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Encyclopedia > Spania
The Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent under Justinian I. Justinian's inherited empire in pink with his conquests, including Spania, in orange. It is the westernmost province.
The Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent under Justinian I. Justinian's inherited empire in pink with his conquests, including Spania, in orange. It is the westernmost province.

History of Spain series
Prehistoric Iberia
Roman Hispania
Medieval Spain
Visigothic Kingdom
Suevic Kingdom
Byzantine Spania
al-Andalus
Reconquista
Kingdom of Spain
Age of Expansion
Age of Enlightenment
Reaction and Revolution
First Spanish Republic
The Restoration
Second Spanish Republic
Spanish Civil War
Spain under Franco
Transition to Democracy
Modern Spain
Topics
Economic History
Military History
Social History

Spania (Latin: Provincia Spaniae) was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 552 until 624[1] in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was a part of the conquests of Justinian I in an effort to restore the Western Roman Empire. Image File history File links Justinien_527-565. ... Image File history File links Justinien_527-565. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Alhambra-petit. ... This article describes the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula from the appearance of the first human populations until the arrival of the Phoenicians and the first recorded contacts with other European cultures. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Iberian Peninsula. ... After the disorders of the passage of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 409, the history of Medieval Spain begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arian Visigoths (507 – 711), who were converted to Catholicism with their king Reccared in 587. ... Migrations The Visigoths (Western Goths) were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe (the Ostrogoths being the other). ... The Suebi or Suevi were a Germanic people whose origin was near the Baltic Sea . ... ... 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). ... For other senses of this word, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... During the reign of Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain), who ascended the thrones of the kingdoms of Spain after the death of his grandfather Ferdinand, Habsburg Spain controlled territory ranging from Philippines to the Netherlands, and was, for a time, Europes greatest power. ... The Age of Enlightenment came to Spain in the eighteenth century with the accession of King Philip V, the first Spanish king of the French Bourbon dynasty. ... 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 Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History Spain in the... Flag of the Spanish First Republic The First Spanish Republic lasted only two years, between 1873 and 1874. ... The Restoration was the name given to the period that began in December 29, 1874 after the First Spanish Republic ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup detat by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second... Anthem El Himno de Riego Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Government Republic President  - 1931–1936 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - 1936–1939 Manuel Azaña Legislature Congress of Deputies Historical era Interwar period  - Monarchy abolished April 14, 1931  - Spanish Civil War 1936–1939  - Surrender to Franco April 1, 1939 Currency Spanish peseta... It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ... The Spanish Civil War officially ended on 1 April 1939, the day Francisco Franco announced the end of hostilities. ... The Spanish transition to democracy or new Bourbon restoration was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Economic history of Spain covers the development of the Spanish economy over the course of its history. ... The military history of Spain includes the history of battles fought in the territory of modern Spain, as well as her former and current overseas possessions and territories, and the military history of the Spanish people regardless of geography. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Map of the Roman Empire, with the provinces, after 120. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 17th  4,992 km²  1. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus The Western Roman Empire in 395. ...

Contents

Conquest and foundation

The conquest of the Vandal kingdom in Tunisia and reestablishment of the Byzantine province of Mauretania by Belisarius was accomplished in 534 and brought the Byzantine military in contact with the Visigoths of Spain. Despite his efforts, the Vandal king Gelimer had been unable to effect an alliance with the Gothic king Theudis, who probably took the opportunity of the collapse of Vandal authority to conquer Ceuta (Septem) across the Straits of Gibraltar in 533, probably to prevent the Byzantines from using it as a launch point for an attack on Spain. This citadel was reconquered by Belisarius the next year, but Spain was not invaded. Ceuta, which was briefly recaptured by the Visigoths in 540 and lost through a subterfuge,[2] became a part of Mauretania. It was an important base for reconnaissance of Spain in the years leading up to the peninsula's invasion by Justinian's forces in 552. The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe which entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. ... In Antiquity, Mauretania was originally an independent Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa (named after the Maure tribe, after whom the Moors were named), corresponding to western Algeria, and northern Morocco. ... // Flavius Belisarius (505(?) – 565) was one of the greatest generals of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most acclaimed generals in history. ... Migrations The Visigoths (Western Goths) were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe (the Ostrogoths being the other). ... Gelimer (480-553), King of the Vandals and Alans from 530 to 534, was the last ruler of the North African Kingdom of the Vandals. ... Theudis (in Spanish, Teudis) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania from 531-548 CE. (Theudis is the name assigned him by Isidore of Seville, his real name was probably Theodoric. ... Capital Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked  28 km²   Population  â€“ Total (2006)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked  75,861    2,709. ... The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space. ...


