Editing Reconquista (section)

===Early Reconquista===
==== Beginning of the ''Reconquista'' ====
{{Main|Kingdom of Asturias}}
A drastic increase of taxes on Christians by the emir [[Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi]] provoked several rebellions in al-Andalus, which a series of succeeding weak emirs were unable to suppress. Around 722, a Muslim military expedition was sent into the north in late summer to suppress a rebellion led by [[Pelagius of Asturias]] (Pelayo in Spanish, Pelayu in Asturian). Traditional historiography has hailed Pelagius's [[Battle of Covadonga|victory at Covadonga]] as the beginning of the ''Reconquista''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Covadonga, la batalla que cambió la historia de España |date=2022-05-27 |url=https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/panorama-regional/covadonga-la-batalla-que-cambio-la-historia-de-espana/6549431/ |language=es |access-date=2022-08-11}}</ref>

Two northern realms, Navarre<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|page=181}}</ref> and Asturias, despite their small size, demonstrated an ability to maintain their independence. Because the Umayyad rulers based in [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]] were unable to extend their power over the Pyrenees, they decided to consolidate their power within the Iberian peninsula. Arab-Berber forces made periodic incursions deep into Asturias, but this area was a ''cul-de-sac'' on the fringes of the Islamic world fraught with inconveniences during campaigns and of little interest.<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|page=156}}</ref>

It comes then as no surprise that, besides focusing on raiding the Arab-Berber strongholds of the Meseta, [[Alfonso I of Asturias]] centred on expanding his domains at the expense of the neighbouring Galicians and Basques at either side of his realm just as much.<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|pages=156, 159}}</ref> During the first decades, Asturian control over part of the kingdom was weak, and for this reason it had to be continually strengthened through matrimonial alliances and war with other peoples from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. After Pelayo's death in 737, his son [[Favila of Asturias]] was elected king. Favila, according to the chronicles, was killed by a bear during a trial of courage. Pelayo's dynasty in Asturias survived and gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries until all of northwest Hispania was included by roughly 775. However, credit is due to him and to his successors, the ''Banu Alfons'' from the Arab chronicles. Further expansion of the northwestern kingdom towards the south occurred during the reign of [[Alfonso II of Asturias]] (from 791 to 842). A king's expedition arrived in and pillaged Lisbon in 798, probably concerted with the Carolingians.<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|page=212}}</ref>

The Asturian kingdom became firmly established with the recognition of Alfonso II as king of Asturias by [[Charlemagne]] and the Pope. During his reign, the bones of [[James, son of Zebedee|St. James the Great]] were declared to have been found in Galicia, at [[Santiago de Compostela]]. Pilgrims from all over Europe opened a channel of communication between the isolated Asturias and the Carolingian lands and beyond, centuries later.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-31 |title=The Way of St. James – Bodega Tandem |url=https://tandem.es/en/camino/ |access-date=2022-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731161327/https://tandem.es/en/camino/ |archive-date=31 July 2021 }}</ref>

====Frankish invasions====
{{Main|Umayyad invasion of Gaul|Marca Hispanica}}

After the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian heartland of the Visigothic kingdom, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees and gradually took control of [[Septimania]], starting in 719 with the conquest of [[Narbonne]] through 725 when [[Carcassonne]] and [[Nîmes]] were secured. From the stronghold of Narbonne, they tried to conquer [[Aquitaine]] but suffered a major defeat at the [[Battle of Toulouse (721)]].<ref name="Lewis AR 20-33">{{cite book|title=The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050|last=Lewis|first=Archibald R.|author-link=Archibald Ross Lewis|year=1965|publisher=The University of Texas Press|pages=20–33|access-date=28 October 2017|url=http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfcatsoc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211183903/http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfcatsoc.htm|archive-date=11 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ten years after halting their advance north, [[Odo of Aquitaine]] married his daughter to [[Uthman ibn Naissa]], a rebel Berber and lord of [[Cerdanya]] (perhaps all of contemporary Catalonia as well), in an attempt to secure his southern borders to fend off [[Charles Martel]]'s attacks on the north. However, a major [[punitive expedition]] led by [[Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi]], the latest emir of al-Andalus, defeated and killed Uthman.<ref name="Lewis AR 20-33"/>

After expelling the Muslims [[Siege of Narbonne (752-759)|from Narbonne in 759]] and driving their forces back over the Pyrenees, the Carolingian king [[Pepin the Short#Expansion of the Frankish realm|Pepin the Short conquered Aquitaine]] in a ruthless eight-year war. Charlemagne followed his father by subduing Aquitaine by creating counties, taking the Church as his ally and appointing counts of Frankish or Burgundian stock, like his loyal [[William of Gellone]], making [[Toulouse]] his base for expeditions against al-Andalus.<ref name="Lewis AR 20-33"/> Charlemagne decided to organize a regional subkingdom, the [[Spanish March]], which included part of contemporary [[Catalonia]], in order to keep the Aquitanians in check and to secure the southern border of the [[Carolingian Empire]] against Muslim incursions. In 781, his three-year-old son [[Louis the Pious|Louis]] was crowned king of [[Aquitaine]], under the supervision of Charlemagne's trustee William of Gellone, and was nominally in charge of the incipient Spanish March.<ref name="Lewis AR 20-33"/>

