Sacavém (; ar, شقبان) is a former
civil parish in the municipality of
Loures,
Lisbon District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish
Sacavém e Prior Velho. It is a few kilometers north-east of the Portuguese
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
,
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. The civil parish covers an area of , and included as of 2001 census a resident population of 17,659 inhabitants. The region is known for its famous
ceramics industry.
History

Due to its strategic location, at the intersection of several roads from the north and east connecting to Lisbon, Sacavém was an important settlement during periods of
Portuguese History, with some evidence extending back to pre-history. The Portuguese historian Pinho Leal wrote, in his
chorography ''Portugal Antigo & Moderno'' (''Ancient & Modern Portugal''), that "''Sacavém is incontestably a very old settlement, and already existed in the time of the
Romans''". The oldest-known references date back to the
Neolithic and
Chalcolithic: three polished stone
axes were discovered from the
Bronze Age, and in the mid-1980s, excavations in the historical centre of the city revealed a cave with similar artifacts from this period.
By the first century, Sacavém was already crossed by two major
Roman roads that connected the region with the interior of the
Iberian Peninsula:
* ''Via XV'', connecting ''Olissipona'' (
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
) and ''Emerita Augusta'' (
Mérida), by way of the important administrative centre of ''Scalabicastrum'', today
Santarém; and
* ''Via XVI'', which connected ''Olissipona'' to ''Bracara Augusta'' (
Braga), capital of the ''
Conventus bracarensis'' in the province of ''
Gallaecia'').
Remnants of these two Roman ''viæ'' still exist under the modern roads ''Rua do António Ricardo Rodrigues'' and ''Rua do José Luís de Morais'' (the town's two main streets during the
Middle Ages, which connected the upper and lower districts of Sacavém). Even during this period Sacavém was an important river-crossing; the Romans built a bridge that remained active until the 17th century (according to several sources, such as
Francisco de Holanda or Miguel Leitão de Andrade). This bridge was a natural continuation of the roads and connected Sacavém with the northern river bank; therefore indirectly included in the famous
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
. The parish's coat-of-arms includes a symbolic depiction of the Roman bridge. Also in the vicinity, an epigraphic inscription is said to have existed (nowadays unknown), but referred to in the
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
). Various
epigraphs have suggested that this totem identified the Roman magisterial administration of the rural locality.
The Roman colony, which was centred on the bridge, was eventually succeeded by barbarians from south-eastern peninsula. The
Alans were the first to occupy these lands (but left few remnants), and later the
Visigoths, who constructed a chapel dedicated to ''Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres'', on the sight of the medieval-era Chapel of ''Nossa Senhora da Vitória'' (''Our Lady of Victory'').
Moorish rule
After 711, the
Moors occupied the Iberian peninsula; Lisbon ( ar, al-Ušbuna) is taken in 716 by
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
under the command of
Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa (who received the governorship of
Al-Andalus, in the name of the
Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus), who also captured the region of Sacavém. Much like other areas of the
Al-Garb Al-Andalus (much of ancient Roman
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and
a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...
), the peoples under Moorish dominion became bi-lingual, while maintaining their Christian faith (not converting until much later). In Sacavém the community that circled the Church of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres maintained their faith and culture (under the bishop of Lisbon), something that was possible due to the religious tolerance of the invaders to the ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (or ''
People of the Book
People of the Book or Ahl al-kitāb ( ar, أهل الكتاب) is an Islamic term referring to those religions which Muslims regard as having been guided by previous revelations, generally in the form of a scripture. In the Quran they are ident ...
''). It is likely that the medieval tower in Sacavém de Cima, in the ''Largo do Terreirinho'', fronting the Chapel of ''Senhora da Saúde'' (in the historic centre of the settlement) originated during this Muslim period, when the local Christians were required to pay
jizya
Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent Kafir, non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The jizya tax has been unde ...
.
[Pinho Leal (1990), p.311]
The modern name ''Sacavém'' might have come from the
Arabic language; for many years experts believed that it came from the word ''šagabi'' (''next'' or ''in the neighbourhood'' – in this case, of Lisbon, an important city even during
Moorish
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or se ...
period)
latinised to ''sacabis, -is'', becoming ''sacabem'' in the
accusative case
The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb.
In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...