In 550, in the reign of Agila, Spain was suddenly troubled by two major revolts. The citizens of Córdoba rebelled against Gothic or Arian rule and Agila was roundly defeated, his son killed, and the royal treasure lost. He himself retreated to Mérida. The date of the other major revolt cannot be arrived at precisely. Either at the commencement of his reign (549) or as late as 551, a nobleman named Athanagild took Seville, capital of Baetica, and presumed to rule as king in opposition to Agila. Exactly who it was who approached the Byzantines for assistance and when is also disputed; the primary sources are divided.[3] What is known is that Justinian was approached by one of the claimants to the throne and prepared an army and sent it from Constantinople under Liberius. This army was underway at the time when Jordanes concluded his Getica (usually dated 550 or 551): Agila (Agil or Akhila) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania (549–554). ... Location Coordinates : , , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Córdoba (Spanish) Spanish name Córdoba Founded 8th century BC Postal code 140xx Website http://www. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... Places named Mérida or Merida include: Mexico Mérida, Yucatán, capital city of the state of Yucatán Philippines Mérida, Leyte, a municipality in Leyte province Spain Mérida, Spain, capital city of the Extremadura Autonomous Community Venezuela Mérida, Mérida, capital city of the state... Athanagild (d. ... NO8DO (I was not abandoned) Location Coordinates : ( ) Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Sevilla (Spanish) Spanish name Sevilla Founded 8th-9th century BC Postal code 41001-41080 Website http://www. ... Roman province of Hispania Baetica, 120 AD In Hispania, which in Greek is called Iberia, there were three Imperial Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica in the south, Lusitania, corresponding to modern Portugal, in the west, and Hispania Tarraconensis in the north and northeast. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Petrus Marcellinus Felix Liberius (ca. ... The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ...

He [Theudis] was succeeded by Agil, who holds the kingdom to the present day. Athanagild has rebelled against him and is even now provoking the might of the Roman Empire. So Liberius the Patrician is on the way with an army to oppose him.[4]

However, according to Isidore of Seville, it was Athanagild, in Autumn 551 or Winter 552, who begged Justinian for help. The army was probably sent in 552 and made landfall in June or July. Liberius' forces landed probably at the mouth of the Guadalete or perhaps Málaga and joined with Athanagild to defeat Agila as he marched south from Mérida towards Seville in August or September 552.[5] The war dragged on for two more years. Liberius returned to Constantinople by May 553 and it is likely that a Byzantine force from Italy, which had only recently been pacified after the Gothic War, landed at Cartagena in early March 555 and marched inland to Baza (Basti) in order to join up with their compatriots near Seville. Their landing at Cartagena was violent. The native Catholic population, which included the family of Leander of Seville, was well disposed to the Visigoths and the Byzantine government of the city was forced suppress their freedoms, an oppression which lasted decades into their occupation. Leander and most of his family fled and his writings preserve the strong anti-Greek sentiment. Saint Isidore of Seville (Spanish: or ) (c. ... Guadalete River in El Puerto de Santa Maria The Guadalete River is a small stream located in the Spanish province of Cádiz, arising in the Grazalema Mountains at an elevation of about 1000 m, and running for 172 km into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de... Location of Málaga Municipality Málaga Government  - Mayor Francisco de la Torre Prados Area  - City 385. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ostrogoths Franks Visigoths Commanders Belisarius Narses Mundalias Germanus Justinus Liberius Theodoric the Great Witigis Totila The Gothic War, was a war fought in Italy in 535-552. ... For other places of the same name, see Cartagena. ... Baza is a town in the province of Granada in southern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. ... Saint Leander of Seville (Cartagena, ca 534 - Seville, March 13, 600 or 601), the brother of the encyclopedist, Isidore of Seville, was the Catholic bishop of Seville who was instrumental in effecting the conversion to Catholicism of Reccared the Visigothic king of Spain. ...


