important question is which city took the Reconquista. It was Grenada. Ferdinand and Isabella carefully prepared for the decisive battle. In order for it to succeed, it took a lot of money. Therefore, they decided to raise taxes, and the Pope allowed them to use for their purposes the money that the church received from believers. Thanks to this, the royal family was able to call in their army and hired knights who fought with the Muslims for money.
The king and queen did everything in order to strengthen their authority among the people. They communicated with the soldiers and tried to take an active part in everything. The army of the Spanish kings, with the assistance of the partisans, who unleashed the struggle in the rear, was able to win. Now everyone knew which city took the Reconquista. The city fell in 1491. It can be called the year of birth of Spain. Every modern Spaniard will easily answer in which year the Reconquista ended. Then the land was finally able to free itself from centuries of submission to Muslims.
After the war
When the Reconquista ended in Spain, at the head of the state stood the beloved by the people Ferdinand and Isabella. They were wise rulers, without which not only Spain, but also America would not have flourished. After all, it was these sovereigns who helped Columbus make his great geographical discovery. Ferdinand and Isabella turned Spain into a strong Catholic state. Representatives of other religions could not find a place on these lands. The king and queen drove out of their country Moors Muslims and Jews.
This royal family has remained the most famous for many centuries. And now they are revered in Spain. They did a lot for their state, Catholicism, and also had a significant impact on other countries. In Grenada, everything speaks of the capture of which city completed the Reconquista. The Spaniards are proud of their history and that heroic page when their native lands were liberated from invaders. It is important to remember in which year the Reconquista ended. This year has become one of the decisive in the history of the whole world.