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By the second half of the ninth century, three political subdivisions (marches) existed in the eastern Pyrenees: Toulouse (green), Gothia (blue), and Hispania (pink). At times they were placed under one authority and at other times not.

The Marca Hispanica (Hispanic or Spanish March, also March of Barcelona) was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, created by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus and the Frankish Kingdom. It was known as the Upper Mark by the Caliphate to the south. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Buffer Zone is one of the neighborhoods of North Nazimabad Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. ... Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigothic kingdom in 462, when Septimania was ceded to Theodoric II, king of the Visigoths. ... Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ... Events Leo III becomes pope Earliest recorded Viking raid on Ireland. ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... For other uses, see moor. ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ...

In its broader meaning, Marca Hispanica refers to a group of early Iberian lordships or counts created by the Franks, of which Andorra is the sole autonomous survivor. As time passed, these lordships merged or gained independence from Frankish imperial rule.

Geographical context

The area broadly corresponds to the region between the Pyrenees and the Ebro River. The local population of the March was diverse, including Iberians, Basques, Jews and Goths who had been conquered or subjugated by the Muslim emirate or the Frankish Empire to the south and north. The territory changed with the fortunes of the Empires and the feudal ambitions of those, whether the Counts or Walis, appointed to administrate the counties. Eventually the rulers and people of the March became autonomous and claimed independence. Out of the welter of counties in the region emerged the principalities of Navarre, Aragon, and Catalonia.

Counties that at various times formed part of the March included: Pamplona, Sangüesa, Jaca (Aragón), Sobrarbe, Ribagorza, Pallars, Urgell, Cerdanya, Conflent, Roussillon, Vallespir, Perelada, Empúries, Besalú, Ausona (Osona), Barcelona and Girona. Pamplona (Basque: Iruñea or Iruña) is the capital city of Navarre, Spain. ... Sangüesa is a town in Navarra, Spain, 44,5 kilometers from Pamplona. ... Jaca is also another name for the jackfruit. ... Sobrarbe is one of the comarcas (counties) in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. ... Ribagorza is one of the historical Aragonese counties of Spain, corresponding to the present-day counties of Sobrarbe and Pallars. ... Pallars is one of the historical Catalan counties, collindant with the county of Ribagorça and the county of Urgell. ... Urgell (Spanish: Urgel) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. ... Map of Baixa Cerdanya in Catalonia Cerdanya (French Cerdagne) is one of the historical Catalan counties in the eastern Pyrenees, bordering the county of Alt Urgell. ... Conflent is a Catalan comarca in North Catalonia, and currently under French administration. ... Coat of arms of Roussillon - see also senyera Flag of Roussillon Mount Canigó (Canigou) (2785m), a Catalan landmark Roussillon (French: Roussillon, pronounced ; Catalan: Rosselló, pronounced ) is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrén... Vallespir is a Catalan comarca, in North Catalonia and currently under French administration. ... The County of Empúries was a Medieval county centered around the town of Empúries, and that bear enclosed the region of Peralada. ... Besalú in 2004 Besalú is a medieval town in the Catalan comarca of Garrotxa, in Catalonia. ... Osona (also, in the Early Middle Ages, Ausona) is one of the historical Catalan counties and the corresponding bishopric, whose territory was roughly the current comarca of Osona, capital Vic. ... The now-extinct title of Count of Barcelona was, through much of its history, merged with that of King of Aragon; see also List of Aragonese Monarchs. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ...

Origins

The Marca Hispanica developed as the result of three generations of fighting by the Franks and Muslims (Moors) in the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslim invasions reached the Pyrenees in the Iberian Peninsula. In 719 Al-Samh ibn Malik surged up the east coast overwhelming the remaining Visigoth kingdom of Septimania and establishing a fortified base at Narbonne. Control was secured by offering the local population generous terms, inter-marriage between ruling families or treaties. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... The Umayyad conquest of Hispania (711–718) commenced when an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Moors, the Muslim inhabitants of Northwest Africa, invaded Visigothic Christian Hispania (Portugal and Spain) in the year 711. ... Events The church of Nubia transfers its allegiance from the Eastern Orthodox Church to the Coptic Church. ... Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani (Arabic: السمح بن مالك الخولاني) was the Arab governor general of the Muslim occupied region of the Iberian Peninsula called Al-Andalus in the beginning of the 8th century. ... Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigothic kingdom in 462, when Septimania was ceded to Theodoric II, king of the Visigoths. ... Narbonne (Narbona in Catalan and in Occitan, commonly Narbo especially when referring to the Ancient Rome era) is a town and commune of southwestern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. ...

