Sunday, July 10, 2022

Reconquista and the Birth of the Crusades

Reconquista is a little known period(There was a TON I had to learn!) that lasted from 718 until 1492, almost 800 years!  What complicates this period is learning all of the players.  There were revolts and suppression in the Roman period, Celtic waves(at least 2), Muslim Caliphates, a plethora of Catholic kingdoms and during all this the Jews play a large part in both the Catholic and Muslim controlled regions. 
Reconquista was a push to remove Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula(modern day Spain and Portugal) and return it to European Papal control.
The Iberian was a Carthaginian colony and later taken over as a frontier region of Rome.  Much of what you will hear about the region in contemporary archaeology is how the evil Europeans kicked out the nice Arabs and about how the nice Arabs brought culture to the region.  It is all bogus.  Much of the infrastructure was there from Roman times, the architecture was evolved from the Visigoths and Muslims were notorious for allowing locals to continue to run things for them because they lacked the ability to properly administer states.    

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264-146BC
Punic Wars were fought by Rome against Carthage(migrated Phoenicians) to become the dominant power in the region.  



237BC
Hamilcar(Carthage) began his conquest of the Iberian(unaffiliated tribes) in order to pay off the payment incurred from the treaty with Rome during the First Punic War.

206BC
Battle of Ilipa during the 2nd Punic War.  Rome pushes the Carthaginians off of the Iberian.

146BC
Carthage destroyed by Rome. 

83BC
Sertorius moves to the Iberian Peninsula and begins taking control of the region during one of Romes civil wars. He would defeat Pompey multiple times, but the Roman legions were able to replenish their loses and continue to attrit Sertorius' forces.  Sertorius was the greatest catalyst for Romanization in the region.

72BC
Sertorius was assassinated allowing Rome to retake control of most of the Iberian.

0001AD
Jesus changed the world. 

0070
Jews are kicked out of Israel by Rome after a rebellion.  The Jewish temple was destroyed. Jews migrated as far west as the Iberian Peninsula which as far west as they could at the time.   

180
The first record of Christians in Carthage, North Africa as they are killed for their faith. 

0330
Constantine established Constantinople as the seat of power for the Byzantine empire and takes on "Christianity"(It is actually pagan sun worship aka Catholicism) as a preferred religion in the empire. 

0341
Eusebius makes Ulfilas "Bishop of the Goths".  Ulfilas converts the Gothic tribes from paganism to Christianity. 

0409
Vandals cross the Pyrenees into the Iberian.



410
The Visogothic king Alaric sacks Rome

470s
Visigoth migrated to the Iberian at the request of the Romans and slowly pushed the Vandals to North Africa.  Visigoths utilized the Roman system of administration.  At this time, a Visigothic ruler controlled Rome.


476
The western Roman empire falls.

587
Visigoths convert to Catholicism from Christianity and begin persecuting Jews.  Persecution continues until the Muslims begin to take over and the Visigoths rule crumbles.  The Visigothic kingdom fell because of the disunity the new religion(catholicism) created and lead to in fighting. 

602
The Byzantine-Sasanian War is a fight between the Byzantines and the Persians. The 26 year war is going to set the stage for the Rise of Islam(**Upcoming episode).


0610
Mohammed was visited in a cave by an "evil spirit" who grabbed him and told him to "read and recite" three times. Oddly enough "read and recite" is loosely what "quran" translates to.  He said he couldnt read.  He was so scared he ran to his wife and hid under a blanket, and a Catholic priest(who followed the Nestorianism which is most likely why Islam views Jesus as a prophet and not God.) told Mohammed that the spirit was an angel and the words were revelations.  Over the course of 3 years, while being suicidal and practicing mysticism Mohammed was visited more and more by the spirit.(Reminds me of  Ignatius Loyola)  He dictated the words of the "evil spirit", and during his lifetime his revelations werent written down in a complete manner.  Islam was(and is) fostered and directed by Catholics.  Much of the Quran(20%) is based on early Catholic writings that were just stories not intended to be factual.  The old and new testament stories had not made it to the the deep deserts of Islamic world.  

Mohammed

0622
Mohammed, who was in his 50's, married a six year old named A'isha and consummated the marriage when she was nine, which made him a pedo warlord.

