Calatrava la Vieja
Encyclopedia
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
site and original nucleus of the Order of Calatrava
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks (Parques Arqueológicos) of the Community of Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...
. Situated at Carrión de Calatrava
Carrión de Calatrava
Carrión de Calatrava is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The castle of Calatrava la Vieja is situated nearby....
, Calatrava during the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
was the only important city in the Guadiana River valley. It thus guarded the roads to Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
and Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
.
Its name is derived from the Arabic Qal'at Rabah قلعة رباح ("fortress of Rabah"), a reference to the Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
nobleman who held this area in the 8th century, although as a fortress it may date even earlier – to Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
times.
References to the site date from as early as 785, and in 853 owing to conflicts between the Muslims of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
and the emirate of Córdoba, it was partially destroyed, but rebuilt later. The site was rebuilt under al-Hakam
Al-Hakam
Al-Hakam may refer to:* Al-Hakam I, Cordovan emir* Al-Hakam II , Cordovan caliph...
, brother of Muhammad I
Muhammad I of Córdoba
Muhammad I was the Umayyad emir of Córdoba from 852 to 886 in the Al-Andalus .-Biography:Muhammad was born in Córdoba...
. It became the capital of the region. At the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
, the Taifa
Taifa
In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...
kingdoms or republics of Seville
Taifa of Seville
The Taifa of Seville was a short lived medieval kingdom, in what is now southern Spain and Portugal. It originated in 1023 and lasted until 1091, and was under the rule of the Arab Abbadid family.-History:...
, Córdoba
Córdoban Republic
The Taifa of Córdoba was a republican taifa that replaced the teetering Umayyad Caliph as the government of Córdoba and its vicinity in 1031....
, and Toledo competed to acquire Calatrava.
Toledo was conquered by Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
in 1085, and the Almoravids
Almoravids
The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 C.E...
arrived in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
a year later. In 1147, Calatrava was conquered by Alfonso VII, becoming the farthest Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
outpost during this stage of the reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
.
The castle was placed under the protection of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, but this proved unsatisfactory, and Sancho III of Castile
Sancho III of Castile
Sancho III was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. During the Reconquista, in which he took an active part, he founded the Order of Calatrava...
made an offer: he would grant the town and fortress of Calatrava to anyone who promised to defend it from the Moors. Encouraged by a friar named Diego Velásquez, who had been a warrior before becoming a friar, Saint Raymond of Fitero took up the challenge. Sancho granted them the privilege of defending Calatrava, and Raymond organized an army, with the support of Juan II of Toledo, the Archbishop of Toledo, that successfully prevented the Moors from attacking this place in 1158.
The city was reconquered by the Almohads in 1195, after their victory against Alfonso VIII at the Battle of Alarcos
Battle of Alarcos
Battle of Alarcos , was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo whereas the Almohads conquered back Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.-Background:In...
. They held it for 17 years, until 1212, when it was recovered as part of the campaign that resulted in the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Arab history as the Battle of Al-Uqab , took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain...
: after conquering Calatrava, there were some disagreements among the members of the Christian coalition: French and other European knights were not used to the summer heat, but more importantly, they did not agree with Alfonso VIII´s order of humane treatment of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Muslims. Previously, they had created problems in Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, (where the different armies of the Crusade gathered), with assaults and murders in the Jewish Quarter
Jewish Quarter (diaspora)
In the Jewish Diaspora, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian authorities. A Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or...
. So, more than 30,000 men deserted and crossed back over the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
.
In 1217, the Order of Calatrava moved to Calatrava la Nueva
Calatrava la Nueva
Calatrava la Nueva is a medieval castle and convent found on the peak of Alacranejo, within the municipality of Aldea del Rey, near Almagro, in the province of Ciudad Real, Spain....
(castle of Dueñas), 60 km to the south. Thus, the original site became known as "Calatrava la Vieja" ("Old Calatrava").
Calatrava la Vieja remained the center of the royal land grant, but it was completely abandoned by the early fifteenth century, when the Knight Commander of Calatrava moved his residence to Carrión de Calatrava.