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146-640: Peninsular Spain refers to the part of the territory of Spain located within the Iberian Peninsula , thus excluding other parts of Spain: the Canary Islands , the Balearic Islands , Ceuta , Melilla , and several islets and crags off the coast of Morocco known collectively as plazas de soberanía (places of sovereignty). In Spain, it is mostly known simply as la Península . It has land frontiers with France and Andorra to

292-589: A vates called Asterio. The word vates is uncommon in Catholic documents and epitaphs, where the word presbyterus (for Christian priests) is preferred. However, vates was used in Latin to denote a poet who was clairvoyant, and according to the Ancient Greek writers Strabo , Diodorus Siculus , and Posidonius , the vates (ουατεις) were also one of three classes of Celtic priesthood, the other two being

438-590: A constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, the Spanish king dismissed the Cortes Generales, set on ruling as an absolute monarch . The French occupation of mainland Spain created an opportunity for overseas criollo elites who resented the privilege towards Peninsular elites and demanded retroversion of

584-419: A Basque princess from Alava, while his daughter Adosinda married Silo, a local chief from the area of Flavionavia, Pravia. After Pelayo's death in 737, his son Favila (or "Fafila") was elected king. Fafila, according to the chronicles, was unexpectedly killed by a bear while hunting in one of the trials of courage normally required of the nobility of that era. However, there is no other such incident known from

730-710: A Gothic influence to the Asturian kingdom. However, at the beginning of the 9th century, Alfonso II's will cursed the Visigoths, blaming them for the loss of Hispania. The later chronicles on which knowledge of the period is based, all written during the reign of Alfonso III, when there was great Gothic ideological influence, are the Sebastianensian Chronicle ( Crónica Sebastianense ), the Albeldensian Chronicle ( Crónica Albeldense ) and

876-717: A comparative philological study between several Semitic languages and hypothesize that the Phoenician name translates as "land where metals are forged", having determined that the name originated in reference to the gold mines of the Iberian Peninsula. There have been a number of accounts and hypotheses about its origin: Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the term span is the Phoenician word spy , meaning "to forge metals ". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged". It may be

1022-567: A defensive line whose main purpose was to protect the valleys of central Asturias from invaders who came from the Meseta through the Pajares pass: the construction of these fortifications reveals a high degree of organization and cooperation among the several Asturian communities, in order to defend themselves from the southern invaders. Carbon-14 tests have found that the wall dates from the period 675–725 AD, when two armed expeditions against

1168-614: A derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania , meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the reign of Hadrian show a female figure with a rabbit at her feet, and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits". The word in question actually means " Hyrax ", possibly due to the Phoenicians confusing

1314-520: A high degree of organization and firm leadership, probably by Pelayo himself. Therefore, experts consider it probable that the construction of the defensive line was intended to prevent the reentry of Moors into Asturias through the mountain passes of Mesa and Pajares. After Pelayo's victory over the Moorish detachment at the Battle of Covadonga , a small territorial independent entity was established in

1460-566: A large measure of regional autonomy. Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius . It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. In the Summer of 722, Pelagius defeated an Umayyad army at the Battle of Covadonga , in what

1606-695: A mere skirmish in Muslim texts) is that the Moorish column was attacked from the cliffs and then fell back through the valleys towards present day Gijón, but it was attacked in retreat by the retinue and nearly destroyed. However, the only near-contemporary account of the events of the time, the Christian Chronicle of 754 , makes no mention of the incident. However, as is told in the Rotensian Chronicle as well as in that of Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari , Pelayo escaped from Cordoba during

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1752-615: A puppet kingdom satellite to the French Empire was installed with Joseph Bonaparte as king. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many uprisings across the country against the French occupation. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Further military action by Spanish armies, guerrilla warfare and an Anglo-Portuguese allied army, combined with Napoleon's failure on

1898-532: A reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola . In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. French troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The Spanish king abdicated and

2044-761: A resolution in favour of democracy. With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the Francoist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy , the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities . The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes during transition to democracy like

2190-456: A second Viking fleet set out for Spain. The Vikings were slaughtered off the coast of Galicia by Count Pedro. The considerable territorial expansion of the Asturian kingdom under Alfonso III (866–910) was largely made possible by the collapse of Umayyad control over many parts of Al-Andalus at this time. Between in the year 773 the western frontier of the kingdom in Galicia was expanded into

2336-458: A separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language. Habsburg Spain was one of the leading world powers throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power . It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs— Charles V/I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw

2482-744: A series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 . However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the Dutch Republic ( Battle of the Downs ) and then England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660 ; by the 1660s it was struggling to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers. The Protestant Reformation increased Spain's involvement in religiously charged wars, forcing ever-expanding military efforts across Europe and in

2628-698: A warrior he managed to defeat a Viking invasion after the Vikings had landed at Corunna, and also fought several battles against the Moors. When he succeeded his father Ramiro, Ordoño I (850–66) repressed a major revolt amongst the Basques in the east of the kingdom. In 859, Ordoño besieged the fortress of Albelda, built by Musa ibn Musa of the Banu Qasi , who had rebelled against Cordoba and became master of Zaragoza, Tudela, Huesca and Toledo. Musa attempted to lift

2774-584: Is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with King Felipe VI as head of state . A developed country , it is a major advanced capitalist economy, with the world's fifteenth-largest by both nominal GDP and PPP . Spain is a member of the United Nations , the European Union, the eurozone , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a permanent guest of the G20 , and

