Treaty of Almizra

The Treaty of Almizra (or Treaty of Almiçra) was the third of a series of three treaties between the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

and

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

meant to determine the limits of their expansion into

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

so as to prevent squabbling between the Christian princes. Specifically, it defined the borders of the

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

signed it on 26 March 1244, but

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

did not affirm it until much later. According to the treaty, all lands south of a line from

Biar Biar (, ) is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Vinalopó, province of Alicante, Spain. Biar lies at the foot of the Serra de Mariola and is located 39 km from the city of Alicante. The economy in Biar is based on manufact ...

Villajoyosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the '' c ...

through

Busot Busot (, ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alacantí 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 populo ...

were reserved for Castile. This ended most further Aragonese expansion on the Iberian peninsula. The treaty succeeded those of Tudilén and

Cazorla Cazorla is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Jaén, Andalusia. According to the 2006 census (INE), it had a population of 8,173 inhabitants. Description Cazorla lies at an elevation of 836 metres on the western slope of the Si ...

, which were constantly breached. The clause by which neither party seemed capable of residing was that neither crown should diminish the partition assigned to the other or put any obstacle in the way of the other attaining unto his portion. That clause was broken when James I conquered

Caudete Caudete () is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha. It has a population of 10.163 (From INE 2015). It is part of the Altiplanicie de Almansa ''comarca''. History Following its Christian conquest in 1 ...

Villena Villena () is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante (province), Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Region of Murcia, Murcia, to the north with the province of Valenc ...

, and Sax, which technically belonged to Castile. At the same time, the ''infante'' Alfonso was holding

Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...

in the zone assigned to Aragon. The treaty first received mention in the second chapter of '' Llibre dels fets''. The text of the treaty itself, however, was finally published in 1905. The treaty was signed in

Campo de Mirra Campo de Mirra (Spanish ) or El Camp de Mirra (Valencian ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Vinalopó in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autono ...

, where a monument, erected in 1977, still ommemorates it. In 1296, during a break in the war between the two crowns,

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

conquered the

Kingdom of Murcia After roughly two decades as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile, the territory of the Taifa of Murcia became the Kingdom of Murcia ( es, Reino de Murcia, links=no, a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile) in the wake of its Conques ...

. The kingdom was divided and Medio Vinalopó,

Bajo Vinalopó The Bajo, Bajonese, Bajonesian, or Wajo, Wajonese ( bug, ᨈᨚ ᨓᨍᨚ, To Wajo; pey, Badjo; nl, Badjo, ) are the indigenous Indonesian ethnic group native to the Bajo Island of Lesser Sunda Islands (''Nusa Tenggara'') in Indonesia. Thes ...

, L'Alacantí, and

Vega Baja del Segura Vega Baja del Segura (in Spanish) or Baix Segura (in Valencian) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. To the north its neighbouring ''comarcas'' are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà. Its southern limits ...

were incorporated into Valencia by the treaties of Torrellas (1304) and

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Almizra Almizra Almizra Treaties of the Crown of Castile 1244 in Europe 1240s in Europe 13th century in Aragon 13th century in Castile Aragonese conquest of Valencia