In late March 555, the supporters of Agila, through fear of Byzantine successes, turned on him, assassinated him, and raised Athanagild as sole king of the Goths in opposition to the Byzantines, who now posed a threat to the kingdom. Quickly the new king tried to rid Spain of the Greeks, but he was unable since they regarded Spain as a province of the empire in which they had interfered by right. The Byzantines occupied many coastal cities in Baetica. This region was to remain a Byzantine province with its own administration until its complete reconquest by the Visigoths three quarters of a century later.


Extent and geography

The Byzantine province of Spania was never extended very far inland and received relatively little attention from East Roman authorities, probably because it was designed as a defensive bulwark against a Gothic invasion of Africa, which would have been an unnecessary distraction at a time when the Persian Empire was a larger threat in the East.[6] The most important cities of Byzantine Spania were Málaga and Cartagena, the probable landing sites of the Byzantine army. It is unknown which of those two cities was the provincial capital, but it was almost certainly one of them. The cities were the centres of Byzantine power and while a few of the earliest one were retaken by Agila, the ones which were retained were a bulwark against Visigothic attempts at reconquest. The Goths easily ravaged the countryside of Spania but were inept at sieges and the fortified towns were safe centres of Roman administration. The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ...

Spania at its greatest extent, around the time of its foundation.
Spania at its greatest extent, around the time of its foundation.

There are few cities which can be confidently considered to have been under Byzantine government in the period. The city of Medina Sidonia (Asidona) was held until 572, when it was reconquered by Leovigild. Gisgonza (also Gigonza, ancient Sagontia) was also held until the reign of Witteric (603–610) and it indicates that the south of the province of Baetica was completely Byzantine from Málaga to the mouth of the Guadalete. In the province of Carthaginiensis, wherein lay Cartagena and of which it was capital, the city of Baza was also Byzantine and it probably resisted the inroads of Leovigilid into that territory in 570, though it was Visigothic by 589. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 2500 pixel, file size: 280 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Iberian Peninsula in the year 560AD La península ibérica en el año 560 dC File historyClick on a date/time to view... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 2500 pixel, file size: 280 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Iberian Peninsula in the year 560AD La península ibérica en el año 560 dC File historyClick on a date/time to view... Medina-Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. ... Liuvigild (Leuvigild, Leuvigildo, Leovigild, Leovigildo, Leogild) reigned 569/572—April 21, 586 CE. He was one of the more effective Visigothic kings of Spain, the restorer of Visigothic unity, ruling from his capital newly established at Toledo, where he settled towards the end of his reign. ... Witteric (in Spanish Witerico) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania from 603 to 610. ... Guadalete River in El Puerto de Santa Maria The Guadalete River is a small stream located in the Spanish province of Cádiz, arising in the Grazalema Mountains at an elevation of about 1000 m, and running for 172 km into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de... Roman theater at Mérida; the statues are replicas Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar) and to two provinces created there in the period of the Roman Republic: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. ...