2920-642: Is evidenced by the Celtic tonsure , which the Visigothic bishops who participated in the Fourth Council of Toledo condemned. Still extant Galician legends relate to monks who travelled by sea to the Paradise Islands, like those of Saint Amaro , Trezenzonio or The Legend of Ero of Armenteira . These stories have many parallels with those of Brendan the navigator, Malo of Wales, and

3066-762: Is part of many other international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Union for the Mediterranean , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The name of Spain ( España ) comes from Hispania ,

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3212-725: Is retroactively regarded as the beginning of the Reconquista . The Asturian kings would occasionally make peace with the Muslims , particularly at times when they needed to pursue their other enemies, the Basques and rebels in Galicia. Thus Fruela I (757–768) fought Muslims but also defeated the Basques and Galicians , and Silo (774–783) made peace with the Muslims but not with the Galicians. Under King Alfonso II (791–842),

3358-669: Is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula , its territory also includes the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands , in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla , in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France , Andorra , and

3504-596: The 12 April 1931 municipal elections . These gave a resounding victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, with a majority of monarchist councilors in rural areas. The king left the country and the proclamation of the Republic on 14 April ensued, with the formation of a provisional government. A constitution for the country was passed in October 1931 following

3650-500: The Americas . As a reflection of its large cultural wealth , Spain is the world's second-most visited country , has one of the world's largest numbers of World Heritage Sites , and it is the most popular destination for European students. Its cultural influence extends to over 600 million Hispanophones , making Spanish the world's second-most spoken native language and the world's most widely spoken Romance language . Spain

3796-602: The Basque Country and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism , promotion of a unitary national identity , National Catholicism , and discriminatory language policies . In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made

3942-482: The Bay of Biscay ; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar ; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid , and other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga , Murcia and Palma de Mallorca . In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Celts , Iberians , and other pre-Roman peoples . With

4088-605: The Bourbons , was installed. The Crowns of Castile and Aragon had been long united only by the Monarchy and the common institution of the Inquisition's Holy Office . A number of reform policies (the so-called Bourbon Reforms ) were pursued by the Monarchy with the overarching goal of centralized authority and administrative uniformity. They included the abolishment of many of the old regional privileges and laws, as well as

4234-554: The Cantabrian Mountains . Fruela I, Alfonso I's son, consolidated and expanded his father's domains. He was assassinated by members of the nobility associated with the House of Cantabria. Written sources are concise concerning the reigns of Aurelio , Silo , Mauregatus and Bermudo I . Generally this period, with a duration of twenty-three years (768–791), has been considered as a long stage of obscurity and retreat of

4380-536: The Carolingian lands and beyond. Alfonso's policy consisted in depopulating the borders of Bardulia (which would turn into Castile ) in order to gain population support north of the mountains. With this growth came a corresponding increase in military forces. The kingdom was now strong enough to sack the Moorish cities of Lisbon , Zamora and Coimbra . However, for centuries to come the focus of these actions

4526-527: The Chronicles ) occurred during the reign of Aurelio I. The property relationship between master and slave broke down progressively. This fact, together with the growing role of the individual and the restricted family, to the detriment of the extended family, is another indication that a new society was emerging in Asturias at the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth centuries. Fruela I (757–68)

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4672-756: The Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 . Although

4818-567: The Douro valley, taking cities and towns and moving their inhabitants to the safer northern zones. It eventually led to the strategic depopulation of the plateau, creating the Desert of the Duero as a protection against future Moorish attacks. The depopulation, defended by Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz , is doubted today, at least concerning its magnitude. Two main arguments are used to refute it: first,

4964-752: The High Middle Ages were laid during the reigns of Silo and Mauregatus, when the Asturian kings submitted to the authority of the Umayyad emirs of the Caliphate of Córdoba . The most prominent Christian scholar in the Kingdom of Asturias of this period was Beatus of Liébana, whose works left an indelible mark on the Christian culture of the Reconquista. Beatus was directly involved in the debate surrounding adoptionism, which argued that Jesus

5110-796: The Holy See , and the Carolingian Empire , and was supported in his theological struggle by the Pope and by his friend Alcuin of York, an Anglo-Saxon scholar who had settled among the Carolingian court in Aachen . The most transcendental works of Beatus were his Commentaries to Apocalypse , which were copied in later centuries in manuscripts called beati , about which the Italian writer Umberto Eco said: "Their splendid images gave birth to

5256-435: The Italian Wars , the Schmalkaldic War , the Dutch Revolt , the War of the Portuguese Succession , clashes with the Ottomans , intervention in the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War . Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded across vast areas in the Americas, the Indo-Pacific, Africa as well as the European continent (including holdings in

5402-424: The June 1931 Constituent general election , and a series of cabinets presided by Manuel Azaña supported by republican parties and the PSOE followed. In the election held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. During the Second Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and the right. Instances of political violence during this period included

5548-518: The Kingdom of León in 924, when Fruela II of Asturias became king with his royal court in León. The kingdom originated in the western and central territory of the Cantabrian Mountains , particularly the Picos de Europa and the central area of Asturias. The main political and military events during the first decades of the kingdom's existence took place in the region. According to the descriptions of Strabo , Cassius Dio and other Graeco-Roman geographers, several peoples of Celtic origin inhabited

5694-410: The Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha . In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led by the armed organisation ETA until the latter's dissolution in May 2018. The group was formed in 1959 during Franco's rule but had continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of democracy and the return of

