Map about the third stage of the "Reconquest"

ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL MAP

It is an evolution and political map, which reflects the different stages of the period we known as “Reconquest”, in the Middle Ages in the Iberian Peninsula.

It shows the second stage of the “Reconquest”, which took place between the 11th and 13th centuries. It describes the Christian advance, taking advantage of the Muslim's weakness.

DESCRIPTION

On the map we can observe the borders of the Christian kingdoms in 1150, which include the North half of the Iberian Peninsula. Dark colours represent the extension of the Christian Kingdoms before the conquests of the 13th century: dark green belongs to Portugal’s territories, dark orange to those of Castile and dark purple to the Crown of Aragon’s extension. It shows the territories conquered by the Kingdom of Aragon: Valencia (1236) and Mallorca (1229-1232) in light purple; those conquered by the Kingdom of Castile in light orange: Cáceres 1214), Badajoz 1228), Córdoba 1236), Jaén and Seville 1248); and finally, those conquered by Portugal in light green: Tavira (1238).

Besides, the main battles appear in the map: the Battle of Alarcos (1195), the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) and the Battle of River Salado, which took place in 1340.

We can also see the borders of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada around year 1257, which extended to the present provinces of Almería, Granada, Málaga and part of Cádiz.

The map also includes different readjustments of the borders between the 13th and 15th centuries, as well as the expansion of Catharism in the South-West of France in 1200 and the Catalan-Aragonese influence in Occitaine in 1258.

ANALYSIS

This map reflects the process of the “Reconquest” in the 13th century. The “Reconquest” is a term used to refer to the advance of the Christian kingdoms of the North of the Iberian Peninsula to the South. It was rather the conquest of the territories occupied by the Muslims by the Christians kingdoms of Aragón, Portugal and Castile. It has its origins in the 9th century, the kings of Asturias and León established a continuity with the Visigothic Kingdom. Since the 11th century, the conquest added a connotation of “crusade” against Islam.

It started after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba and the military weakness of the Taifas kingdoms.

The “Reconquest” has three stages: the first one took place between the 8th and 10th centuries, when there was a Muslim superiority

The second stage took place between the 11th and the middle of the 13th century and it includes the Christian advance. Finally, the last stage, which is the one reflected on the map, took place between the middle 13th century and the end of the 15th, in period in which the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada survived through the payment of parias, when it was defeated by the Catholic Monarchs.

After the disintegration of the Almoravid Empire in 1145, Alphonse VII of Castile and León conquered Almería in 1147 and Alphonse VIII of Castile conquered Cuenca in 1177. This advance was stopped by the Almohads, a new people from the North of Africa, who had crossed the Gibraltar Strait in 1147 and reunified the Taifas kingdoms, except for Mallorca, which survived under Almoravid rule until the end of the century. In 1195 Alphonse VIII of Castile’s troops were defeated in the Battle of Alarcos, in present Ciudad Real. The Castilians were obliged to sign a truce with the Almohads. After this victory, the Almohads reconquered several places, such as Trujillo, Cáceres, Plasencia, Talavera, Cuenca and Uclés.

Alphonse VIII of Castile led a coalition of Christian princes and monarchs against the Almohads, who were defeated in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. This Christian victory opened path to the conquest of the Guadalquivir Valley. Although the Almohad Caliphate didn’t fall immediately, Portugal and Castile conquered all the Guadalquivir Valley and Aragón reached the Betic Mountains.

Alphonse IX of León conquered Cáceres in 1227 and Badajoz in 1230; Ferdinand III the Saint of Castile and León conquered the main cities of the Guadalquivir Valley: Córdoba (1236), Jaén (1246) and Seville (1248) and James I the Conqueror of Aragón conquered Mallorca (1229) and Valencia (1238). Alphonse III of Portugal conquered Faro in 1249 and finished the Portuguese expansion

After Peter II’s death at the Battle of Muret in 1212, who was fighting against the French to defend his subjects, the Crown of Aragón orientated the expansion to the South and the Mediterranean Sea. After the signature of the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258 and the inclusion of Murcia in Castile, the Aragonese renounce to intervene in the South of France and explains their expansion in the Mediterranean sea.

After the big conquests of the 13th century, the Nasrid kingdom of Granada was the only Muslim territory that remained in the Iberian Peninsula. It survived until 1492, when it was finally conquered by the Catholic Monarchs.

The conquests were accompanied with the occupation of the territory (“repopulation”) and the extension of the political and economic structures of the Christian Kingdoms in the former lands of Al-Andalus.

CONCLUSION

The map reflects the last stage of the process known as “reconquest”, (which was a decisive process for the stop of the Islamic advance in Europe), which meant the end of the Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula, after eight centuries.

As for the historical significance, as it was a large process which lasted around 700 years, we can find, for example, a lot of remains of Hispano-Islamic art, above all in the South of the Peninsula. Its main examples are Córdoba’s mosque and the Alhambra of Granada.

Moreover, the Christians kingdoms established their political and economic structures to the territories that had belonged to the Muslims: the Muslim conquest had interrupted the feudalization process developed in Europe, but feudal relations spread in the Christian States and extended as the conquest went by. Subsistence economy also developed and agriculture which was the main economic activity, introduced the more modern techniques and crops that the Muslims had introduced.