Calatrava la Vieja

Calatrava la Vieja (formerly just Calatrava) is a medieval site and original nucleus of the Order of Calatrava. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks (Parques Arqueológicos) of the Community of Castile-La Mancha. Situated at Carrión de Calatrava, Calatrava during the High Middle Ages was the only important city in the Guadiana River valley. It thus guarded the roads to Cordova and Toledo.

Its name is derived from the (Arabic: قلعة رباح, romanized: Qalʿat Rabāḥ, lit. 'Fortress of Rabah'), a reference to the Arab nobleman who held this area in the 8th century, although as a fortress it may date even earlier – to Iberian times.

References to the site date from as early as 785, and in 853 owing to conflicts between the Muslims of Toledo and the emirate of Cordova, it was partially destroyed, but rebuilt later. The site was rebuilt under al-Hakam (son of Abd ar-Rahman II), brother of Muhammad I. It became the capital of the region. At the fall of the Caliphate of Cordova, the Taifa kingdoms or republics of Seville, Cordova, and Toledo competed to acquire Calatrava.

Tekst overgenomen uit “Calatrava la Vieja” op de Engelstalige Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Calatrava la Vieja staat op plaats 1.384 van 5.793 in de bekendheidsranglijst van deze atlas en op plaats 45 van de 230 die de atlas in Spanje in kaart brengt. Gebouwd in 785, en daarmee ouder dan 97% van de gedateerde bouwwerken in de atlas — een van de 19 bouwwerken in de atlas die uit de 8e eeuw stammen. Zie hoe dat zich verhoudt in de kastelenstatistiek.

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