Further expansion was halted by defeat in the Battle of Toulouse (721). Wālis were installed in Girona and Barcelona. The Muslim forces however continued to raid their Frankish neighbours to the north, reaching as far as Autun. Combatants Aquitanians Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Odo of Aquitaine Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani The Battle of Toulouse (721) was a victory of a Frankish army led by Duke Odo of Aquitaine over an Umayyad army besieging the city of Toulouse, and led by the governor of Al-Andalus, Al... Wāli is an administrative title that was used during the Muslim Empire to designate governers of administrative divisions. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Autun is a town in the Saône-et-Loire département in Burgundy, France, and has a history which dates back to Roman times. ...

Peace was made in 730 between the victor at Toulouse the Duke of Aquitaine and 'Uthman ibn Naissa (Munuza), the Berber deputy governor of Narbonne. A peace treaty was sealed with the marriage of the Duke’s daughter to Munuza. However, when Munuza rebelled against his Andalusian masters he was defeated, and another period of Muslim expansion commenced. Events Emperor Leo III of the Byzantine Empire orders the destruction of all icons. ... Coat of arms of the duchy of Aquitaine. ... Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. ...

In 732, Muslim forces again attacked Gaul and Aquitaine and secured initial victories including the sacking of Bordeaux. The Duke of Aquitaine failed to secure support from his Frankish overlord Charles Martel who wanted to re-impose control over the dukedom. At the Battle of Tours, Charles defeated the Muslim army and repelled the invasion. Control was re-imposed by the Carolingian monarchs who now sought to secure the southern boundary of their kingdom from further Muslim attacks. Events October 10 - Battle of Tours: Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors, stopping the Muslims from spreading into Western Europe. ... For other uses, see Bordeaux (disambiguation). ... Charles Martel (or, in modern English, Charles the Hammer) (23 August 686 – 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace, ruling the Franks in the name of a titular King, and proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother... Combatants Carolingian Franks Umayyad Caliphate Commanders Charles Martel ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi† Strength Possibly 20,000-30,000 Unknown, but the earliest Muslim sources, still after the era of the battle[1] mention a figure of 80,000. ...

Further campaigns in 736–737 drove the Moors further south, although Charles failed to re-take Narbonne which was defended by both its Muslim and its Visigoth citizens. However, in 759 Narbonne fell to Pippin Charles’ son. The Kegon school of Buddhism arrives in Japan via Korea, when Rōben invites the Korean monk Simsang to lecture, and formally founds Japans Kegon tradition in the Tōdaiji temple. ... Events Favila becomes king of Asturias after Pelayos death Births Emperor Kammu of Japan (d. ... Events The Franks capture Narbonne; the Saracens are completely driven out of Japanese poet Otomo no Yakamochi compiled the first Japanese poetry anthology Manyoshu. ... Pippin the Younger Pippin the Younger or Pepin[1] (714 – September 24, 768), often known under the mistranslation Pippin the Short or the ordinal Pippin III, was the king of the Franks from 751 to 768 and is best known for being the father of Charlemagne, or Charles the Great. ...

Although his attempts to extend the defensive boundaries of his kingdom beyond Septimania ended when he died, his son Charlemagne finished the job, creating a strong barrier state between the Umayyad Emirate/Caliphate of Iberia, and the Frankish Kingdom. Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigothic kingdom in 462, when Septimania was ceded to Theodoric II, king of the Visigoths. ... Entrance to the emirs palace in Bukhara. ... For main article see: Caliphate The Caliph (pronounced khaleef in Arabic) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Sharia. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ...

Creation

The Franks created the Marca Hispanica by conquering former Visigoth states which had been captured by the Muslims or had become allied with them.

Counties of Marca Hispania.