, and hence, by phonetic modifications during the centuries, ''Sacavém''. Recent investigations, from Arabic sources (namely
Yaqut's ''
Kitab Mu'jam Al-Buldan''), indicate that the Muslims used the word ''Šaqabān'' ( ar, شقبان), incredibly similar to the modern Portuguese pronunciation.
During Al-Andalus, Sacavém was considered a ''qarya'' (one of the settlements of al-Ušbuna), but it was administratively integrated into the larger settlement (geographically limited by the Roman ''
conventus''), which was governed by the military governor in
Cordova, later by the
emirs (756–929) and
caliphs (929–1031) that governed Al-Andalus. Various seditions against the
Umayyad Caliphate rose-up in the emirs and caliphates of Al-Garb Al-Andalus; the revolts of
Ibn Marwan
‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Marwān al-Jillīqī ('','' also known as or "the Galician") (died ca. 889), was a Muwallad whose family had come from northern Portugal and settled near Mérida.
In 868, leading a host of Muwallads and Mozarabs, ...
of
Mérida/
Badajoz or Umār ibn Hafsūn of Bobastro corresponds to a period of weak central government, when the Al Garb was a nominal extension of the Caliphate, an autonomous principality with its seat in Batalyaws (
Badajoz).
It was in the period of turmoil preceding the fall of the Caliphates (in 1031) that Sacavém was integrated into the Kingdom of Badajoz (except for a decade around 1020 when it was a part of al-Ušbuna, under ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Sabūr and ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Sabūr (sons of Sabūr al-Saqlabi, a
Slavic serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
who sparked a revolt in against Caliph
Al-Hakam II). This would last until the
Aftasids conquered the region. In 1093, in a trade for aid against the
Almoravids
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...
(from the
Maghreb), the emir of Badajoz ceded to the ''imperator totius Hispaniæ''
Alfonso VI of León and Castile the castles of al-Ušbuna and aš-Šantaryin (
Santarém), along with the territory of Sacavém. But the regions return to Christianity lasted for a short time; in 1095, with the advance of the Almoravid forces, led by
Yusuf ibn Tashfin, Count
Raymond of Galicia was defeated in battle, resulting in the Arab-Christian frontier advancing from the
Tagus River to the
Mondego. By 1144, the Al-Garb led by Ibn Qasi revolted against the Almoravids. Although the Almoravids were dominant in the first few years, they were in decline when
Afonso I of Portugal definitively
captured Lisbon (al-Ušbuna) in October 1147.
Middle Ages
According to an old legend, it was near the
bank of the
Trancão that the mythical
battle of Sacavém river
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
took place, between King Afonso I of Portugal and the Moors, in October 1147. The tradition (fixed probably in the 16th century) says that the Moorish people had gathered around 5,000 men from all
Estremadura (
Alenquer,
Óbidos,
Tomar,
Torres Novas and
Torres Vedras) to fight against only 1,500 Christians, but the latter defeated the Muslims in a large blood bath, with this wondrous victory personally attributed to the intervention of the
Holy Virgin, which brought many Christians speaking strange languages (this is, the
crusades that took
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
that same year).
The legend says also that the Moorish leader Bezai Zaide had even converted to
Christianity and became the first priest at the ''Chapel of Our Lady of Martyrs'' ( pt, Capela de Nossa Senhora de Mártires) that Afonso Henriques ordered to be built just a few days after the clash. On the other hand, the first Portuguese monarch had also ordered the rebuilding of the old Visigoth ''Chapel of Our Lady of Pleasures'' ( pt, Capela de Nossa Senhora de Prazeres), ruined during the Moorish rule (although Christian faith in
Al-Andaluz was allowed by the emirs against the payment of a tribute). This church was dedicated to ''Our Lady of Victory'' ( pt, Nossa Senhora da Vítoria), and became the seat of the ecclesiastical parish.
However, the first documented mention of Sacavém is in 1191 (forty-four years after the conquest), in a paper signed by King
Sancho I of Portugal.
Pinho Leal reported that in the 12th century Sacavém was a parish with 900 houses, but this number is, however, is regarded today as too high for that time. During the 13th century, it seems that in Sacavém there existed an important
Jewish community, living in a
ghetto outside the parish.
In 1288, the
priest of Sacavém was one of the signatories of a letter requesting that the
Pope Nicholas IV install a
university in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
.
