Editing Pamplona (section)

===Early Middle Ages===
[[File:Vasconia wide 740 3 - 80.jpg|thumb|Pamplona, at the centre of numerous military campaigns during the eighth century]]
[[File:Iñigo Arista de Pamplona - Compendio de crónicas de reyes (Biblioteca Nacional de España).png|thumb|upright|[[Íñigo Arista of Pamplona|Eneko Arista]], first king of Pamplona (15th-century miniature from [[Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, MS 7415]])]]

During the [[Germanic invasions]] of 409 and later as a result of [[Rechiar]]'s ravaging, Pamplona went through much disruption and destruction,<ref>Collins 1990, p.76</ref> starting a cycle of general decline along with other towns across the Basque territory, but managing to keep some sort of urban life.<ref>Collins 1990, p.102</ref> During the [[History of spain#Visigothic Hispania (5th–8th centuries)|Visigothic period]] (fifth to eighth centuries), Pamplona alternated between self-rule, Visigoth domination or Frankish suzerainty in the [[Duchy of Vasconia]] (Councils of Toledo unattended by several Pamplonese [[bishop]]s between 589 and 684). In 466 to 472, Pamplona was conquered by the Visigoth count Gauteric,<ref>{{cite book | author = Jurio, Jimeno | year = 1995 | title = Historia de Pamplona y de sus lenguas | publisher = Editorial Txalaparta | location = Tafalla | isbn = 84-8136-017-1 | page = 35}}</ref> but they seemed to abandon the restless position soon, struggling as the Visigoth kingdom was to survive and rearrange its lands after their defeats in Gaul. During the beginning of the sixth century, Pamplona probably stuck to an unstable self-rule, but in 541, Pamplona, along with other northern Iberian cities, was raided by the Franks.

Around 581, the Visigoth king Liuvigild overcame the Basques, seized Pamplona, and founded in the town of Victoriacum.<ref>{{cite book | author = Jurio, Jimeno | year = 1995 | title = Historia de Pamplona y de sus lenguas | publisher = Editorial Txalaparta | isbn = 84-8136-017-1 | page = 36}}</ref> Despite the legend citing [[Saint Fermin]] as the first bishop of Pamplona and his baptising of 40,000 pagan inhabitants in just three days, the first reliable accounts of a bishop date from 589, when bishop Liliolus attended the [[Third Council of Toledo]]. After 684 and 693, a bishop called Opilano is mentioned again in 829, followed by [[Wiliesind]] and a certain Jimenez from 880 to 890. Even in the 10th century, important gaps are found in bishop succession, which is recorded unbroken only after 1005.<ref>Collins 1990, p.154</ref>

At the time of the [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Umayyad invasion]] in 711, the Visigothic king [[Roderic]] was fighting the [[History of the Basque people#Early Middle Ages|Basques]] in Pamplona and had to turn his attention to the new enemy coming from the south. By 714–16, the Umayyad troops had reached the Basque-held Pamplona, with the town submitting apparently after a treaty was brokered between the inhabitants and the Arab military commanders.<ref>Collins 1990, p.116</ref> The position was then garrisoned by Berbers, who were stationed on the outside of the actual fortress, and established the cemetery unearthed not long ago at the Castle Square (''Plaza del Castillo''). During the following years, the Basques south of the Pyrenees do not seem to have shown much resistance to the Moorish thrust, and Pamplona may even have flourished as a launching point and centre of assembly for their expeditions into [[Duchy of Vasconia|Gascony]].<ref>Collins 1990, p.117</ref> In 740, the Wali (governor) [[Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj]] imposed direct central Cordovan discipline on the city. In 755, though, the last governor of [[Al-Andalus]], [[Yusuf al Fihri]], sent an expedition north to quash Basque unrest near Pamplona, resulting in the defeat of the Arab army.<ref>Collins 1990, p.119</ref>

From 755 until 781, Pamplona remained autonomous, probably relying on regional alliances. Although sources are not clear, it seems apparent that in 778, the town was in hands of a Basque local or a Muslim rebel faction loyal to the Franks at the moment of [[Charlemagne]]'s crossing of the Pyrenees to the south. However, on his way back from the failed expedition to Saragossa in August, the walls and probably the town were destroyed by Charlemagne (ahead of the Frankish defeat in the famous [[Battle of Roncevaux]]), out of fear that the anti-Frankish party strong in the town might use the position against him. After [[Abd al-Rahman I]]'s conquest, Pamplona and its hinterland remained in a state of shaky balance between Franks, regional [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] lords and central Cordovan rule, all of whom proved unable to permanently secure dominance over the Basque region. To a considerable extent, that alternation reflected the internal struggles of the Basque warrior nobility.