5840-412: The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , the province of Hispania was established. Following the Romanization and Christianization of Hispania, the fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in the inward migration of tribes from Central Europe, including the Visigoths , who formed the Visigothic Kingdom centred on Toledo . In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by

5986-405: The Second Punic War , roughly between 210 and 205 BCE, the expanding Roman Republic captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , they retained control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road . The cultures of

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6132-426: The Visigothic Code was the referential code, at least since the arrival of new influences including exiles, prisoners from the central area of al-Andalus in the 770s along with their mixed Berber-Arabic and Gothic legacy. This combined with governmental and religious ideas imported from Charlemagne 's Frankish Kingdom ( Alcuin - Beatus of Liébana ). The foundations of Asturian culture and that of Christian Spain in

6278-416: The apotheosis . Likewise, as Elipandus's bishopric of Toledo was at the time within the Muslim Caliphate of Cordoba, Islamic beliefs which acknowledged Jesus as a Prophet, but not as the Son of God, influenced the formation of adoptionism. However, the adoptionist theology was opposed strongly by Beatus from his abbey in Santo Toribio de Liébana . At the same time, Beatus strengthened the links among Asturias,

6424-574: The breakaway of most of the American colonies . These political divisions finally converged in the 20th century with the Spanish Civil War , giving rise to the Francoist dictatorship that lasted until 1975. With the restoration of democracy and its entry into the European Union, the country experienced an economic boom that profoundly transformed it socially and politically. Since the Siglo de Oro , Spanish art , architecture , music , poetry , painting , literature , and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in Western Europe and

6570-453: The largest empires in history . The Spanish Empire reached a global scale and spread across all continents, underpinning the rise of a global trading system fueled primarily by precious metals . In the 18th century, the Bourbon reforms centralized mainland Spain. In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic occupation and the victorious Spanish War of independence , the following political divisions between liberals and absolutists led to

6716-400: The 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed, fracturing into a series of petty kingdoms ( Taifas ), often subject to the payment of a form of protection money ( Parias ) to the Northern Christian kingdoms, which otherwise undertook a southward territorial expansion. The capture of the strategic city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of

6862-520: The Asturian Court the order and ceremonies of the former Visigoth Kingdom. Around this time, the holy bones of James, son of Zebedee were declared to have been found in Galicia at Iria Flavia . They were considered authentic by a contemporary pope of Rome. However, during the Asturian period, the final resting place of Eulalia of Mérida , located in Oviedo, became the primary religious site and focus of devotion. Alfonso II also repopulated parts of Galicia , León and Castile and incorporated them into

7008-406: The Asturian monarchy fostered the Christianisation of this site, by constructing a church, to this day there are still pagan traditions linked with the Santa Cruz dolmen. It is said that xanas (Asturian fairies) appear to visitors, and magical properties are ascribed to the soil of the place. According to an inscription found in the Santa Cruz church, it was consecrated in 738 and was presided by

7154-401: The Asturian mountains after the Battle of Guadalete , where in the Gothic tradition of Theias he was elected by the other nobles as leader of the Astures . Pelayo's kingdom was initially a rallying banner for existing guerilla forces. In the progress of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the main cities and administrative centers fell into the hands of Muslim troops. Control of

7300-558: The Asturian mountains that was the origin of the kingdom of Asturias. Pelayo's leadership was not comparable to that of the Visigothic kings. The first kings of Asturias referred to themselves as "princeps" (prince) and later as "rex" (king), but the later title was not firmly established until the period of Alfonso II. The title of " princeps " had been used by the indigenous peoples of Northern Spain and its use appears in Galician and Cantabrian inscriptions, in which expressions like "Nícer, Príncipe de los Albiones" (on an inscription found in

7446-450: The Asturians took place: one of them headed by Visigothic king Wamba (reigned 672–680); the other by Muslim governor Musa bin Nusayr during the Umayyad conquest, who settled garrisons over its territory. The gradual formation of Asturian identity led to the creation of the Kingdom of Asturias after Pelagius' coronation and the victory over the Muslim garrisons in Covadonga in the early 8th century. The Chronica Albeldense , in narrating

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7592-413: The Carolingian Franks also got closer and more frequent, with Alfonso II's envoys presenting Charlemagne with spoils of war (campaign of Lisbon, 797). Alfonso II introduced himself as "an Emperor Charlemagne's man", suggesting some kind of suzerainty. During Alfonso II's reign, a probable reaction against indigenous traditions took place in order to strengthen his state and grip on power, by establishing in

7738-403: The Christian kingdoms. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads achieved temporary unity upon the Muslim-ruled territory, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and partially reversed some Christian territorial gains. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188, the first form (restricted to

7884-403: The Christian seizure of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the Catholic Monarchs is often considered the de facto unification of Spain as a nation-state . During the Age of Discovery , Spain pioneered the exploration of the New World , made the first circumnavigation of the globe and formed one of

8030-436: The Duchy of Cantabria (e.g., Amaya, Tricio and the City of Cantabria) were located, the descendants of Duke Peter withdrew from Rioja towards the Cantabrian area and in time controlled the destiny of the Kingdom of Asturias. Alfonso began the territorial expansion of the small Christian kingdom from its first seat in the Picos de Europa , advancing toward the west to Galicia and toward the south with continuous incursions in

8176-399: The Duero valley were probably not very different from the raids that the Astures made in the same area in the pre-Roman era. The initial Asturian expansion was carried out mainly through Cantabrian territory (from Galicia to Vizcaya ) and it was not until the reigns of Ordoño I and Alfonso III that the Kingdom of Asturias could take effective possession of the territories located south of

