Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
towns declined, while within their ranks a series of plots and rivalries pitted members of the
ruling elite against each other.
Moorish conquest
Divisions within the Visigothic kingdom coincided with the Islamic expansion in North
Africa, which reached the shores of the Atlantic in the late seventh century. In 711 Tariq ibn
Ziyad,governorofTangier,ledaforceofseveralthousandtroopsacrosstheStraitsofGibral-
tar and routed the Visigothic nobility. With no one to resist, the stage for the
Moorish con-
questofSpain
was set. Within ten years, the Muslim Moors had advanced a long way north,
destroying Tarragona and forcing Barcelona to surrender - although the more inaccessible
parts of the Pyrenees retained their independence. In most places, a limited autonomy was
granted to the local population in exchange for payment of tribute. There was no forced con-
version to Islam, and Jews and Christians lived securely as second-class citizens. In areas of
thepeninsulathatremainedunderdirectMuslimpowerduringtheninthcentury,anewethnic
group emerged: the
Mozarabs
, Christians who lived under Muslim rule, and adopted Arabic
language, dress and social customs.
The Spanish Marches
Moorish raiding parties reached beyond the Pyrenees as far north as Poitiers, where in 732
Charles Martel, the de facto ruler of Merovingian France, dealt them a minor defeat, which
convinced them to withdraw. Martel's son Pepin and his famous grandson
Charlemagne
(768-814) both pushed back the invaders further, with Charlemagne's empire including the
southern slopes of the Pyrenees and much of Catalunya. After being ambushed and defeated
by the Basques at Roncesvalles in 778, Charlemagne switched his attention to the Mediter-
ranean side of the Pyrenees, attempting to defend his empire against the Muslims. He took
Girona in 785 and his son Louis directed the successful siege of Barcelona in 801.With the
captureofBarcelona,theFrankishcountiesofCatalunyabecameasortofbufferzone,known
asthe
SpanishMarches
.Separateterritorieswereestablished,eachruledbyacountandthe-
oretically owing allegiance to the Frankish king or emperor.
The birth of Catalunya
As the Frankish empire of Charlemagne disintegrated in the decades following his death,
the counties of the Marches enjoyed greater independence, which was formalized in 878 by
Guifré el Pelós - or
Wilfred the Hairy
. Wilfred was count of Urgell and the Cerdagne and,
afteraddingBarcelonatohisholdings,namedhimselfitsfirstcount,foundingadynasticline
that was to rule until the 1400s. In the wake of the Muslim withdrawal from the area,
Chris-
tian outposts
had been established throughout Catalunya, and Wilfred continued the pro-
cess,foundingBenedictine monasteries atRipoll(about880)andSantJoandelesAbadesses
(888), where his daughter was the first abbess.