After the Frankish defeat at Roncevaux (778), Pamplona switched again to [[Al-Andalus#Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba|Cordovan rule]], after Abd-al-Rahman's expedition captured the stronghold in 781. A ''wali'' or governor was imposed, Mutarrif ibn-Musa (a Banu-Qasi) up to the 799 rebellion. In that year, the Pamplonese—possibly led by a certain Velasko—stirred against their governor, but later the inhabitants provided some support for the [[Banu Qasi]] Fortun ibn-Musa's uprising. This regional revolt was shortly after suppressed by the Cordovan emir [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]], who re-established order, but failed to retain his grip on the town, since the Pamplonese returned to Frankish suzerainty in 806.<ref>Collins 1990, p.124</ref> A Muslim cemetery containing about 200 human remains mingled with Christian tombs was unearthed in 2003 at the Castle Square, bearing witness to an important Muslim presence in the city during this period, but further research was stopped by the destruction of this and other historic evidence as decided by the city council, headed by mayor [[Yolanda Barcina]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Rekalde |first=Angel |date=2014-01-08 |title=Las piedras de la plaza del Castillo |url=http://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2014/01/08/opinion/colaboracion/las-piedras-de-la-plaza-del-castillo |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140818204849/http://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2014/01/08/opinion/colaboracion/las-piedras-de-la-plaza-del-castillo |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-08-18 |newspaper=Noticias de Navarra |location=Pamplona |access-date=2014-08-18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2002-02-16 |title=El informe pericial de Aranzadi denuncia 'un expolio' arqueológico en la Plaza del Castillo |url=http://elpais.com/diario/2002/02/16/paisvasco/1013892006_850215.html |newspaper=El País |access-date=2014-08-02 }}</ref>

Following a failed expedition to the town led by [[Louis the Pious]] around 812, allegiance to the Franks collapsed after [[Iñigo Arista|Enecco Arista]] rose to prominence. Moreover, he was crowned as [[List of Navarrese monarchs|king of Pamplona]] in 824, when the [[Banu Qasi]] and he gained momentum in the wake of their victorious [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824)|second battle of Roncevaux]]. The new kingdom, inextricably linked to the Banu Qasi of Tudela, strengthened its independence from the weakened Frankish empire and [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Cordoban emirate]].

During this period, Pamplona was not properly a town, but just a kind of fortress. In 924, [[Caliphate of Cordoba|Cordovan]] sources describe Pamplona as "not being especially gifted by nature", with its inhabitants being poor, not eating enough, and dedicated to banditry. They are reported to speak Basque for the most part, which "makes them incomprehensible".<ref>{{cite book | author = Jimeno Aranguren, Roldan; Lopez-Mugartza Iriarte, J.C. (Ed.) | year = 2004 | title = ''Vascuence y Romance: Ebro-Garona, Un Espacio de Comunicación'' | publisher = Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua | location = Pamplona | isbn = 84-235-2506-6 | page = 179}}</ref> On the 24 July, after Christian troops and citizens fled, troops from Cordova sacked Pamplona, destroying houses and buildings including its celebrated church.<ref>{{cite book | author = Jurio, Jimeno | year = 1995 | title = Historia de Pamplona y de sus lenguas | publisher = Editorial Txalaparta | location = Tafalla | isbn = 84-8136-017-1 | page = 64}}</ref>

The town only regained its urban and human shape after the end of raids by Vikings and Andalusians on the province. Especially after 1083, traffic on the [[Way of St James]] brought prosperity and new cultures via travelers from north of the Pyrenees.<ref>{{cite book | author = Jimeno Aranguren, Roldan; Lopez-Mugartza Iriarte, J.C. (Ed.) | year = 2004 | title = ''Vascuence y Romance: Ebro-Garona, Un Espacio de Comunicación'' | publisher = Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua | location = Pamplona | isbn = 84-235-2506-6 | page = 167}}</ref>