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The Tomar Castle is a
The Tomar Castle is a castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in Portugal, where it is classified as a national monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
. The Convento de Cristo
The Convent of Christ ( pt, Convento de Cristo/Mosteiro de Cristo) is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned in ...
was built inside its walls.
The castle was built by King Afonso Henriques
Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...
around 1160 on a strategic location, over a hill and near river Nabão. It has an outer defensive wall and a citadel (''alcáçova'') with a keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
inside. The keep, a central tower of residential and defensive functions, was introduced in Portugal by the Templars, and the one in Tomar is one of the oldest in the country. Another novelty introduced in Portugal by the Templars (learned from decades of experience in Normandy and Brittany and elsewhere) are the round towers in the outer walls, which are more resistant to attacks than square towers. When the town was founded, most of its residents lived in dwellings located inside the protective outer walls of the castle.
Tomar was besieged for five days during the Almohad campaign of 1190., pp. 157–159.
See also
* Portugal in the Middle Ages **Portugal in the Reconquista
Portuguese participation in the ''Reconquista'' occurred from the moment the County of Portugal was founded in 868 and continued for 381 years until the last cities still in Muslims control in the Algarve were captured in 1249.
Portugal was crea ...
*Knights Templar in Portugal
The presence of the Knights Templar in Portugal can be traced from 1128 until their dissolution in the 14th century.
Having played a key role during the Portugal in the Reconquista, Portuguese Reconquista by taking, settling or defending the terr ...
References
Tomar Castle Tomar Buildings and structures in Tomar Tomar Castles and fortifications of the Knights Templar {{Portugal-castle-stub