Ajangiz () is a town and municipality in the province of

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, in the Basque Country. It is located in the Busturialdea comarca, and was part of the municipality of

Gernika-Lumo Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lum ...

between 1940 and 1991.

Etymology

''Ajangiz'' is one of 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 ...

toponyms with an ''-iz'' suffix. Julio Caro Baroja argued that most of these toponyms come from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

suffix ''-icus''. According to Baroja, Ajangiz might come from a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

form of ''Allianus'', a documented Latin name, which would become ''Allianicus'' with the -icus suffix and ''Allianici'' when referring to the descendants of Allianus. The oldest reference to the town is ''Axanguiz'', which might have evolved from Allianici; ''Allianici'' → ''Axianici'' → ''Axanguici'' → ''Axanguiz''.

History

The Busturialdea region was heavily inhabited during the prehistory by groups of farmers and livestock farmers during the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(between 5500 and 2800 BC), proved by the archeological sites found across the town. The first reference of the town comes from a document by

Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

Martín de Coscojales, who mentions how the "Lord of the High Asturias of

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

" escaped from the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, reaching

and founding a house with his own name in the town of Axangiz, in the year 788. The town is further mentioned in several records of the

War of the Bands The War of the Bands (, ) was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country (historical territory), Basque Country, Cantabria, Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the Late Middle A ...

. As it is recorded in the documents from the 16th century, Ajangiz held the eleventh position at the Juntas of Gernika, with the legal status of "ledanía". Ajangiz would become an elizate in the 18th century. A small hermitage held the ecclesiastical archives until the year 1844, when the parish church was finished. In 1943, the town was annexed to the municipality of Gernika. It regained its autonomy in 1991.

Geography

Ajangiz is located in the northern half of the

province, in the northwestern Basque Country. The town is located on a hillside less than 4 km away from

, the capital of the Busturialdea comarca. The boundary between Ajangiz and Gernika-Lumo is the River Oka. Ajangiz is divided into two neighborhoods, Mendieta, where is located the town hall, and Kanpantxu.

References

External links

AJANGIZ in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay