Ajangiz ( es, Ajanguiz) is a town and municipality in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in the Basque Country. It is located in the Busturialdea comarca, and was part of the municipality of

Gernika-Lumo Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

between 1940 and 1991.

Etymology

''Ajangiz'' is one of the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

toponyms with an ''-iz'' suffix.

Julio Caro Baroja Julio Caro Baroja (13 November 1914 – 18 August 1995) was a Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist and essayist. He was known for his special interest in Basque culture, Basque history and Basque society. Of Basque ancestry, he was the ...

argued that most of these toponyms come from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

suffix ''-icus''. According to Baroja, Ajangiz might come from a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

form of ''Allianus'', a documented Latin name, which would become ''Allianicus'' with the -icus suffix and ''Allianici'' when referring to the descendants of Allianus. The oldest reference to the town is ''Axanguiz'', which might have evolved from Allianici; ''Allianici'' → ''Axianici'' → ''Axanguici'' → ''Axanguiz''.

History

The Busturialdea region was heavily inhabited during the prehistory by groups of farmers and livestock farmers during the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

(between 5500 and 2800 BC), proved by the archeological sites found across the town. The first reference of the town comes from a document by

Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

Martín de Coscojales, who mentions how the "Lord of the High Asturias of

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

" escaped from the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

, reaching

and founding a house with his own name in the town of Axangiz, in the year 788. The town is further mentioned in several records of the

War of the Bands The War of the Bands ( eu, Bando gerrak, es, Guerra de los Bandos) was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country, Gascony, and Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The main primary source for the War is '' ...

. As it is recorded in the documents from the 16th Century, Ajangiz held the eleventh position at the Juntas of

Gernika Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

, with the legal status of "ledanía". Ajangiz would become an

elizate An (), ( es, anteiglesia) is an early form of local government in the Basque Country which was particularly common in Biscay but also existed in the other provinces. The terms (in Standard Basque) and (in Biscayan) literally translate as "chu ...

in the 18th Century. A small hermitage held the ecclesiastical archives until the year 1844, when the parish church was finished. In 1943, the town was annexed to the municipality of

, it regained its autonomy in 1991.

Geography

Ajangiz is located in the northern half of the

province, in the northwestern Basque Country. The town is located on a hillside less than 4 km away from

, the capital of the Busturialdea comarca. The boundary between Ajangiz and Gernika-Lumo is the River Oka. Ajangiz is divided into two neighborhoods, Mendieta, where is located the town hall, and Kanpantxu.

References

External links

AJANGIZ in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay