Which city took the Reconquista? End Reconquista. Reconquista, briefly

There are wars that have become legends. Not only because of the large number of heroic battles, cunning moves of sovereigns or the use of new weapons, but also because of the role played by the outcome of the war. Legend became Reconquista. This is a whole chain of battles, which had a significant impact on modern history. It can be called a liberation war, which determined the fate of the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula. Bloody battles took 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, can not help but wonder which city took over the Reconquista.

The causes of the war

In 711 on the lands where the beautiful Spain is now located, the tribes of the Visigoths lived. They were not savages and pagans. Thanks to the Visigoths, Rome accepted Christianity. However, it differed from the faith of the Romans. The Visigoths brought to the fore the human nature of Jesus. Times can not be called calm. The Arabs have already conquered all of north-west Africa and, believing that they are accompanied by military success, did not want to stop. The lands of the Visigoths were ahead.

There are several stories about how the Arabs were able to subdue the tribes. The first is the story of love and revenge. If you believe her, then at that time there lived the beautiful La Cava, who eclipsed 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 family of La Cava 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 should not have become a king. The former ruler called his son the heir, but he did not enjoy the support of noble families. They liked Rodrigo much more strongly. And then they helped him to become the head of state. But the supporters of the Crown King were not ready to accept. 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. They had little treasure. They wanted to get the whole state.

For a year, the Arabs were able to subjugate the entire territory, which after a century will be called Spain. The Christian state was conquered by Muslims. No one forced the Visigoths to accept Islam. The Arab Caliphs tolerated the religion of others. However, taxes and incessant military actions still made the Reconquista period a difficult time for the conquered peoples.

Unruly Asturias

The Visigoths were not ready to give a worthy rebuff to the Arabs. They did not have a large, strong army and enough weapons. Because many cities surrendered to the invaders without a fight. Without knowing the difficulties, the Arabs moved north. But on their way was Asturias - a city that did not want to give up. Most of the Spanish aristocracy stayed where they lived. The Arabs pardoned them. But the remnants of the defeated troops and people who did not want to live in subordination fled to Asturias. It was this city that brought the End of the Reconquista closer.

In order to win, aristocrats from Asturias had to unite with the poor, uneducated residents of Vasco. These two cities were different worlds. But they were united by a common goal. At the head of Asturia stood Don Pelayo. The Arabs could not understand how a small group of resisting people could defeat them one after another. Thanks to Don Pelayo, who became the national hero of Spain, the inhabitants of Asturias and Vasconi realized that the Arabs can be defeated. Many troubles were inflicted on the conquerors by Christians who unleashed partisan fighting in the rear, as well as raids from the north, committed by Vikings.

Home Reconquista

The independence of Asturias made the conquerors out of themselves. Therefore, in 722 a punitive detachment went there, which was called to crush the resistance and subjugate the city. At the head stood Alcama. Together with Bishop Opp he tried to persuade Christians to surrender. After all, otherwise they would all perish. But Alcame did not manage to break their spirit. It seemed that Asturias had no chance. But the army of Christians was waiting for Alcama and his soldiers in the gorge and broke them. Alkama himself was killed that day.

The invaders nevertheless continued their attempts to subjugate the rebellious city. In the same year in the penalty for the death of Amalcam to Asturias another detachment moved, headed by Munusa. But this squad was defeated. Monus was killed. And his failure marked the beginning of the Reconquista.

Fighting in France

Arabs decide to continue their aggressive campaigns and move deeper into Europe. On the way was France. There are many legends about how this country fought heroically. Perhaps the most famous literary work that came down to us was the epic about Ronceval.

At that time the Franks ruled Charles the Great. The Governor of Zaragoza asked for help. For assistance in military operations, he promised the king military glory and great wealth. Carl took a seductive offer. It was said that the king's army will not have to fight. They will open the doors of the city to skip. But the gate was not open. They did not open after a while. Carl realized that he and his army were trapped. He captured the governor, and sent his sons back to France with his nephew. Karl felt that he could not return home alive. But he was wrong.

What was Karl's surprise when, upon returning home, he learned that his nephew Roland, along with the prisoners, had not yet arrived. Carl went on a quest. He found them in the Roncelvansky gorge. His eyes opened a terrible sight: the army was almost torn to pieces, there was not a single living person left. Each soldier was robbed, they did not even have clothes left. Among the pile of dead bodies, Charles found his nephew, but there were no small captives there. Until now, it 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 Christians.

