Castelo de Santiago do Cacém

Castelo de Santiago do Cacém is a castle in the municipality of Santiago do Cacém, Portugal. It is classified as a national monument.

Early human occupation of the site dates back to Celtic tribes. During the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula, the village was called Mirobriga and included the jurisdiction of Pax Julia (currently Beja) The village was occupied by the Alans during the first decades of the 5th century, then abandoned in the 6th century, when the population relocated to a neighbouring hill nearer to the sea. The new village was successively ruled by the Visigoths, followed by the Moors at the beginning of the second decade of the 8th century, in 712. It was then known as Kassen.

The castle was built by the moors. During the Iberian peninsula's Reconquista period, Santiago do Cacém was taken for the first time in 1157 in the context of the conquest of Alcácer do Sal by the forces of Afonso I of Portugal (1112–1185). The forces of Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur retook the city in 1190–1191.

In 1186, King Sancho I of Portugal awarded the dominions of Almada, Palmela and Alcácer do Sal to the Order of Santiago. The first two had previously been reconquered in 1194, whereas the third remained under Moorish control until 1217. That year, under the reign of Afonso II (1211–1223), Cacém became a definitive possession of Portugal. Its domain was given to the knights of the Order, essentially warrior monks, left to rebuild defences. Since this time the village has been known by its current name: Santiago do Cacém. Its first charter also dates from this time.

Under the reign of Denis of Portugal (1279–1325), the castle was in the possession of Vataça Lascaris (Dona Vetácia), nurse and friend of Queen Elizabeth of Portugal. In the period from 1315 to 1336, the domain was returned to the Order of Santiago.

During the 1383–85 Crisis, Santiago do Cacém was one of the first towns to support the Master of Avis, since Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, Master of Santiago, had made available all of the Order's resources to his cause.

In 1512, under the reign of Manuel I of Portugal, the Foral Novo was written (an important document relating regional economic and social history).

At the time of the Philippine Dynasty, Philip I of Portugal donated the castle to the dukes of Aveiro (1594).

Text adapted from “Castelo de Santiago do Cacém” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castelo de Santiago do Cacém ranks #5,756 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #99 of the 205 mapped in Portugal. The nearest day-trip guide is Lisbon, 86 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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