Castle Alcázar of Segorbe was an

alcázar An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for gover ...

(palace or castle) located on the slopes of Sopeña in the town of

Segorbe Segorbe is a municipality in the mountainous coastal province of Castelló, autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The former Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli now houses the city's mayor. Segorbe's bull-running week (''semana de Toros'') in Se ...

, in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Very little remains of the original alcázar, but the large complex was a residence of lords, dukes and kings for over a millennium."Castillo-Alcázar de Segorbe" Military Historical Museum of Valencia

History

Arabs from the Baraní family of the Sinhala Confederacy built the first fortress. After the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

king of Valencia,

Zayd Abu Zayd Zayd Abu Zayd (ابو زيد, 1195 – 1265/1270) was the last Almohad governor of Valencia. He succeeded as governor of Valencia to his uncle Abū `Abd Allāh Muhammad. At the death of the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, he gained complete auto ...

, converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and declared himself an ally and vassal of King James I of Aragon, he ceded the fortress to James in 1229 and became

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of Valencia on his behalf. The castle became a sanctuary for

himself when he was killed by Dynamil Zayyan until James captured the castle in 1245, and placed Abu Zayd in command of an army to assist in the retaking of Valencia. The castle had a peak in the 14th and 15th centuries, culminating in the holding of General Courts by King

Martin of Aragon Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...

, who had made the city his residence. Among the most notable rulers of Segorbe are Doña

Maria de Luna Maria de Luna (c. 1358 – 1406) was queen consort of Aragon, as the spouse of King Martin I of Aragon, from his ascension in 1396 to her death in 1406. In the early years of Martin's reign, she served as regent of Aragon while her husband tend ...

, Queen of Aragon, wife to King Martin (through whom the Segorban Alcázar became a royal residence), and the first Duke of Segorbe,

Enrique de Aragón y Pimentel Enrique de Aragón y Pimentel, known as ''el Infante Fortuna'' (Calatayud, 25 July 1445 – Castelló d'Empúries, 2 July 1522), was Count of Ampurias becoming Count ''later'' 1st Duke of Segorbe. He served as Viceroy of Catalonia between 1479 ...

, who was responsible for several improvements to the castle. These included building new quarters, decorating the

Our Lady of La Leche Our Lady of La Leche (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de La Leche y Buen Parto; "Our Lady of the Milk and Good Delivery") is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a statue of her breastfeeding the infant Jesus Christ. It is said to ...

chapel with rich ornaments (which are currently in the cathedral museum), adding a hot tub and pool, and adding marble columns. Martín de Viciana noted that it was "very beautiful with many pieces and beautiful and good-styled rooms." In 1784,

urban expansion Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

of Segorbe beyond the original

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s required further construction, and new walls were built. After the works were completed, the new walls had eight gates known as Teruel, Argén, Sopeña, Cárrica, Castellnovo, Valencia, la Maza, and Altura.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle Alcazar of Segorbe Demolished buildings and structures in Spain Royal residences in Spain Castles in the Valencian Community Buildings and structures in the Province of Castellón Former castles in Spain Former palaces in Spain Former military installations Buildings and structures demolished in 1784 Alcazars and Alcazabas in Spain 1780s disestablishments in Spain 1784 disestablishments in Europe Segorbe

History

See also

References