The Battle of Río Burbia or the Battle of the Burbia River was a battle fought in the year 791 between the troops of 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 ...
, commanded by King
Bermudo I of Asturias
Bermudo I (also Vermudo or Veremund), called the Deacon or the Monk (c. 750 – 797), was the King of Asturias from 788 or 789 until his abdication in 791. He was a son of Fruela of Cantabria, a nephew of Alfonso I, and a brother of Aurelius. Th ...
, and the troops of 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 ...
, led by Yusuf ibn Bujt. The battle occurred in the context of the
Ghazw
A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...
s of
Hisham I
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
against the
Christian rebels of the northern
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
. The battle took place near the
Río Burbia, in the area which is today known as
Villafranca del Bierzo
250px, Castle of Villafranca.
Villafranca del Bierzo is a village and municipality located in the comarca of El Bierzo, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain.
Villafranca del Bierzo lies 187 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela and ...
. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Cordoba.
The battle
The
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 cer ...
, in his attempt to annex 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 ...
, organized two armies for the purpose of enforcing this annexation. The first army was tasked with conquering
Galicia, and the second with conquering western
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 ...
lands. When
Hisham I
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
was returning to Córdoban territory with the spoils of his conquests, the Asturian army attacked. The Cordoban army, under the competent leadership of general
Yusuf ibn Bujt, were able to successfully repel the attack and to further turn the ambush into a victory.
Consequences
The retreat of the Asturian army provoked the abdication of King Bermudo in favor of
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 undeter ...
, son of King
Fruela I of Asturias, grandson of
Alfonso I of Asturias
Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (''el Católico''), (c. 693 – 757) was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and Le ...
, and great-grandson of
Pelagius of Asturias
Pelagius (; ; ; ; ''c''. 685 – 737) was a Hispano-Visigoth nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718. Pelagius is credited with initiating the ''Reconquista'', the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, and esta ...
. Alfonso's first move as the new king would be to move the capital to ''Ovetao'' or
Oviedo. He was crowned according to the rights of the old
Visigoth
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kn ...
ic kings in
Toledo on September 14, 791.
Bermudo returned to his old clerical lifestyle in the same year, dying in the year 797. He would be remembered as a generous, magnanimous, and illustrious king.
Bibliography
*
See also
*
Bermudo I of Asturias
Bermudo I (also Vermudo or Veremund), called the Deacon or the Monk (c. 750 – 797), was the King of Asturias from 788 or 789 until his abdication in 791. He was a son of Fruela of Cantabria, a nephew of Alfonso I, and a brother of Aurelius. Th ...
*
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
{{coord, 42.7167, N, 6.6500, W, source:wikidata, display=title
the Burbia River
Burbia River
Burbia River
Burbia River
791
8th century in al-Andalus