8322-399: The Galician peasants being attached to the pre-Christian cults: "Many demons, who were expelled from the heavens, settled in the sea, in the rivers, fountains and forests, and have come to be worshipped as gods by ignorant people. To them they do their sacrifices: in the sea they invoke Neptune, in the rivers the Lamias; in the fountains the Nymphs, and in the forests Diana." In the middle of

8468-407: The Iberian Peninsula, and secured the mountain passes, insulating the region from Moorish attack. Pelayo continued attacking those Berbers who remained north of the Asturian Mountains until they withdrew, but the latter mostly deserted their garrisons in response to the wider rebellion against Arab control from Cordoba. He then married his daughter, Ermesinda, to Alfonso, the son of Peter of Cantabria,

8614-411: The Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté ). The so-called Age of Discovery featured explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism . Precious metals , spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants brought to the metropole played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of

8760-441: The Kingdom of Asturias while establishing influence over parts of the Basques . The first capital city was Cangas de Onís , near the site of the battle of Cavadonga. Then in Silo's time, it was moved to Pravia . Alfonso II chose his birthplace of Oviedo as the capital of the kingdom (circa 789). Ramiro I began his reign by capturing several other claimants to the throne, blinding them, and then confining them to monasteries. As

8906-413: The Mediterranean. By the middle decades of a war- and plague -ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of

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9052-424: The Romans. The situation started to change during the Late Roman Empire and the early Middle Ages , when an Asturian identity gradually started to develop: the centuries-old fight between Visigothic and Suebian nobles may have helped to forge a distinct identity among the peoples of the Cantabrian districts. Several archaeological digs in the castro of La Carisa (municipality of Lena) have found remnants of

9198-425: The Rotensian Chronicle ( Crónica Rotense ). During the first decades, the Asturian dominion over the different areas of the kingdom was still lax and so it had to be continually strengthened through matrimonial alliances with other powerful families from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, Ermesinda, Pelayo's daughter, was married to Alfonso , Dux Peter of Cantabria 's son. Alfonso's son Fruela married Munia,

9344-400: The Russian front , led to the retreat of French imperial armies from the Iberian Peninsula in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII . During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz , was assembled to coordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812,

9490-438: The Saint Fructuoso order gradually settled in the Cantabrian mountains and began preaching the Christian doctrine. Christianisation progressed slowly in Asturias and did not necessarily supplant the ancient pagan divinities. As elsewhere in Europe, the new religion coexisted syncretically with features of the ancient beliefs. In the sixth century, bishop San Martín de Braga complained in his work De correctione rusticorum about

9636-438: The Second World War, although it was sympathetic to the Axis and provided the Nazi Wehrmacht with Spanish volunteers in the Eastern Front . The only legal party under Franco's dictatorship was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET y de las JONS), formed in 1937 upon the merging of the Fascist Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist traditionalists and to which the rest of right-wing groups supporting

9782-434: The Sella valley, where Cangas de Onís is located, there was a dolmen area dating back to the megalithic era , and was likely built between 4000 and 2000 BC. Chieftains from the surrounding regions were ritually buried here, particularly in the Santa Cruz dolmen. Such practices survived the Roman and Visigothic conquests. Even in the eighth century, King Favila was buried there, along with the bodies of tribal leaders. Although

9928-642: The Strait of Gibraltar. Upon the conclusion of the Granada War , the Nasrid Sultanate of Granada (the remaining Muslim-ruled polity in the Iberian Peninsula after 1246) capitulated in 1492 to the military strength of the Catholic Monarchs , and it was integrated from then on in the Crown of Castile. In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of their monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, respectively. In 1492, Jews were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion; as many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from Castile and Aragon . The year 1492 also marked

10074-468: The US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. US Cold War strategic priorities included the dissemination of American educational ideas to foster modernization and expansion. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation , a mass internal migration from rural areas to Madrid , Barcelona and

10220-418: The Umayyad Caliphate , and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centred on Córdoba . Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them Asturias , León , Castile , Aragon , Navarre , and Portugal ; made an intermittent southward military expansion and repopulation, known as the Reconquista , repelling Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with

10366-440: The Viking adventure in 971, when he launched an attack with a powerful army that defeated the Vikings in a bloody battle, and captured Gunrod, who was subsequently executed along with his followers. Although the earliest evidence of Christian worship in Asturias dates from the 5th century, evangelisation did not make any substantial progress until the middle of the sixth century, when hermits like Turibius of Liébana and monks of

10512-577: The Vikings' longships were captured on the beach and burned. A few months later, another fleet took Seville . The Vikings found in Seville a population which was still largely Gothic and Romano-Spanish. The Gothic elements were important in the Andalusian emirate. Musa ibn Musa , who took a leading part in the defeat of the Vikings at Tablada , belonged to a powerful Muwallad family of Gothic descent. Vikings returned to Galicia in 859, during

10658-609: The advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal and the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War . In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until

10804-800: The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World , during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in Castile and 1527 in Aragon, leading

10950-516: The arrival of the Muslims, Pelayo and his companions hurriedly crossed the Piloña and headed toward the narrow, easily defended valley of Mt. Auseva, taking refuge in one of its caves, Covadonga . After an attempted siege was abandoned due to the weather and the exposed position of the deep valley gorge, the troops are said to have exited through the high ports to the south, in order to continue their search-and-destroy mission against other rebels. There,