Meanwhile, the takeover of the southern fringes of al-Andalus by Abd ar-Rahman I in 756 was opposed by [[Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri|Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman]], autonomous governor (''[[wāli]]'') or king (''malik'') of al-Andalus. Abd ar-Rahman I expelled Yusuf from Cordova,<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|pages=118–126}}</ref> but it took still decades for him to expand to the north-western Andalusian districts. He was also opposed externally by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] of Baghdad who failed in their attempts to overthrow him. In 778, Abd al-Rahman closed in on the Ebro valley. Regional lords saw the Umayyad emir at the gates and decided to enlist the nearby Christian Franks. According to [[Ali ibn al-Athir]], a Kurdish historian of the 12th century, Charlemagne received the envoys of [[Sulayman al-Arabi]], Husayn, and [[Abu Taur of Huesca|Abu Taur]] at the Diet of Paderborn in 777. These rulers of [[Zaragoza]], [[Girona]], [[Barcelona]], and [[Huesca]] were enemies of Abd ar-Rahman I, and in return for Frankish military aid against him offered their homage and allegiance.<ref name="Collins, Roger 1989 177–181">{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1989 | title = The Arab Conquest of Spain 710–797 | publisher = Blackwell |location = Oxford, UK / Cambridge, US|isbn= 978-0-631-19405-7|pages=177–181}}</ref>

[[File:Spain Reconquista cities.png|thumb|Reconquista of the main towns, per year (present-day state borders)]]
Charlemagne, seeing an opportunity, agreed upon an expedition and crossed the Pyrenees in 778. Near the city of [[Zaragoza]] Charlemagne received the homage of [[Sulayman al-Arabi]]. However the city, under the leadership of [[Husayn of Zaragoza|Husayn]], closed its gates and refused to submit.<ref name="Collins, Roger 1989 177–181"/> Unable to conquer the city by force, Charlemagne decided to retreat. On the way home the rearguard of the army was ambushed and destroyed by Basque forces at the [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass]]. ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', a highly romanticised account of this battle, would later become one of the most famous {{lang|fro|[[Chanson de geste|chansons de geste]]}} of the Middle Ages. Around 788 Abd ar-Rahman I died and was succeeded by [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]]. In 792 Hisham proclaimed a [[jihad]], advancing in 793 against the [[Kingdom of Asturias]] and Carolingian [[Septimania|Septimania (Gothia)]]. They defeated William of Gellone, Count of Toulouse, in battle, but [[William of Gellone|William]] led an expedition the following year across the eastern Pyrenees. [[Barcelona]], a major city, became a potential target for the Franks in 797, as its governor Zeid rebelled against the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. An army of the emir managed to recapture it in 799, but Louis, at the head of an army, crossed the Pyrenees and [[Siege of Barcelona (801)|besieged the city for seven months]] until it finally capitulated in 801.<ref name="Lewis AR 37-49">{{cite book|title=The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050|last=Lewis|first=Archibald R.|author-link=Archibald Ross Lewis|year=1965|publisher=The University of Texas Press|pages=37–49|access-date=28 October 2017|url=http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfcatsoc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211183903/http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfcatsoc.htm|archive-date=11 December 2017|url-status=live}} It took place on 28 December 801.</ref>

The main passes in the Pyrenees were [[Roncesvalles]], [[Somport]] and [[La Jonquera]]. Charlemagne established across them the vassal regions of [[Pamplona]], [[Aragon]], and [[Catalonia]] respectively. Catalonia was itself formed from a number of [[Catalan counties|small counties]], including [[County of Pallars|Pallars]], [[Girona (province)|Girona]], and [[Urgell]]; it was called the ''Marca Hispanica'' by the late 8th century. They protected the eastern Pyrenees passes and shores and were under the direct control of the Frankish kings. Pamplona's first king was [[Iñigo Arista]], who allied with his Muslim kinsmen the [[Banu Qasi]] and rebelled against Frankish overlordship and overcame a [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824)|Carolingian expedition in 824]] that led to the setup of the [[Kingdom of Pamplona]]. Aragon, founded in 809 by [[Aznar Galíndez]], grew around [[Jaca]] and the high valleys of the [[Aragon River]], protecting the old Roman road. By the end of the 10th century, Aragon, which then was just a county, was annexed by Navarre. Sobrarbe and Ribagorza were small counties and had little significance to the progress of the ''Reconquista''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archaeology |url=https://perennialpyrenees.com/category/archaeology/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Perennial Pyrenees |language=en}}</ref>

In the late 9th century under [[Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona|Count Wilfred]], Barcelona became the ''de facto'' capital of the region. It controlled the other counties' policies in a union, which led in 948 to the independence of Barcelona under [[Borrell II, Count of Barcelona|Count Borrel II]], who declared that the new dynasty in France (the [[Capet]]s) were not the legitimate rulers of France nor, as a result, of his county. These states were small and, with the exception of Navarre, did not have the capacity for attacking the Muslims in the way that Asturias did, but their mountainous geography rendered them relatively safe from being conquered, and their borders remained stable for two centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Counts – The Origins of Catalonia |url=https://www.autentic.com/65/pid/880/Counts-The-Origins-of-Catalonia.htm |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=www.autentic.com}}</ref>