The first county to be conquered was Roussillon (with Vallespir) in around 760. In 785 the county of Girona (with Besalú) to the south of the Pyrenees was taken. Ribagorza and Pallars were linked to Tolosa and were added to this county around 790. Urgell and Cerdanya were added in 798. The first records of the county of Empúries (with Perelada) are from 812 but the county was probably under Frankish control before 800. Coat of arms of Roussillon - see also senyera Flag of Roussillon Mount Canigó (Canigou) (2785m), a Catalan landmark Roussillon (French: Roussillon, pronounced ; Catalan: Rosselló, pronounced ) is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrén... Vallespir is a Catalan comarca, in North Catalonia and currently under French administration. ... Events Maya civilization city of Dos Pilas is abandoned. ... Events Widukind and many other Saxons are baptized. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ... Besalú in 2004 Besalú is a medieval town in the Catalan comarca of Garrotxa, in Catalonia. ... Ribagorza is one of the historical Aragonese counties of Spain, corresponding to the present-day counties of Sobrarbe and Pallars. ... Pallars is one of the historical Catalan counties, collindant with the county of Ribagorça and the county of Urgell. ... Tolosa can mean several things: Tolosa is the Latin and Occitan name for the town of Toulouse, France. ... Urgell (Spanish: Urgel) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. ... Map of Baixa Cerdanya in Catalonia Cerdanya (French Cerdagne) is one of the historical Catalan counties in the eastern Pyrenees, bordering the county of Alt Urgell. ... Events Coenwulf of Mercia invades Kent, deposes and imprisons king Eadbert Praen and makes his own brother Cuthred king. ... Greek amphora found at Empúries Empúries (Catalan name; in Spanish: Ampurias) is a town on the Mediterranean coast, of the Catalan comarca of Baix Empordà. It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of Ἐμπόριον ( Emporion — market; see also List of traditional Greek... Events Births April 12 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Shia Imam (d. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ...

After a series of struggles the County of Barcelona (with Ausona) was taken by Frankish forces in 801. A number of castles were established in Aragón between 798 and 802. Pamplona (and Sangüesa) were briefly controlled by the Franks until 817, when it was lost to Basque and Christian Iberian forces. The date Sobrarbe was incorporated into the March is unsure. History of Spain series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain - Visigoths - Al-Andalus - Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Transition to Democracy Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History... Osona (also, in the Early Middle Ages, Ausona) is one of the historical Catalan counties and the corresponding bishopric, whose territory was roughly the current comarca of Osona, capital Vic. ... Events December 28 - Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona. ... Capital Zaragoza Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47 719 km²  9,4% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 11th  1 217 514  2,9%  25,51/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  Aragonese  aragonés Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 ISO 3166-2 AR Parliamentary representation  â€“ Congress seats  â€“ Senate... Events Coenwulf of Mercia invades Kent, deposes and imprisons king Eadbert Praen and makes his own brother Cuthred king. ... Events 31 October - Irene deposed as Emperoress of Byzantium and replaced by Nicephorus I. She is banished to Lesbos. ... Pamplona (Basque: Iruñea or Iruña) is the capital city of Navarre, Spain. ... Sangüesa is a town in Navarra, Spain, 44,5 kilometers from Pamplona. ... Events Louis the Pious divides his empire among his sons. ... Language(s) Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religion(s) Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: ) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of north-central Spain and southwestern... Sobrarbe is one of the comarcas (counties) in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain. ...

After the loss of Pamplona (817) and Aragón (820) the March was often called Gothia after the Visigoth population. In addition, as the Counts often held land in Septimania, the whole region was sometimes referred to as Septimania.

Structure

The local population of the Marches was diverse including Hispano-Romans, Iberians, Basques, Jews and Goths who had been conquered or subligated by the Muslim or Frankish Empires to the north and south. The area changed with the fortunes of the Empires and the feudal ambitions of the Counts or Walis appointed to administrate the Counties. As Frankish imperial power waned, the rulers of the March became independent fiefs. The region would later become part of the principalities of Navarre, Aragon, and Catalonia.

Charlemagne's son Louis took Barcelona from its Moorish ruler in 801, thus securing Frankish power in the borderland between the Franks and the Moors. The Counts of Barcelona then became the principal representatives of Frankish authority in the Hispanic March. The March included various outlying smaller territories, each ruled by a lesser Miles with his armed retainers and who theoretically owed allegiance through the Count to the Emperor. This oath of loyalty weakened with each successive Carolingian and, later, Ottonian successor. The rulers were called Counts, when they governed several Counties they often took the name Ducem (Duke). When the County formed the border with the Muslim Kingdom the Frankish title, Marquis was chosen. In the counties occupying the area of modern Catalonia, each Mile incorporated a catlá ("castellan" or lord of the castle) in an area largely defined by a day's horse ride. The region became dotted with these strongholds and became known by their name as "Catalunya"^{[citation needed]}. The same thing occurred later in Castile. Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Events December 28 - Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona. ... History of Spain series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain - Visigoths - Al-Andalus - Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Transition to Democracy Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History... An emperorrefers to Nick Herringshaw, a title, empress may only indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort. ... Also see: France in the Middle Ages. ... Ottonian dynasty is a name sometimes given to a ruling dynasty of German kings, sometimes regarded as the first dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, (though Charlemagne is commonly viewed as the original founder. ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Spanish and Catalan In Val dAran, also Aranese. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

