![Vista Pancorbo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Vista_Pancorbo.jpg)
The Battle of Pancorbo was a battle that took place in the year 816 between a Moorish army from the
Emirate of Cordoba
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
sent by
Al-Hakam I
Abu al-As al-Hakam ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Rahman () was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in Al-Andalus ( Moorish Iberia).
Biography
Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came ...
and under the control of Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit and the pro-Frankish forces under the control of
Balask al-Yalasqi. The battle was fought when the Córdoban forces attempted to cross the pass at
Pancorbo
Pancorbo is a municipality and town located in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 464 inhabitan ...
.
The battle resulted in a Córdoban victory and was instrumental in the Basque revolt and the establishment of
Íñigo Arista of Pamplona
Inigo derives from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (love)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity in the United Kingdom.
Ear ...
as a major player in the contemporary Iberian political scene.
Context
The
Emirate of Córdoba
The Emirate of Córdoba ( ar, إمارة قرطبة, ) was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. Its founding in the mid-eighth century would mark the beginning of seven hundred years of Muslim rule in what is now Spain and Port ...
was engulfed in conflict as
Al-Hakam I
Abu al-As al-Hakam ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Rahman () was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in Al-Andalus ( Moorish Iberia).
Biography
Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came ...
fought against the pretensions of his uncles Sulaymán and Abd-Al·lah ibn Abd-ar-Rahman
who had rebelled against the Córdoban establishment with the death of
Hisham I of Córdoba
Hisham I Al-Reda ibn Abd ar-Rahman ( ar, هشام بن عبد الرحمن الداخل) was the second Emir of Cordoba, ruling from 788 to 796 in al-Andalus.
Hisham was born April 26, 757 in Cordoba. He was the first son of Abd al-Rahman I ( ...
.
The disorder in the Emirate was exploited by the Franks who in 798, convened an assembly under
William of Gellone
William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II. for the purpose of assisting
Alfonso II of Asturias
Alfonso II of Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste ( es, el Casto), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian, a family member of undeterm ...
and
Bahlul Ibn Marzuq Bahlul Ibn Marzuq () (died 802) was born in the current term of La Puebla de Castro (Huesca), was a Vascones, Vascon-Muslim, the son of a local lord named Marzuq ibn Uskara ("son of the Basque people, Basque"). He rebelled in Zaragoza against the Ar ...
against the Córdoban Emirate.
Their goal was to coordinate operations to take the
Upper March
The Upper March (in ar, الثغر الأعلى, ''aṯ-Tagr al-A'la''; in Spanish: ''Marca Superior'') was an administrative and military division in northeast Al-Andalus, roughly corresponding to the Ebro valley and adjacent Mediterranean coa ...
in the name of
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
. However, for some reason that did not happen, and the
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of V ...
launched attacks upon
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
in 797, Velasco took over Pamplona in 798, but
William of Orange and Louis the Pious launched an expedition to conquer
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
later in 801.
The Arabs, commanded by Muawiya ibn al-Hàkam, son of
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Al-Hakam I
Abu al-As al-Hakam ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Rahman () was Umayyad Emir of Cordoba from 796 until 822 in Al-Andalus ( Moorish Iberia).
Biography
Al-Hakam was the second son of his father, his older brother having died at an early age. When he came ...
, attacked
Álava
Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see.
Its ca ...
and the
region of Castile (the ''Al-Quila'' of the Arab sources) in 801, crossing the River Ebro and the pass of las Conchas. They were surprised by Velasco, a Basque commander in control of troops from the northern Christian domains, possibly sent by
Sancho I of Gascony Sancho I López or Lupus Sancho (also Lupo; eu, Antso Otsoa, French: ''Sanche Loup'', Gascony: ''Sans Lop'') was a Duke of Gascony between the years 801 and 812.
His parentage is unknown, but onomastics and chronology indicate that he may have be ...
. This surprise attack occurred at
La Puebla de Arganzón
La Puebla de Arganzón (also written Lapuebla de Arganzón); is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. It is in the Comarca del Ebro and the Judicial district Miranda de Ebro. According to the INE, the munici ...
and resulted in a complete rout of the
Umayyad forces under Muawiya ibn al-Hàkam who was obliged to return to Córdoba (Qurtuba) after most of his best commanders and a large part of his army were wiped out.
In 803, Basque troops and members of the
Banu Qasi
The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi ( ar, بني قسي or بنو قسي, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier ter ...
attacked and took control of
Tutila, capturing Yusuf ibn Amrus, although the city and its municipality were later retaken for Córdoba by his father,
Amrus ibn Yusuf 'Amrus ibn Yusuf al-Muwallad al-Laridi ( ar, عمروس بن يوسف المولد, died 808/9 or 813/4) was a Muwallad (probably of Visigothic origin) general of the Emirate of Córdoba and governor of Zaragoza.
Amrus, a native of Huesca, and h ...
.
By 806, Pamplona and the western Basque territories fell again in the hands of a Frankish vassal,
Velasco (or Belasko, "Balask al-Yalasqi"), who had rebelled against the
Córdoban wali in the Basque stronghold (798). He was Charlemagne's man in the Basque territories extending up to the boundaries of
Alfonso II's realm. Meanwhile, in 812
Seguin was appointed ''dux Wasconum'' in Bordeaux, but soon after the spread of news of Charlemagne's death, the
Basques
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...
stirred.
The battle
Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit directed the incursion of 816 into
Carolingian-allied Pamplona. There the Umayyad forces pillaged the valley of Orón. Velasco, the lord of Pamplona, pled for assistance from the
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of V ...
and put together an army to face the Moors.
The forces met near Pancorbo, where the battle lasted for thirteen days during which the Basques planned their defence in rough fords of rivers and ravines, blocking access with logs, trenches and pits dug with their own weapons, that the Córdobans could not get through. Finally, the Christian-Basque forces took the offensive and tried to cross the river but the Córdobans had sealed off the crossing and massacred them with swords and lances. The majority of the casualties died after falling off of the cliffs surrounding the battleground. With the subsequent rains, the joint Basque-Asturian force was found ill-prepared after all their defensive works had been destroyed. Velasco was killed, along with three other leaders of the Basque-Asturians, Garcia ibn Lubb (='son of Lupus'), who was Alfonso's maternal uncle, Sancho, "the best knight of Pamplona", and the pagan warrior ''Ṣaltān''. Their forces were forced to withdraw. However, the Córdobans were equally in a difficult situation and despite being victorious much of their army deserted the field.
Consequences
The defeat of the army of Asturian-Basque Frankish vassals sparked a general revolt by the Basques against the Frankish crown and established
Íñigo Arista of Pamplona
Inigo derives from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (love)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity in the United Kingdom.
Ear ...
as a major
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 ...
power player in the region.
References
{{coord, 42.6333, N, 3.1000, W, source:wikidata, display=title
816
Pancorbo 816
Pancorbo
Pancorbo is a municipality and town located in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 464 inhabitan ...
Pancorbo
Pancorbo is a municipality and town located in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 464 inhabitan ...
Pancorbo
Pancorbo is a municipality and town located in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 464 inhabitan ...
9th century in Al-Andalus
Upper March
History of the province of Burgos