Among the cities which have been disputed as being Byzantine, Córdoba is the greatest. Some historians have suspected it of being the first capital of the province of Spania and ascribed the cities of Ecija (Astigi), Cabra (Egabra), Guadix (Acci), and Granada (Illiberris) to the Byzantines on this basis, but there is no positive evidence in the sources of Roman rule in any of these cities. Córdoba was in a state of rebellion, briefly joined by Seville from 566–567, until Leovigild put it down in 572. It may have had a local government during this period, or may have recognised Byzantine suzerainty.[7] Écija is a city belonging to the province of Seville, Spain. ... Cabra may refer to: Cabra, Dublin, a district in north Dublin, Ireland Cabra, County Down, a small village in Northern Ireland Cabra, Spain, a municipality in the province of Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain Cabra Castle, a castle in County Cavan Category: ... Guadix, a city of southern Spain, in the province of Granada; on the left bank of the river Guadix, a sub-tributary of the Guadiana Menor, and on the Madrid-Valdepeñas-Almería railway. ... For other uses, see Granada (disambiguation). ...


Aside from the souths of the provinces of Baetica and Carthaginiensis (the southern Levante), the Byzantines also held Ceuta across from the Gibraltar and the Balearic Islands, which had fallen to them along with the rest of the Vandal kingdom. Ceuta, though it had been Visigothic and was destined to be associated with the Iberian peninsula for its subsequent history, was attached to the province of Mauretania Secunda. The Balearics with Baetica and Carthaginiensis formed the new province of Spania. By the year 600 Spania had dwindled to little more than Málaga and Cartagena and it extended no further north than the Sierra Nevada. George of Cyprus recorded only one civitas (city, people) in the province: the "Mesopotamians," though the meaning of this is uncertain. Levante, also referred to as El Levante (Spanish) or El Llevant (Valencian), is a name used to refer to the eastern Mediterranean coastal region of Spain. ... Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 17th  4,992 km²  1. ... Situation of Sierra Nevada in the Iberian Peninsula. ... Georgius Cuprios (George of Cyprus) was a Byzantine geography of the seventh century. ...


Administration

Secular government

The chief administrative official in Spania was the magister militum Spaniae, meaning "master of the military of Spain." The magister militum governed civil and military affairs in the province and was subordinate to only the Emperor. Typicially the magister was a member of the highest aristocratic class and bore the rank of patrician. The office, though it only appears in records for the first time in 589, was probably a creation of Justinian, as was the mint, which issued provincial currency until the end of the province (c. 625). Magister militum (Latin for Master of the Soldiers) was a top-level command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... This article is about the social and political class in ancient Rome. ...


There were five known magistri in the history of the province, though this certainly does not represent the whole. Two are passingly mentioned by Isidore as successive governors in the time of Suinthila, but he omits their names. The first known governor, Comenciolus, repaired the gates of Cartagena in lieu of the "barbarians" (ie the Visigoths) and left an inscription (dated 1 September 589) in the city to this day.[8] Around 600 there was a governor named Comitiolus who bore the rank of gloriosus, the highest rank after that of emperor. It is in Latin and may reflect what the adminsitrative language of the province was. (It does not, however, imply that Cartagena was the capital of Spania.) The patrician and magister Caesarius made a peace treaty with Sisebut in 614 and conferred with the emperor Heraclius, who was more concerned with matters in Mesopotamia. From 621–631 CE Suintila (Suinthila, Swinthila, Swinhila, Swintilla) was King of the Visigoths in Iberia, which the Romans had called Hispania. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events October 17 - The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Sisebur (Sisebut) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania (612—621 CE). ... Heraclius or Herakleios or (Latin: ; Greek: , Hērakleios), (c. ... For other uses, see Mesopotamia (disambiguation). ...


The border between Spania and Visigothic kingdom was not closed. Travel between the border for personal and mercantile reasons was allowed and the two regions experienced prolonged periods of peace. The ease of traversing the frontier was noted by the exiled Leander, whose brother more than once crossed it without hindrance. The border had been determined by a treaty (pacta) between Athanagild and Justinian I, but the date of the treaty is still debated. It may have been part of the initial conditions of Byzantine assistance in 551 or 552 or it may have been a product of the war between Goth and Roman in 555 or later. It was certainly signed before Justinian's death in 565. The legitimacy of the pacta was recognised as late as the seventh century, which accounts for the ease of travel and trade.