0624
Mohammed began conquering local Arab tribes that refuse to join his cult established on Nabataean rock worship.  He used his teachings as a way to unite his growing empire.  Islam has always been political.  All large centralized religions are tools for political control.  Prior to Islam Arabs were a nomadic collection of tribes.

632 June 06
Mohammed died.  The Rashidun Caliphate started with Abu Bakr taking control.  Mohammed never wrote down the entire Quran.


0636
Islam began taking control of territory from the Byzantines in the Levant and from the Persians in the East(of Saudi Arabia) under Umar ibn Al-Khattab.

0691
The Dome of the Rock is built by Abd al-Malik and faces Petra. Mosques wont START facing Mecca until 0727.  Even then mosques will face either Petra, Mecca or south until 0822 the major division seems to be regionally with the North African mosques facing south until the Almohads take over and orient them towards Mecca and ME mosques facing Petra until 0822.

0711-718 Apr
Battle of Guadalete Visigothic king Roderic is defeated by Tariq a subordinate of the Umayyad Caliphate.  The Umayyad Caliphate begins the "Conquest of Hispania".  Muslims start to wipe out the already fractured Visigoths. 


0718 or 722(They dont know when)
Battle of Covadonga(extreme northern part of the Iberian) starts the "Reconquista" time period. The Catholics strike back. This is where the Catholics begin pushing back on the Muslims. 
The Kingdom of Asturias is established. 

                            

0750
Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.  The Abbasids killed all the Umayyads lineage they could find, but one got away.    By this time, Mohammed is only mentioned by name four times and Mecca is only mentioned once.  Modern Islam was fleshed out by Abd al-Malik in the 690's when he changed the coinage and built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.


0756
Al-Rahman I(Umayyad) fled from the Abbasids to the Iberian Peninsula to setup the Emirate of Cordoba(This would later grow into the Caliphate of Cordoba).  


0784
A major mosque built in Cordoba, Spain didnt face Mecca.  It faces an unknown place south.  The splinter caliphate on the Iberian was broken off from the Abbasids and al-Rahman I(Umayyad).  Cordoba didnt want to legitimize a rock(they all pray to a rock even today) under the control of the Abbasids so he just faced his mosques south.  Islam has always been political.

0814
Bones of Santiago de Compostela, a Catholic relic, are found in the far northwest of the Iberian in Galicia and Catholics begin making a pilgrimage to see them.  A cathedral(Santiago de Compostela Cathedral) begins construction in 1075 because ALL Catholic cathedrals need bones or some sort of magical relics(aka idols) to be constructed. 

0822
All mosques from this time forward begin facing Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Quran mentions a change in direction, but it is not specific about from where to where.  The Quran, for being a "divine, eternal" work, is very inaccurate and vague.

0830s
Ibn Hisham begins writing down the history of Mohammed that he heard from the teachings of Ibn Ishaq from 760s. The sayings of Mohammed didnt come until the 870s and the writer picked 7000 of the 600,000 sayings and didnt record the rest which is why the Quran has few complete stories in it.  

0900s
Mecca is shown on a historical map for the FIRST time this is a problem for Islamic history. 

0910
Alphonso III died and divided Asturias into three parts Leon, Galicia and Asturias(smaller version) and gives them to his three sons.  The Kingdom of Leon is quickly established by taking over Galicia and Asturias.  

Jan 16 929
The Iberian becomes a caliphate called Cordoba Caliphate under al-Rahman III.  Cordoba becomes a hub of Islamic knowledge and one of if not the largest collection of books/knowledge in the world(until they burned everything that wasnt in the Quran).


0930
Qarmatians sack Mecca and Medina and steal the "Black Stone" that Muslims pray to, try to touch and kiss during hajj.  The Qarmatians also murdered a bunch of people and dumped the bodies in the well to make it unusable.   They returned it broken in pieces in 952 for a large ransom.  The Qarmatians broke it because they viewed the stone as an idol.  Some of it may still be missing.  

1031
The Caliphate of Cordoba fell and became fragmented tribes called "taifas".   Watch El Cid here.(For entertainment not historical accuracy)  Think of the image above as a piece of peanut brittle then smash it with your fist.  The regions are still Muslim, but they are not unified allowing the Catholics to start to conquer them piecemeal.  This period was also not divided solely on religious lines.  Catholics and Muslims fought side by side where their interests aligned. 

1037
Leon and Castile merge(Leon-Castile) giving the Catholic leaders a more unified base to conquer the rest of the Iberian.  Over the years, you will see which ever group is unified is the one that takes control of the region. 