11096-580: The attacks on the Berbers increased. Munuza, feeling isolated in a region increasingly hostile, decided to abandon Gijón and headed for the Plateau ( Meseta ) through the Mesa Trail. However, he was intercepted and killed by Astures at Olalíes (in the current district of Grado ). Once he had expelled the Moors from the eastern valleys of Asturias, Pelayo attacked León , the main city in the northwest of

11242-541: The beginning of the 19th century. The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as a leading European power. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France,

11388-563: The bishops, the magnates, and 'the elected citizens of each city') of modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León ( Cortes of León ). The Kingdom of Castile , formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while

11534-596: The burning of churches, the 1932 failed coup d'état led by José Sanjurjo , the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders. On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms to modernize the country were initiated: a democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, political decentralization and women's right to vote . The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936: on 17 and 18 July, part of

11680-468: The central and southern regions, such as the Guadalquivir and Ebro valleys, presented few problems for the newcomers, who used the existing Visigothic administrative structures, ultimately of Roman origin. However, in the northern mountains, urban centers (such as Gijón ) were practically nonexistent and the submission of the country had to be achieved valley by valley. Muslim troops often resorted to

11826-547: The conflict between progressives and moderates ended in a weak early constitutional period. The 1868 Glorious Revolution was followed by the 1868–1874 progressive Sexenio Democrático (including the short-lived First Spanish Republic ), which yielded to a stable monarchic period, the Restoration (1875–1931). In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896

11972-494: The crown of León. It continued under that name until incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile in 1230, after Ferdinand III became joint king of the two kingdoms. The Vikings invaded Galicia in 844, but were decisively defeated by Ramiro I at Corunna . Many of the Vikings' casualties were caused by the Galicians' ballistas – powerful torsion-powered projectile weapons that looked rather like giant crossbows . Seventy of

12118-545: The customs barrier between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1717, followed by the introduction of new property taxes in the Aragonese kingdoms. The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The predominant economic policy was an interventionist one, and the State also pursued policies aiming towards infrastructure development as well as the abolition of internal customs and

12264-634: The definitive collapse of the Roman Mediterranean economic system from the time of the late Roman Empire due to Arab conquests, the continuous propagation of epidemics in the area, and the abandonment of al-Andalus by the Berber regiments after the revolt of 740–741. All this made possible the emergence of a sparsely populated and ill-organized area that insulated the Asturian kingdom from the Moorish assaults and allowed its progressive strengthening. The campaigns of kings Alfonso I and Fruela in

12410-436: The democratic system of the constitutional monarchy of a two-parties system. The July 1909 Tragic Week events and repression exemplified the social instability of the time. The La Canadiense strike in 1919 led to the first law limiting the working day to eight hours. After a period of Crown-supported dictatorship from 1923 to 1931, the first elections since 1923, largely understood as a plebiscite on Monarchy, took place:

12556-564: The development of railways and incipient capitalism developed in several areas of the country, particularly in Barcelona , as well as labour movement and socialist and anarchist ideas. The 1870 Barcelona Workers' Congress and the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition are good examples of this. In 1879, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was founded. A trade union linked to this party, Unión General de Trabajadores ,

12702-670: The district of Coaña) and " princeps cantabrorum " (over a gravestone of the municipality of Cistierna, in Leon). In fact, the Kingdom of Asturias originated as a focus of leadership over other peoples of the Cantabrian Coast that had resisted the Romans as well as the Visigoths and that were not willing to subject themselves to the dictates of the Umayyad Caliphate. Immigrants from the south, fleeing from Al-Andalus, brought

12848-711: The druids and the bards. Some historians think that Asterio held a religious office which combined elements of paganism and Christianity, while others think he may be linked to the Brythonic refugees that settled in Britonia (Galicia) in the 6th century. The Parrochiale Suevorum, an administrative document from the Kingdom of the Suebi , states that the lands of Asturias belonged to the Britonian See, and some features of Celtic Christianity spread to Northern Spain. This

12994-592: The end of the last ice age . The two largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celts . The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula. The Celts inhabited much of the interior and Atlantic sides of the peninsula. Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas; Phoenician-influenced Tartessians flourished in

13140-405: The first internal rebellion, led by Mauregato (783–788), occurred during those years. The rebellion removed Alfonso II from the throne (although he became king again later, from 791 to 842). This initiated a series of further rebellions whose principal leaders were members of ascending aristocratic palace groups and landowners who, based on the growing economic development of the area, tried to unseat

13286-592: The frontier between the Astures and the Cantabri further to the east: Julius Honorius stated in his Cosmographia that the springs of the river Ebro were located in the land of the Astures ( sub asturibus ). In any case, ethnic borders in the Cantabrian Mountains were not so important after that time, as the clan divisions that permeated the pre-Roman societies of all the peoples of Northern Iberia faded under similar political administrative culture imposed on them by

13432-569: The globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age . The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism , the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by

13578-469: The governorship of al-Hurr (717–718) and his return to Asturias triggered a revolt against the Muslim authorities of Gijón. The identity of Pelayo, however, is still an open subject, and that is only one of the theories. The leader of the Astures, whose origin is debated by historians, lived at that time in Bres, in the district of Piloña , and Munuza sent his troops there under al-Qama. After receiving word of

