Conquest for a Millennium – Part 1

In between a mountain range where two super continents meet, lies a peninsula that was in many ways a graveyard of empires. Two quick successful conquests were soon followed by not just the loss of the peninsula, but also the entire empire as well. It was also a hard nut to crack for many wanna be empires. Three attempts to conquer it completely lasted well over a century. Three other empires almost conquered the peninsula but their hold over the region fell away quickly along with the rest of their empire.

Towards the western end of mainland Europe lies the peninsula in question. The Iberian peninsula, named perhaps after the River Iberus (now known as River Ebro) that flows in its north east, is separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees mountains. Towards its west lies the Cantabrian mountains. In the south is the Baetic System with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. Spain and Portugal carve out the largest parts of the peninsula for themselves, while the tiny nation of Andorra exists entirely within the Pyrenees mountains. France extends a bit into the peninsula in the north, while Gibraltar in the southern tip is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.

The first “Empire” that failed and collapsed

Until early third century BC, the Iberian peninsula was filled with many tribes calling it their home. The great seafarers of the time, the Phoenicians and the Greeks, also made their presence felt with intermittent settlements along the coastline. But towards the middle of the century, the power equations began to rearrange after the rivalry of the once Phoenician city of Carthage and Rome started to increase. Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca looked to develop Iberia as a base of operations against Rome, expanding the hold Carthage had in the peninsula. Carthaginian power in Iberia peaked under his son, Hannibal, who attacked the Roman Republic by land. But in response, Rome launched an attack on Iberia by sea and later directly on Carthage, forcing Hannibal to return. Carthage’s territorial ambitions crumbled after their defeat to Rome, who reduced it to a weak city, before finally assimilating it half a century later in 146 BC.

The first gradual conquest

The Roman conquest of Iberia began with their war against Carthage in 218 BC. Once Carthage was weakened, they began to extend their influence in the region. But unlike elsewhere, the progress was slow, perhaps because the region posed no immediate threat to Rome. In 80 BC, Roman general Quintus Sertorius made the peninsula his base, as he rebelled against the Republic’s autocratic leadership. Though Sertorius was finally defeated, it still took much longer for Rome to finally conquer the peninsula fully. In 19 BC, Marcus Agrippa, the right hand man of Emperor Augustus, finally defeated the Cantabri in the north west, completing the nearly two century long Roman conquest of the Iberian peninsula.

The second gradual conquest

Rome held on to the Iberian peninsula for over four centuries. But as Roman power began to collapse in western Europe in the fifth century AD, the peninsula was host to many Germanic tribes that had crossed into Roman territory. The Suebi, the Visigoths and the Vandals were the chief among them, although the Vandal stay was brief after they moved further south to Africa, making Carthage their capital. The Visigoths were the most powerful among them having sacked Rome in 410. By the time Roman power finally collapsed, the Visigoths controlled most of the Iberian peninsula and extended further north of the Pyrenees, where their capital stood in Toulouse. The Suebi, however, remained in control of most of the western coast.

The Visigothic cause received a huge blow when the Franks defeated them in 507 capturing Aquitaine and Toulouse. Later internal strife led to the return of the Romans, albeit of Constantinople origin, in the mid 6th century. But it also led to a phase of recovery for the Visigoths who defeated the Suebi in 585. By 621, they had evicted the Byzantines as well completing their two century long conquest of the Iberian peninsula.

However, the Visigothic kingdom of Iberia did not last more than a century after this.

The first Empire that succeeded quickly, but also (almost) collapsed quickly

In 711, the Umayyad Caliphate invaded Iberia. With its base in Damascus, in the distant Levant, the Caliphate had already gained control Egypt and North Africa. Unlike their predecessors, the Umayyads made short work of Iberian resistance and by 718 they had displaced the Visigoths as the ruling power of the peninsula. In the next decade or so, they attempted to make further inroads into Europe but was stopped by the Franks. However, before they could stabilize their rule in Iberia, the Umayyads were overthrown in Damascus. The Abbasids replaced the Umayyads, ruling from further east in Asia. For a brief period of time, the distant Iberian peninsula had to deal with a period of instability without central rule.

However, an Umayyad prince managed to find way to Iberia from Damascus. He was able to rein in the opposing factions and create an Emirate under him. His rule did not include the entire peninsula since Catholic princes had managed to gain some part of the peninsula with Frankish support. The Emirate (and later Caliphate) of Córdoba lasted almost 300 years but lost land gradually to the Catholic nations.

The third gradual conquest (Reconquista)

The centuries long reconquest of the Iberian peninsula by Catholic rulers started at its earnest with the Kingdom of Asturias, situated north of the Cantabrian mountains. In the east, the Franks from the north created a marcher land to defend their kingdom from the Emirate in the south. Somewhere in between was the Kingdom of Pamplona, which became a buffer state between the Emirate and the Frankish realm.

In the second half of the ninth century, Asturias expanded beyond the Cantabrian mountains, shifting its base to León. They also expanded along the western coast reaching Porto (Oporto) creating a set of three nations, sometimes divided amongst family, sometimes united – León, Asturias and Galicia. The Frankish hold in the Pyrenees gradually weakened after the extinction of the Carolingian ruling family. The Frankish marcher lords attempted to be independent but ran into the Kingdom of Pamplona and the County of Barcelona.

During this time three Iberian counties came into prominence. The County of Portugal was formed in the southern frontier of Galicia, while the County of Castile was formed in the western frontier of León. The third was the County of Aragon, which was one of the key regions absorbed by the Kingdom of Pamplona from among the Frankish marches.

The Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed in 1031 and was divided into many independent taifas. In the meantime, Pamplona was able to carve out an empire annexing Castile and occupying León in the west, while assimilating another Frankish march in the east – County of Ribagorza. However, the enlarged Pamplona got divided into four after their king’s death – Navarre (Pamplona), Ribagorza (and Sobrarbe), Castile and Aragon. Aragon quickly annexed Ribagorza and Sobrarbe while Castile conquered León (along with Asturias, Galicia and Portugal) in 1037.

Thus in 1037, apart from the County of Barcelona, Catholic Iberia was ruled by the sons of King Sancho of Pamplona, while Muslim Iberia was divided into many unstable taifas. Although it may seem that the stage was perfect for the completion of Reconquista, it had not even reached the halfway mark.

To be continued … (Part 2) (Part 3)

In between a mountain range were two super continents meet, lies a peninsula that was in many ways a graveyard of empires.

Quick successful conquests were soon followed by the collapse of the empire, while for others it took centuries of conquest.

Story in the evening … pic.twitter.com/kAi3KrVCIb

— Ranjith Kollannur (@Arby_K) May 22, 2022