1054
Ibn Yasin establishes the Almoravids(Sunni) which means the people are "tied to god"

1054
The Catholic church splits in "The Great Schism"

1064
pope Alexander II offers "remission of sins" to those who are willing to free Barbastro(in northern Spain).  The first recorded papal backed religious war. The official historical crusade period wont start until 1095. 

1065 
The kingdom of Castile is established. 

                                   


1070
Yusuf takes over the Almoravids and establishes Marrakesh as its capital in North Africa.

May 25 1085
Toledo is reclaimed by the Europeans(Alphonso VI) and will remain under their control.  The Arabs had large fighting forces, but lacked effective siege equipment. Their tactics were limited to blockading.

1086
Almoravids(Sunni) invade the Iberian peninsula by declaring a fatwa on it.

                                            

1090
Templars established.  Templars would also establish the banking system(think "federal reserve") we use today.  The temple they associate themselves with is the Temple of Solomon which didnt exist while they were around.


1095
The word "crusade" comes from the medieval Latin "cruciata" which means "to mark with a cross".  Typically, the word crusade indicates a pope initiated or backed war where there is remission of sins involved.
The common "crusade period" you learn about is 1095-1271, but if you listened to the Spanish Armada episode you know that papal sponsored wars continued until 1588.

1300s painting about the 2nd Crusade: Does the design on the yellow knight remind you of something? 

Star Wars: Rebel Alliance symbol


1118 Dec
Alfonso the Battler takes Zaragoza

1121
The Almohads(Sunni) start out as a strict religious sect of Islam by Ibn Tumart who was radicalized in Baghdad.  The Almohads grew in North Africa inside the Almoravid caliphate. Almohad is the Spanish sounding of "al-Muwaḥḥidūn" which means "those who affirm the unity of god"

1146
The Almohads begin moving into the Iberian to take control at the request of the Almoravids.  Where the Cordoba Caliphate was acquiring knowledge the Almohads were book burners.   They destroyed any knowledge that wasnt directly related to Quranic knowledge, much like the radical militant sects of Islam today.  The tactic was pure population control.  They needed the people to be completely dependent on the state in order to maintain control this is the beginning of Islams dark ages period.  The problem is it continues to this day in most parts of the Islamic world.  

                               


Oct 25 1147
Lisbon is taken by the Europeans and paves the way for Portugal to become an independent country.

1157
Alphonso VII dies and Leon and Castile separate and start fighting each other.  Alphonso IX of Leon made deals with the Almohads to attack Castile and Portugal.  

1171
Almohads move Iberian capital from Cordoba to Seville and build a mosque.  The Almohads would tear down mosques and reorient them toward Mecca where ever the conquered. 

1172
The Almohad caliphate takes the southern portion of the Iberian and the Europeans begin infighting.

1179
Portugal is recognized by the pope as a country.  Because the pope crowns kings and divides up the globe for his pawns(kings he crowned).

1195
Rabat Mosque started by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur.  Fun fact: Rabat was initially a Roman settlement called Sala(Shella) 100 years earlier.  Isnt it interesting how the Arabs(and most other peoples) consistently co-opt the locations created by Rome?

1195 July 18
The Battle of Alarcos between the Almohads and Castile is a defeat for Castile.  The battle was a grand scheme by Leon to weaken both the Almohads and Castile.  Leon maintained a armistice with the Almohads while Castile was being attacked. 

1196
pope Celestine III excommunicates Alphonso IX allowing other Catholic fighters to attack Leon.  

1199
Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur dies this stops work on the mosque at Rabat. It remains unfinished today.

Rabat britannica.com



1212
The Battle of  Las Nava de Tolosa breaks the Almohad dominance in the Iberian. 

1228
The Almohad leadership abandons the Iberian.

1230
The Kingdom of Leon is absorbed by The Kingdom of Castile(again). 

1238
Emirate of Granada is established after the retreat of the Almohads to northern Africa. Granada become a tributary of Castile.

1299
The Ottoman Empire(Sunni) begins.


1307
On Friday the 13th(that is where the superstition comes from), King Philip IV had all French templars arrested.  The Templars had more money than the king and the king owed them a lot.  He needed to seize their assets to not go under.  He made a deal with the pope to take their money. 
Some this time period is covered in the Knightfall series made by the History Channel.  It isnt a documentary.  It is a fictional story set in the period and covers many of the real historical events of the period.  Mark Hammil(Luke Skywalker) is in it and it runs for 2 seasons. 