Counties formed in the 9th century at the eastern end of Pyrenees as an appanages of the Counts of Barcelona included Cerdanya, Girona and Urgell. As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Pic de Bugatetin the Néouvielle Natural Reserve Central Pyrenees For the mountains in Victoria, Australia, see Pyrenees (Victoria). ... The system of appanage has greatly influenced the territorial construction of France and explains the flag of many provinces of France. ... Map of Baixa Cerdanya in Catalonia Cerdanya (French Cerdagne) is one of the historical Catalan counties in the eastern Pyrenees, bordering the county of Alt Urgell. ... This article is about the Spanish city. ... Urgell (Spanish: Urgel) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. ...

In the early 9th century, Charlemagne began issuing a new kind of land grant, the Aprisio, which reallocated land previously held by the imperial crown fisc in deserted or abandoned areas. This included special rights and immunities that allowed considerable independence from the imperial control. Historians have interpreted the aprisio both as an early form of feudalism and in economic and military terms as a mechanism to entice settlers to a depopulated border region. Such self-sufficient landholders would aid the Counts in providing armed men to defend the Frankish frontier. Aprisio grants (the first ones were in Septimania) were given personnally by the Carolingian king, so that they reinforced loyalty to central power, to counterbalance the local power exercised by the Marcher Counts. Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc (Root word of fiscal) applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the... A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary, or of a different nature. ... Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigothic kingdom in 462, when Septimania was ceded to Theodoric II, king of the Visigoths. ...

However poor communications and a distant central power allowed basic feudal entities to develop often self-sufficient and heavily agrarian. Each was ruled by a small hereditary military elite. These developments in Catalonia follow similar patterns in other borderlands and Marches. For example the first Count of Barcelona Bera was appointed by the King in 801), however subsequently strong heirs of Counts were able to inherit the title such as Sunifred, fl. 844–848. This gradually became custom until Countship became hereditary (for Wifred the Hairy in 897). Eventually the County was declared independent (by Borrell II in 985)^{[citation needed]}. Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... MAPLESTORY BERA IS THE SMEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!1one!!! Bera may refer to: Bera (Bible King), king of Sodom in Genesis 14. ... Events December 28 - Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona. ... Sunifred and its variants — Sunyer in Catalan and Suñer, Suniario, or Sunifredo in Spanish — is the name of four figures important Catalonian history. ... Events Succession of Pope Sergius II (844 - 847). ... Events The Borobudur is completed. ... Wifred the Hairy was the Count of Barcelona ( 873–898) for whom the countship was formally made a hereditaty title. ... Events January - the Cadaver Synod July/August- Pope Stephen VII dies and is succeeded by Pope Romanus. ... Borrel II (died 992) was Count of Barcelona, Gerona, and Ausona from 947 and Count of Urgel from 948. ... Events Barcelona sacked by Al-Mansur Greenland colonized by Icelandic Viking Erik the Red (the date is according to legend but has been established as at least approximately correct – see History of Greenland) Lady Wulfruna founded the town that later became the city of Wolverhampton Births Al-Hakim bi-Amr...

At each stage the de facto situation precedes the de jure assertion. The law regularising the existing facts. Certain Counts aspired to the Frankish (Germanic) title "Margrave of the Hispanic March". A "Margrave" is a Graf ("Count") of the March. The early History of Andorra in the Pyrenees provides a fairly typical example of a lordship of the region, and is the only modern survivor of the Hispanic March. Andorra is the last independent survivor of the Marca Hispanica, the buffer states created by Charlemagne to keep the Islamic Moors from advancing into Christian France. ...

External links

• Archibald R. Lewis, "The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050"
• Ian Meadows, "The Arabs in Occitania"