13724-562: The happenings of Covadonga, stated that "Divine providence brings forth the King of Asturias". The kingdom was established by the nobleman Pelayo ( Latin : Pelagius ), possibly an Asturian noble. No substantial movement of refugees from central Iberia could have taken place before the Battle of Covadonga , and in 714 Asturias was overrun by Musa bin Nusayr with no effective or known opposition. It has also been claimed that he may have retired to

13870-688: The initial invasion. The Kingdom of Asturias-León consolidated upon this territory. Other Christian kingdoms, such as Navarre and Aragon in the mountainous north, eventually surged upon the consolidation of counties of the Carolingian Marca Hispanica . For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian-controlled areas of the peninsula was along the Ebro and Douro valleys. Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have formed

14016-606: The intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca , which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and over Portugal at the Battle of Ponta Delgada in 1582, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in

14162-517: The introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian , Trajan , Theodosius I , and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE, and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century. Most of Spain's present languages and religions, as well as the basis of its laws, originate from this period. Starting in 170 CE, incursions of North-African Mauri in

14308-402: The kingdom of Asturias. This version, defended by some historians, who even named this historical phase as that of the "lazy kings", derived from the fact that, during it, there were apparently no important military actions against al-Andalus. However, there were relevant and decisive internal transformations, which provided a foundation for the strengthening and the expansion of Asturias. First,

14454-537: The kingdom some time after the battle of Covadonga to marry Ermesinda. Favila's death made his access to the throne possible as well as the rise of one of the most powerful families in the Kingdom of Asturias, the House of Cantabria . Initially, only Alfonso moved to the court in Cangas de Onís , but, after the progressive depopulation of the plateau and the Middle Valley of the Ebro , where the main strongholds of

14600-534: The kingdom was firmly established with Alfonso's recognition as king of Asturias by Charlemagne and the Pope . He conquered Galicia and the Basques. During his reign, the holy bones of St James the Great were declared to be found in Galicia, in Compostela (from Latin campus stellae , literally "the field of the star"). Pilgrims from all over Europe opened a way of communication between the isolated Asturias and

14746-516: The lands of Asturias at the beginning of the Christian era, most notably: Classical geographers give conflicting views of the ethnic description of the above-mentioned peoples. Ptolemy says that the Astures extended along the central area of current Asturias, between the Navia and Sella rivers, fixing the latter river as the boundary with the Cantabrian territory. However, other geographers placed

14892-542: The last phase of his military campaign, he reached the northwest of the Peninsula, where he gained control of the localities of Astorga and Gijón . In the latter city, he placed a small Berber detachment under a governor, Munuza , whose mission was to consolidate Muslim control over Asturias. As a guarantee of the submission of the region, some nobles – some argue that Pelayo was among them – had to surrender hostages from Asturias to Cordoba. The legend says that his sister

15038-609: The leading noble at the still-independent Visigothic duchy of Cantabria . His son Favila was married to Froiliuba. Recent archaeological excavations have found fortifications in Mount Homon and La Carisa (near the Huerna and Pajares valleys) dated between the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth centuries. The Berber fortifications included watchtowers and moats of almost two meters, in whose construction and defense many hundreds may have participated. That would have required

15184-467: The lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. On 1 April 1939, five months before the beginning of World War II , the rebel side led by Franco emerged victorious, imposing a dictatorship over the whole country. Thousands were imprisoned after the civil war in Francoist concentration camps . The regime remained nominally "neutral" for much of

15330-546: The locals were able to ambush the Muslim detachment, which was nearly annihilated. The few survivors continued south to the plains of Leon , leaving the maritime districts of Asturias exposed. The victory, relatively small, as only a few Berber soldiers were involved, resulted in great prestige for Pelayo and provoked a massive insurrection by other nobles in Galicia and Asturias who immediately rallied around him, electing him King or military Dux . Under Pelayo's leadership,

15476-503: The long history of monarchs and others at the sport, and the case is suspiciously similar to the Roman legend of their first king, Romulus , taken by a sudden storm. The immediate consequence was that the rule of the Asturians passed to his brother-in-law, ruler of the neighboring independent domain, through a marriage alliance to Fafila's sister. The female ties and rights of inheritance were still respected, and in later cases would allow

15622-445: The majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century. A series of Viking incursions raided the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries. The first recorded Viking raid on Iberia took place in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' ballistas ; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned by the troops of King Ramiro I of Asturias . In

15768-668: The military carried out a coup d'état that triumphed in only part of the country. The situation led to a civil war, in which the territory was divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government , that counted on outside support from the Soviet Union and Mexico (and from International Brigades ), and the other controlled by the putschists (the Nationalist or rebel faction ), most critically supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The Republic

15914-440: The minor toponymy was preserved in multiple districts; second, there are biological and cultural differences between the inhabitants of the Cantabrian zone and those of the central Plateau. What is true is that in the first half of the eighth century there was a process of rural growth that led to the abandonment of urban life and the organization of the population in small communities of shepherds. Several causes explain this process:

16060-633: The most relevant iconographic happening in the History of Mankind". Beatus develops in them a personal interpretation of the Book of Revelation , accompanied by quotes from the Old Testament , the Church Fathers and fascinating illustrations. In these Commentaries a new interpretation of the apocalyptic accounts is given: Babylon no longer represents the city of Rome, but Córdoba, seat of

16206-694: The name used by the Romans for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces during the Roman Empire . The etymological origin of the term Hispania is uncertain, although the Phoenicians referred to the region as i-shphan-im , possibly meaning "Land of Rabbits" or "Land of Metals". Jesús Luis Cunchillos  [ es ] and José Ángel Zamora, experts in Semitic philology at the Spanish National Research Council ( Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , CSIC), conducted