Ecclesiastical government

The province of Spania was predominantly Roman Catholic and Latin, while the Byzantine governors were the same, though many were Eastern Christians. Despite this, the relationship between subject and ruler and between church and state seems to have been no better than in Arian Visigothic Spain. The church of Spania was also less independent of the Papacy than the Gothic church, which was composed largely of Hispano-Romans. The two churches were separate. No clerics of one ever attended councils of the other. Indeed, no provincial council ever met in Spania. The theological controversies of each, however, were shared: the one stirred up by Vincent of Zaragoza's conversion to Arianism sparked a response from the bishop of Málaga. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Western Christianity is a... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, Armenia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Scenes from the Passion of Saint Vincent of Saragossa and the History of His Relics, French 13th century vitreau Saint Vincent of Saragossa, (feast day: January 22) was born at Huesca and martyred under Diocletian, in 304, is the patron saint of Lisbon. ...


Gregory the Great interfered successfully in the various bishoprics of the province more than any pope ever did in the Visigothic kingdom. He came to the defence of the property of two deposed bishops and lorded it over the magister militum Comitiolus, whom he accused of interfering in ecclesiastical affairs. He implicitly accused Licinianus of Cartagena of ordaining ignoramuses to the priesthood, but Licinianus simply replied that to not do so would leave the diocese of the province empty: a sad commentary on the state of clerical education in Spania.[9] Saint Gregory redirects here. ...


Culture

The architectural and artistic style prevalent in Spania was not that of Byzantium proper but rather the Byzantinist styles of northern Africa. Two churches, one at Algezares south of Murcia and that of San Pedro de Alcántara near Málaga, have been excavated and studied archaeologically. Only in the Balearic Islands did the style of Greece and Thrace take a foothold. And though Byzantine stylistic markers are present throughout Spain, in the Gothic regions they do not share connections with the African styles prevalent in Spania. For the Roman goddess, see Venus. ... San Pedro de Alcántara (St. ...


In the vicinity of Cartagena, pottery has been discovered bearing distinctively African amphorae that further testify to the close ties between the provinces of Spania and Mauretania Secunda. Cartagena has in recent years been excavated quite thoroughly and a housing complex probably created for Byzantine soldiers occupying the city discovered.[10] Nevertheless, the city, like most in Spain at that time was much diminished in population and area under the Byzantine government. Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ...


Decline and Visigothic conquest

Spania in 586 after the conquests of Leovigild (with dates of conquest on map).
Spania in 586 after the conquests of Leovigild (with dates of conquest on map).

In the reigns of Athanagild and Leovigild, the Byzantines were unable to push their offensive forward and the Visigoths made some successful pushes back. Around 570, Leovigild ravaged Bastetania (Bastitania or Bastania, the region of Baza) and took Medina Sidonia through the treachery of an insider named Framidaneus (possibly a Goth). He may have taken Baza and he certainly raided into the environs of Málaga, defeating a relief army sent from there. He took many cities and fortresses in the Guadalquivir valley and defeated a large army of rustici (rustics), according to John of Biclarum, who may have been referring to an army of bandits called Bagaudae who had established themselves in the disputed buffer zone between Gothic and Roman control.[11] In 577 in Orospeda, a region under Byzantine control, Leovigild defeated more rustici rebellantes, probably Bagaudae. After two seasons of campaigning against the Romans, however, Leovigild concentrated his military efforts elsewhere. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 2500 pixel, file size: 232 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Visigothic Kingdom at the death of Liuvigild (586), showing with dates, his conquests. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2500 × 2500 pixel, file size: 232 KB, MIME type: image/png) The Visigothic Kingdom at the death of Liuvigild (586), showing with dates, his conquests. ... The Guadalquivir is the second longest river in Spain (after the Tagus). ... John of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum (circa 540 - after 621), also Iohannes Biclarensis, was a Visigoth chronicler, born in Lusitania, in the city of Scallabis (modern Santarém in Portugal), who must have been from a Catholic family, to judge from his name. ... Bagaudae (also spelled Bacaudae) was the name for groups of peasant insurgents during the Crisis of the Third Century, particularly in Gaul. ...


