The County of Durango ( eu, Durangoko Merinaldea), also known as ''Land of Durango'' and ''Merindad of Durango'', was the ancient political administration of the territory that is now known as

Durangaldea Durangaldea ( Spanish: ''Duranguesado'') is a comarca of Biscay located in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or regions that compose the province of Biscay. The capital city of Durangaldea is Durango. Ge ...

, in the

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 ...

region of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. This political administration included all the towns and

elizate An (), ( es, anteiglesia) is an early form of local government in the Basque Country which was particularly common in Biscay but also existed in the other provinces. The terms (in Standard Basque) and (in Biscayan) literally translate as "chu ...

s that existed within its territory. The elizates were all governed by the Foral law, while the towns had their own law. The county of Durango was a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of the

Kingdom of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

(later, Navarre), and in the 13th Century it became a constituent part of the

Lordship of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...

.Incorporation to the Lordship
at the Auñamendi Entziklopedia (in Spanish) It has been part of the territory of Biscay since then. Its capital city was the town of Durango.

History

The first known reference of the existence of a political organization in the territory of Durango was in the year 1050, when Eneco Lupiz is appointed regent of "the territories of

and Durango". It appears again in the record of a committee that took place in the church of San Agustin-Etxebarria in the year 1053, this time with the name ''Duranko''.History of Durangaldea: early history
entry at the Auñamendi Entziklopedia (in Spanish) The County of Durango is also mentioned along the

County of Álava The County of Álava ( eu, Arabako konderria) was one of the Basque ''señoríos'', a feudal territory during the 9th and 13th centuries that corresponds to present-day Álava, in the Basque Country. Until the final invasion and incorporation in ...

in relation to its close relationship with the Kingdom of Navarre. During the 11th century the lands of Durango, along with the

, moved back and forward between the kingdoms of Castile and Navarre, that kept losing and reconquering the land. In the year 1200, Alfonso VIII of Castile invades the county of Alava and lays siege to the city of Vitoria.History of Durangaldea: Year 1200
entry at the Auñamendi Entziklopedia (in Spanish) Alava and Durango are then ultimately conquered by Castile. In the year 1212, Castilian king Alfonso VIII merges the County of Durango into the

, which is awarded to Diego López II de Haro for his war efforts in the

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab ( ar, معركة العقاب), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the medieval history of Spain. The Chris ...

. However, Durango maintained its economical and political autonomy, despite being now part of the Lordship.

Territory

The County of Durango was formed by twelve

s and four towns or cities that occupy the same territory that today does

, a region of the province of

and successor of this county. The elizates were

Abadiño Abadiño ( eu, Abadiño; es, Abadiano) is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the north of Spain, about 35 km from the provincial capital of Bilbao. The area of the municipality is abo ...

Berriz Berriz (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Bérriz'') is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Berriz is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 4 ...

Mallabia Mallabia (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Mallavia'') is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Mallabia is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population o ...

Mañaria Mañaria (both in Basque and Spanish) is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Mañaria is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 459 inhabitants as of 2006 acc ...

Iurreta Iurreta is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain. Incorporated into the municipality of Durango in 1926, Iurreta regained its independent status in 19 ...

, Garai,

Zaldibar Zaldibar (in Basque and officially, in es, Zaldívar) is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Zaldibar is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 3,043 inhabita ...

, Arrazola, Axpe, Apatamonasterio, Izurtza and San Agustin-Etxebarria, while the four towns were Durango (also the capital),

Elorrio Elorrio is a town and a municipality located in the eastern part of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain. , it has a population of 7,307 inhabitants. It covers an area of 37.20 square kilometers and it has a population ...

Ermua Ermua is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. In 2019, Ermua had 15,880 inhabitants. Ermua is a town in the Durangaldea comarca of the province of Biscay in nor ...

and

Otxandio Otxandio (in Basque and officially, in Spanish ''Ochandiano'') is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque autonomous community, Spain. Otxandio is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 1,26 ...

. In 1630 Elorrio annexed the elizate of San Augstin-Etxebarria, and in present time the elizates of Axpe, Arrazola and Apatamonasterio are joined together forming the municipality of

Atxondo Atxondo ( es, Achondo) is a municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Atxondo is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 1,447 inhabitants as of 2007 according to the Spanish National Sta ...

Political institutions

Audience House

The ordinary meetings between the representatives of the

s and towns took place in the called the Audience House. The first documented Audience House was located in the neighborhood of Kurutzesaga in Durango, which was known as "the Old Audience" and it is known that there were issues about its ownership between the County and the administration of the town of Durango. In 1578, long after the incorporation of the county into the

, the House of Astola is acquired and the meetings start taking place there. This house dates the year 1570 and takes place of a previous one, destroyed in a fire. In the House of Astola lived some of the authorities of the County and was also the location of the county's prison.

The Foral Field

The extraordinary meetings between the representatives of the County were held in a field between the hermitages of San Salvador and San Clemente in the neighborhood of Gerediaga,

, under an oak and seated on stones positioned on a semicircle. The building still stands on its original location and has been recently reformed by the Government of

. The oak was lost around the 18th century. Conjunto_gerendiaga

References