16352-604: The nobles benefited from feudalism . Muslim strongholds in the Guadalquivir Valley such as Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248) fell to Castile in the 13th century. The County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229, Majorca was conquered, so was Valencia in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the North-African Marinids established some enclaves around

16498-464: The north on foot about 35,000 years ago. The best-known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon . Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following

16644-507: The north; Portugal to the west; and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar to the south. Peninsular Spain has an area of 492,175  km and a population of 43,731,572. It contains 15 of the autonomous communities of Spain. Occupying the central part of Spain, it possesses much greater resources and better interior and exterior communications than other parts of the country. To redress this imbalance, Spanish residents outside

16790-485: The northern part of modern-day Portugal pushing the border roughly to the Douro valley, and between 868 and 881 it expanded further south reaching all the way to the Mondego . The year 878 saw a Muslim assault on the towns of Astorga and León . The expedition consisted of two detachments, one of which was decisively defeated at Polvoraria on the river Órbigo , with an alleged loss of 13,000 men. In 881, Alfonso took

16936-685: The offensive, leading an army deep into the Lower March, crossing the Tagus River to approach Mérida . Then miles from the city the Asturian army crossed the Guadiana River and defeated the Umayyad army on "Monte Oxifer", allegedly leaving 15,000 Muslim soldiers killed. Returning home, Alfonso devoted himself to building the churches of Oviedo and constructing one or two more palaces for himself. The Kingdom of Asturias transitioned into

17082-480: The only American colonies Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico . The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s, Carlism (a reactionary legitimist movement supportive of an alternative Bourbon branch), fought against the government forces supportive of Queen Isabella II 's dynastic rights in the Carlist Wars . Government forces prevailed, but

17228-686: The peninsula receive a state subsidy for transport to and from the peninsula. These are the municipalities with the highest population: Spain – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green) Spain , formally the Kingdom of Spain , is a country in Southwestern Europe with territories in North Africa . Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe , it

17374-411: The period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little social peace. Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa . It remained neutral during World War I . The heavy losses suffered by the colonial troops in conflicts in northern Morocco against Riffians forces brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy. Industrialisation,

17520-475: The pre-Roman populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates depending on what part of the peninsula they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania (the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported gold, wool , olive oil , and wine. Agricultural production increased with

17666-591: The province of Baetica took place. The Germanic Suebi and Vandals , together with the Sarmatian Alans , entered the peninsula after 409, weakening the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction over Hispania. The Suebi established a kingdom in north-western Iberia, whereas the Vandals established themselves in the south of the peninsula by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429. As

17812-581: The rebels also added. The name of " Movimiento Nacional ", sometimes understood as a wider structure than the FET y de las JONS proper, largely imposed over the later's name in official documents along the 1950s. After the war Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for

17958-404: The reduction of export tariffs. Projects of agricultural colonisation with new settlements took place in the south of mainland Spain. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first Coalition . The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in

18104-537: The regency or crown for their husbands too. Pelayo founded a dynasty in Asturias that survived for decades and gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries, until all of northwest Iberia was included by c.  775 . The reign of Alfonso II from 791 to 842 saw further expansion of the kingdom to the south, almost as far as Lisbon . Favila was succeeded by Alfonso I , who inherited the throne of Asturias thanks to his marriage to Pelayo's daughter, Ermesinda. The Albeldensian Chronicle narrated how Alfonso arrived in

18250-587: The reign of Ordoño I . Ordoño was at the moment engaged against his constant enemies, the Moors , but a count of the province, Don Pedro, attacked the Vikings and defeated them, inflicting severe losses upon them. Ordoño's successor, Alfonso III , strove to protect the coast against attacks from Vikings or Moors. In 968, Gunrod of Norway attacked Galicia with 100 ships and 8,000 warriors. They roamed freely for years and even occupied Santiago de Compostela. A Galician count of Visigothic descent, Gonzalo Sánchez , ended

18396-425: The reigning family of Don Pelayo. The important rebellions of Nepociano, Aldroito and Piniolo, during the reign of Ramiro I (842–50), are part of this process of economic, social, political and cultural transformation of the Asturian kingdom that occurred during the eighth and ninth centuries. Second, neighboring rebellions by Basques and Galicians failed, quashed by Asturian kings. These rebels took advantage of

18542-637: The remaining Muslim population to become nominally Christian Moriscos . About four decades after the War of the Alpujarras (1568–1571), over 300,000 moriscos were expelled , settling primarily in North Africa. The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained

18688-430: The siege in alliance with his brother-in-law García Iñiguez, the king of Pamplona, whose small realm was threatened by the eastwards expansion of the Asturian monarchy. In the battle that followed, Musa was defeated and lost valuable treasures in the process, some of which were sent as a gift to Charles the Bald of Francia. Seven days after the victory, Albelda fell and, as the chronicler records, "its warriors were killed by

18834-416: The southwest; and Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. Several cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians , and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician- Carthaginians expanded inland towards the meseta; however, due to the bellicose inland tribes, the Carthaginians settled on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. During

18980-415: The sovereignty to the people . Starting in 1809 the American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that put an end to the metropole's grip over the Spanish Main . Attempts to re-assert control proved futile with opposition not only in the colonies but also in the Iberian peninsula and army revolts followed. By the end of 1826,