During the rule of Reccared, the Byzantines again took the offensive and probably even regained or gained ground. Reccared recognised the legitimacy of the Byzantine frontier and wrote to Pope Gregory requesting a copy be sent from the Emperor Maurice. Gregory simply replied that the text of the treaty had been lost in a fire during Justinian's reign and warned Reccared that he would not want it found because it would have probably granted the Byzantines more territory than they actually then possessed (August 599). Leovigild's gains against the Roman government were greater than the Roman reconquests of Reccared's reign; the Byzantine province of Spania was in decline. Coin of Reccared The Visigothic king Reccared (ruled 586—601) was the younger son of Liuvigild by his first marriage. ... A solidus of Maurikios reign. ...


Among later kings, Witteric campaigned frequently against Spania, though his generals were more successful than he. The latter captured the small town of Gisgonza. Gundemar moved the primatial see of Carthaginiensis from Byzantine Cartagena to Visigothic Toledo in 610 and campaigned against Spania in 611, but to no effect. Sisebut more than any king before him became the scourge of the Byzantines in Spain. In 614 and 615, he carried out two massive expeditions against them and conquered Málaga before 619, when its bishop appears at the Second Council of Seville. He conquered as far as the Mediterranean coast and razed many cities to the ground, enough even to catch the attention of the Frankish chronicler Fredegar: Witteric (in Spanish Witerico) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania from 603 to 610. ... Gundemar, here a statue of him from the Jardines del Retiro de Madrid, in a place popularly called El paseo de las estatuas. ... For other uses, see Toledo (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... The Chronicle of Fredegar (died ca 660) is the main source for Western European events of the 7th century, a formative period whose scarcity of sources in part justifies the characterization of its silence as that of the Dark Ages. In the 7th century many institutions of the Middle Ages...

. . . et plures civitates ab imperio Romano Sisebodus litore maris abstulit et usque fundamentum destruxit.

. . . king Sisbodus took many cities from the Roman empire along the coast, destroying them and reducing them to rubble.[12]

Sisebut probably also razed Cartagena, which was so completely desolated that it never reappeared in Visigothic Spain. Because the Goths were unable to undertake decent sieges, they were forced to reduce the defences of all fortified places they took in order to prevent later armies from using them against them. Because Cartagena was destroyed but Málaga was spared, it has been inferred that the former fell first while the Byzantine presence was still large enough to constitute a threat. Málaga fell some time after when the Greeks were so reduced as to no longer form a danger to Visigothic hegemony over the whole peninsula.


In 621, the Byzantines still held a few towns, but Suinthila recovered them shortly and by 624 the entire province of Spania was in Visigothic hands save the Balearic Islands, which were an economic backwater in the seventh century. Like the Sardinian giudicati and Corsica in that period, the Balearics were only nominally Byzantine. They were finally separated from the empire by the Saracen incursions of the eighth through tenth centuries. For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ... Giudicati were Sardinian medieval autochtonous regions which existed from about 900 AD. Originally they were Byzantine districts that became independent during the Arab war against Byzantium. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ...