Inter-war wars during the Reconquista

Slowly the Christians gained strength. Soldiers conquered all new lands, founded new cities and even states. Many of them reached their heyday. Such were Aragon, Castile, Navarre, Catalonia and Leon. Sometimes rulers of these states were at enmity among themselves, but sometimes they could make alliances thanks to dynastic marriages. For example, King Fernando I was able to unite Leon and Castile, two prosperous states. It seemed that later they could be joined to others, to begin to collect the land. But unexpectedly Fernando decides that after his death, the kingdom must be divided between sons, and the daughters should get beautiful cities, famous for their wealth. And they did.

The thirst for power deprived young people of reason. Brothers and sisters waged an internecine war. And each of them wished, having killed his most native people, to take the lead of a large number of lands. The victory was won by the middle son Alfonso. After the war with his brothers and sisters, he went to the Muslims and beat off the city of Toledo, expanding the boundaries of the Christian world. Heir Alfonso, Alfonso VII, will be called the King of Spain. Although not all of Spain was liberated, Christians already felt that the end of the Reconquista is approaching. The internecine wars were not uncommon for that time. Many brothers and sisters started a fight between themselves. Such quarrels were only in the hands of Muslims. Their enemies destroyed themselves.

Blessing of the Pope

In the XI century, the life of Christians under the yoke of the Arabs became much more complicated. The Almoravids came to power. They were cruel people who did not accept another's religion. They with special sadism executed people and put things in order on their lands. It was time for militant Islam.

I could not ignore the death of a large number of the Pope's Christians. In 1212, he announced that the crusade was beginning. Those Christians who will take part in it and liberate their native lands from Muslims will go to heaven, they will be absolved of all sins. The call had its own result. On July 16, a battle took place, in which a huge Christian army defeated the army of the Almoravids. Since then, the Muslim army has never been so strong. Slowly began the liberation of Spanish lands from the invaders.

The height of Reconquista

XIII and XIV century - this is a real flowering of the war. Finally, those peoples who lived in the occupied and already liberated territories, realized themselves as a single whole. They considered themselves to be Spanish, who should be freed from the oppression of Muslims, unite in a single state and start building a new life under the rule of the Spanish king. A major role in the liberation of the earth was played by the Knights-Crusaders. With a variable success, the Reconquista was advancing. Briefly, this can not be told, it can only be noted that it was not possible to finish battles with minimal losses. Some cities passed from the hands of Christians to Muslims and back again.

Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon

In 1469 the wedding of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile took place. Nobody could have imagined then that it was this couple that could change not only the life of the whole of Spain, but the whole world. The year of the end of the Reconquista was approaching. Thanks to cunning and military talent, Ferdinand was able to unite a large number of lands. But he and his wife had 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 correct and permissible in the territory of Spain.

The end of the policy of the "three religions"

Before the coming to power of this couple in Spain three religions tried to get along: Christianity, Islam and Judaic faith. However, the Pope did not like that in the liberated territories there lived people who refused to accept Christianity. The rulers of Spain did not require them to accept Catholicism, because they feared that the Gentiles would start uprisings.

Everything changed when Ferdinand and Isabella came to power. They, being Catholics and enlisting the support of Rome, began to implant Christianity. This contributed to the further liberation of lands from Muslim invaders. In 1487 the siege of Malaga, one of the main Muslim cities in Spain, began. Ferdinand and his wife were able to achieve success. Only Grenada was ahead. The year was coming when the Reconquista ended.

Taking Grenada

For all people studying this chain of fighting, the most important is the question of which city took over the Reconquista. It was Grenada. Ferdinand and Isabella carefully prepared for the decisive battle. In order for it to be successful, it took a lot of money. Because 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 on its army and hired knights, who fought with Muslims for money.

The king and the queen have done everything to strengthen their authority among the people. They communicated with the soldiers and tried to take the most active part in everything. The army of Spanish kings, with the assistance of the partisans, who unleashed a struggle in the rear, was able to win. Now everyone knew which city took over the Reconquista. The city fell in 1491. It can be called the year of the birth of Spain. Every modern Spaniard will easily answer, in which year the Reconquista ended. Then the lands were finally able to free themselves from the centuries-old subordination to the Muslims.

After the war

When the Reconquista ended in Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, beloved by the people, rose at the head of the state. They were wise rulers, without which not only Spain but America would have flourished. It was these sovereigns who helped Columbus accomplish 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 Moors and Muslims from their country.

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 says that the capture of a city completed the Reconquista. The Spaniards are proud of their history and that heroic page when their native lands were liberated from the invaders. It is important to remember in which year the Reconquista ended. This year has become one of the most decisive in the history of the whole world.