19126-461: The stories of the Irish immrama . Asturian kings promoted Christianity and but also based their power on indigenous religious traditions, like other medieval European kings such as Penda of Mercia or Widukind , but also relied on Christian sacred scriptures (in particular, the books of Revelation , Ezekiel and Daniel ) and the Church Fathers . These furnished the new monarchy with its foundational myths. They did not need to draft new laws since

19272-492: The sword and the place itself was destroyed down to its foundations." Musa was wounded in the battle and died in 862/3; soon thereafter, Musa's son Lubb, governor of Toledo, submitted himself to the Asturian king for the rest of Ordoño's reign. When Alfonso III's sons forced his abdication in 910, the Kingdom of Asturias split into three separate kingdoms: León , Galicia and Asturias. The three kingdoms were eventually reunited in 924 (León and Galicia in 914, Asturias later) under

19418-403: The taking of hostages to ensure the pacification of the newly conquered territory. After the first incursion of Tarik , who reached Toledo in 711, the Yemeni viceroy of Ifriqiya , Musa bin Nusayr , crossed the Strait of Gibraltar the following year and carried out a massive operation of conquest that would lead to the capture of Mérida, Toledo, Zaragoza and Lerida, among other cities. During

19564-412: The throne. After a battle on a bridge over the river Narcea , Nepotian was captured in flight, blinded and then forced into monastic life. Early in his reign, in 844, Ramiro was faced with a Viking attack at a place called Farum Brecantium , believed to be present-day Corunna . He gathered an army in Galicia and Asturias and defeated the Vikings , killing many of them and burning their ships. In 859,

19710-425: The two animals. There is also the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna , meaning "edge" or "border", another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of the European continent. Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.3 million years ago. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia from

19856-492: The unrest in the central and Eastern part of Asturias, and, on occasion, provided help to one or another contender for the throne: by providing refuge to Alfonso II in Alava after his flight; the support for Nepociano's rebellion in some Asturian areas; and the adherence of Galicians to the cause of Ramiro I. Finally, other evidence suggests important internal transformations occurred during this time. Rebellions of freedmen ( serbi , servilis orico and libertini , according to

20002-419: The western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified; the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity and assimilation into the evolving Roman culture. The Byzantines established an occidental province, Spania , in the south, with the intention of reviving Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania

20148-501: Was Alfonso I's bastard son with a Moorish woman, and attributes to him the tribute of a hundred maidens. He was succeeded by Bermudo I, Aurelio's brother. He was called "the deacon", although he probably received only minor vows. Bermudo abdicated after a military defeat, ending his life in a monastery. It was not until King Alfonso II (791–842) that the kingdom was firmly established, after Silo's subjugated Gallaecia and confirmed territorial gains in western Basque Country . Ties with

20294-456: Was asked for, and a marriage alliance sought with the local Berber leader. Later on, Munuza would try to do the same at another mountain post in the Pyrenees, where he rebelled against his Cordoban Arab superiors. The Berbers had been converted to Islam barely a generation earlier, and were considered second rank to Arabs and Syrians. The most commonly accepted hypothesis for the battle (epic as described by later Christian Asturian sources, but

20440-421: Was born a man, and was adopted by God and acquired a divine dimension only after his passion and resurrection . Beatus refuted this theological position, championed by such figures as Elipando , bishop of Toledo . The adoptionist theology had its roots in Gothic Arianism , which denied the divinity of Jesus, and in Hellenistic religion , with examples of heroes like Heracles who, after their death attained

20586-443: Was elected king after Silo's death, but Mauregato organized a strong opposition and forced the new king to withdraw to lands in Alava (his mother, Munia, was Basque), obtaining the Asturian throne. The king, despite the bad reputation attributed by history, had good relations with Beatus of Liébana , perhaps the most important cultural figure of the kingdom, and supported him in his fight against adoptionism . Legend says that Mauregato

20732-433: Was founded in 1888. In the anarcho-syndicalist trend of the labour movement in Spain, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was founded in 1910 and Federación Anarquista Ibérica in 1927. Catalanism and Vasquism, alongside other nationalisms and regionalisms in Spain, arose in that period: the Basque Nationalist Party formed in 1895 and Regionalist League of Catalonia in 1901. Political corruption and repression weakened

20878-418: Was not conquest but pillage and tribute. In the summers of 792, 793 and 794 several Muslim attacks plundered Alava , and the heart of the Asturian kingdom, reaching up to the capital, Oviedo . In one of the retreats, Alfonso inflicted a severe defeat on the Muslims in the swampy area of Lutos. When Alfonso II died, Ramiro I (842–50) staged a coup against the Count of the Palace Nepotian , who had taken

21024-447: Was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of non-intervention . General Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the rebels on 1 October 1936. An uneasy relationship between the Republican government and the grassroots anarchists who had initiated a partial social revolution also ensued. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides . The war claimed

21170-424: Was reunited under Visigothic rule . From 711 to 718, as part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate which had conquered North Africa from the Byzantine Empire , nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Muslims from across the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. Only a small area in the mountainous north of the peninsula stood out of the territory seized during

21316-442: Was succeeded by Aurelius (768–74), son of Fruela of Cantabria and Peter of Cantabria's grandson, who would establish the court in what is today the district of San Martín del Rey Aurelio , which previously belonged to Langreo. Silo (774–83) succeeded Aurelio after his death, and transferred the court to Pravia . Silo was married to Adosinda , one of the daughters of Alfonso I (and therefore, Pelayo's granddaughter). Alfonso II

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