Sometime during the joint reign of Egica and Wittiza, a Byzantine fleet raided the coasts of southern Spain and was driven off by a local count named Theudimer. The dating of this event is disputed: it may have occurred as part of Leontios' expedition to relieve Carthage, under assault by the Arabs, in 697; perhaps later, around 702; or perhaps late in Wittiza's reign. What is almost universally accepted is that it was an isolated incident connected with other military activities (probably against the Arabs or Berbers) and not an attempt to reestablish the lost province of Spania. As Professor Thompson states, "We know nothing whatever of the context of this strange event."[13] King Egica (c. ... Wittiza (Witiza) was son of Ergica, king of the Visigoths in Hispania, and ruled jointly with him from 693 to 701 CE. In the latter year Ergica died and Wittiza became sole ruler. ... The Byzantine Dromon, the heaviest ship in the Byzantine fleet, capable of carrying up to 300 men; 230 oarsmen and 70 marines. ... Theodemir or Theudimer[1] (died 743) was a Visigothic comes (count) prominent in the southeast of Baetica (the region around Murcia[2]) during the last decades of the Visigothic kingdom and for several years after the Moorish conquest. ... Leontios, showing the symbols of power: the crown, the globus cruciger, and the akakia. ... Roman Carthage with former military harbor Carthage (Greek: , Latin: , from the Phoenician meaning new town; Arabic: ) refers both to an ancient city in Tunisia and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group indigenous to the Maghreb, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ...


Sources

  • Thompson, E. A. The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. See Appendix "The Byzantine Province," pp 320–334.
  • Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
  • Wallace-Hadrill, John Michael. The Barbarian West, 400–1000. 3rd ed. London: Hutchison, 1967.
  • Bachrach, Bernard S. "A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589-711." The American Historical Review, Vol. 78, No. 1. (Feb., 1973), pp 11–34.
  • Wintle, Justin. The Rough Guide History of Spain. Penguin Group, 2003.
  • Jordanes. The Origin and Deeds of the Goths. Translated by Charles C. Mierow.
  • Fredegar. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations. Translated by John Michael Wallace-Hadrill. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1960.

John Michael Wallace-Hadrill CBE, (September 29, 1916- November 3, 1985) J. M. Wallace-Hadrill was Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of Manchester (1955-61), a Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford (1961-74), Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford (1974-83) and a Fellow, All... The American Historical Review (AHR) is the official publication of the American Historical Association (AHA), a body of academics, professors, teachers, students, historians, curators and others, founded in 1884 for the promotion of historical studies, the collection and preservation of historical documents and artifacts, and the dissemination of historical research. ... The Chronicle of Fredegar (died ca 660) is the main source for Western European events of the 7th century, a formative period whose scarcity of sources in part justifies the characterization of its silence as that of the Dark Ages. In the 7th century many institutions of the Middle Ages... John Michael Wallace-Hadrill CBE, (September 29, 1916- November 3, 1985) J. M. Wallace-Hadrill was Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of Manchester (1955-61), a Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford (1961-74), Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford (1974-83) and a Fellow, All...

Notes

  1. ^ Dates vary. Some (Collins) put the date of landing as early as 551, other (Wallace-Hadrill) as late as 554. The conquest of the last vestiges of the province has been dated to 625 (Collins) or 629 (W-H).
  2. ^ Thompson, 16. The Byzantines attacked on Sunday, while the Goths had laid down their arms to honour the Sabbath.
  3. ^ Collins, 47–49.
  4. ^ Jordanes, "The Divided Goths (Ostrogoths)," LVIII, 303.
  5. ^ Thompson, 325, based on Isidore, the only primary account of the subsequent campaigns.
  6. ^ Collins, 49.
  7. ^ Collins, ibid, considers it unlikely that Córdoba could have been in revolt for so long without coming under Byzantine rule. Thompson, 322, sees the lack of primary evidence for Byzantine government in any of the aforementioned cities as conclusive that the Byzantines never could have held Córdoba directly.
  8. ^ Thompson, 331. The gate was augmented with towers, porticoes, and a vaulted chamber.
  9. ^ Ibid, 330.
  10. ^ Collins, 219–220.
  11. ^ Ibid, 52–55.
  12. ^ Fredegar, IV, vii.
  13. ^ Thompson, 249.


 

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