1312
Templars are disbanded by pope Clemet in "Vox in excelso" their property was turned over to the Knights Hospitaller with "Ad providam". 

1342
Siege of Algeciras, Yusuf I introduces gunpowder fired cannons in a major European conflict. 

1350 March
During the Siege of Gibraltar Alfonso XI dies of the "Black Death".  Black Death spreads through Europe. 

1394
pope Boniface IX declares a crusade against the Ottomans.  

1408 December 08
Sigismund(future Holy Roman Emperor)  founds a group which in Latin is called "Societas Draconistarum" but we know it as the Order of the Dragon.  One of their main goals was to fight off Muslim encroachment(Ottoman Empire).  They took the symbol of the ouroboros with a red cross.  A religious group fighting Islam takes on a symbol of a dragon eating its own tail...hmmm.  The symbol goes back to ancient Egypt and the god Mehen who was a snake god. 

  
Replica Order of the Dragon pendant


1462 June
Vlad the Impaler while at war with the Ottomans makes the "forest of the impaled
Vlad is the guy who is known as Dracula which means son of the Dragon.  His father took on the name Dracul from the Order of the Dragon whos goal was to fight heretics and pagans founded by the Holy Roman Emperor. 




1469
Fernando of Castile and Isabel of Aragon unite in marriage and focus on conquering Granada. 

1478 Nov 01 
The Spanish Inquisition begins. Persecuting all non-Catholics including the large population of Jews in the Iberian. Jews were the main focus of the Inquisition.  Catholic leaders used the Inquisition to take wealth from the Jews in the region and give it to themselves.  They veiled this tactic in religious piety.  When someone was accused of heresy they were often times convicted.  The private accuser got a reward and the inquisitor and the church got everything else the accused owned.   Jews being a small group could easily be attacked without a general uprising of the populace because they were demonized in the Catholic churches.  

1492 Jan 02
Granada falls to Castile and the Emirate of Granada surrenders.  The Catholic church was a large backer of the 10 year war leading up to Granadas fall. 

1492 March 31
Under the Alhambra Decree Jews are forced to convert to Catholicism(Conversos, or if they secretly stayed Jews, Crypto Jews) or leave the region after years of persecution. 

1492 Aug 03
Christopher Columbus sets sail on his first voyage to find an alternate route to India.  He takes many fleeing Jews with him to the "New World". 
As the Jews left Spain they were not allowed to take large value assets like gold or jewels with them.  Because they were traveling they could only take a few belongings with them. Their large assets were sold for very little.  The wealthy were able to acquire land for pennies on the dollar.  

Hyrax
Hyrax

1876
Modern day Spain takes the name "Spain". What does Spain mean?  Good question. A similar sounding version dates back to the Phoenicians and etymology ranges from "land where metals are forged" to "land of rabbits" but even that may have been a confusion between a rabbit and a hyrax.  Hyrax are UGLY! 



Other Sources:

Reconquista
El Cid and Reconquista
The first crusade
Sertorius rebellion in Spain
Hispania Romana
Pre-Roman Spain
Rome in Spain
Why wasnt Portugal conquered by Spain? 
The Truth Behind the Emergence of Islam
The Arab Conquest of Spain
Spanish etymology

Kabba
The truth about the black stone
Kabba burned down
Kabba door(its something else they worship)
What is Hajj?
The face in the black stone
Dan Gibson: Direction of prayer
Dan Gibson: 2 Meccas
What is the Kabba
Counter to Dan Gibson: The Petra Fallacy


Islam influence
Rise of Muslims
What is a caliph?
14. Mohammed and the arab conquest
15. Islamic conquest and civil war
Brief overview of the succession of Mohammed
Quran origins part 1
Quran origins part 2
Islam in history
Is the Quran from Allah?
Islam: a Catholic heresy
Nestorianism
Iberian and the Muslim influence(modern news article)
Islams Origins
Islamic coins and Islams beginnings
Journey to Al-Andalus

Almoravids / Almohads
The Almoravids and Almohads: The Amazigh Berber Empire
BBC 4 In our time: Almoravid Empire
Almoravid Empire
Almohads rise

Jewish Influence:

Rome:


Sounds:
Fighting