At the end of the 14th century, king
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I ( pt, Fernando; 31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383), sometimes called the Handsome () or occasionally the Inconstant (), was the King of Portugal from 1367 until his death in 1383. His death led to the 1383–85 crisis, also k ...
donated Sacavém to his wife
Leonor Telles de Menezes. Although the place belonged at that time thus to the sphere of influence of the queen-consort, it supported the later King
John I of Portugal
John I ( pt, João �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...
in his
struggle for power. Therefore, after his triumph in 1385, Sacavém was administratively included in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, but donated to the major supporter of the new king,
Nuno Álvares Pereira. Later, by the wedding of his daughter to the first
Duke of Braganza, Sacavém became a property of the powerful
House of Braganza
The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...
.
São João da Talha
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
, until then known as ''Sacavém Extra-Muros'' (''Sacavém outside the walls'') became an independent parish, split from Sacavém in 1387.
In the
Late Middle Ages, several chronicles (such as those of
Duarte Nunes de Leão
Duarte Nunes de Leão (Évora, 1530? — Lisboa, 1608) was a lawyer, grammarian, and Portuguese historian.
Works
* 1560 - Repertorio dos cinquo liuros das Ordenações : com addições das lejs extrauagantes' (Repertoire of the five laws of t ...
and
Rui de Pina) mentioned Sacavém. These two
chroniclers stated that the royal family, before the
conquest of Ceuta
The conquest of Ceuta by the Portuguese on 21 August 1415 marks an important step in the beginning of the Portuguese Empire in Africa.
History
In 711, shortly after the Arab conquest of North Africa, the city of Ceuta was used as a stagin ...
in 1415, fled to Sacavém, in order to escape from the
plague that arose in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. There the queen-consort
Philippa of Lancaster died of the plague, her body was carried to
Batalha Monastery where her remains were buried. However, another chronicler,
Gomes Eanes de Zurara reports that the royal family fled to
Odivelas (and therefore not to Sacavém), and that the queen died there.
The Modern Era
The
Fort of Sacavém
The Redoubt of Mount Cintra (or Mount Sintra), commonly known as the Fort of Sacavém, is located in the town of Sacavém in the municipality of Loures in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It is situated immediately to the north of Lisbon. The ...
was built in 1892 as the easternmost of a line of forts designed to circle Lisbon, known as the "Entrenched Field of Lisbon" (''Campo Entrincheirado de Lisboa''). It now houses important government archives. Taking advantage of its proximity to the River
Tagus and opportunities presented by the opening of a railway line to the north of Lisbon, Sacavém became an important area for Portugal's industrial development from the middle of the 19th century. The first significant factory, the ''Fábrica da Loiça'', produced crockery and ceramics. Now closed, it is now celebrated at the
Ceramics Museum of Sacavém
The Ceramics Museum of Sacavém ( pt, Museu de Cerâmica de Sacavém) is situated in the town of Sacavém in the municipality of Loures, just northeast of Lisbon in Portugal. The museum was opened in July 2000 and was constructed on the grounds ...
, which also has a documentation centre covering the industrial development of the town.
Geography

Sacavém is located in the eastern part of
Loures municipality, bordering the parishes of
Unhos (northwest),
Camarate (west),
Prior Velho (southwest),
Portela Portela or Pórtela may refer to:
People
* Portela (surname)
Places
* Lisbon Portela Airport, the international airport of Lisbon, Portugal
* Residence of Portela, 17th-century country house in Paços de Brandão, Portugal
Civil parishes
* Po ...
(south) as well as
Moscavide (southeast). To the east lies the
Tagus River, and to north the
Trancão River
The Trancão River (), formerly called Rio de Sacavém, is a small river in Portugal (about 29 km) from District of Lisbon. Near its mouth, this watercourse can also be called Ribeira de Sacavém ou Vala de Sacavém.
References
Rivers of ...
(formerly known as ''Sacavém River''), separating Sacavém from
Bobadela parish. The ''Ribeira do Prior Velho'', also flows through the city crossing it in underground channels.
The parish's terrain is relatively flat. The northern bank of the Tagus is approximately at sea level, while the border of Sacavém with the parishes of
Camarate and
Unhos is above the sea. However, there are several hills such as ''Monte Cintra'' and ''Monte do Convento'' (both reaching about in height).
Traditionally, Sacavém has been divided in two areas:
* ''Sacavém de Cima'' (''Upper Sacavém''), comprising the historical center of the town, around the ''Capela de Nossa Senhora da Saúde e de Santo André'' (''Chapel of Our Lady of Health and
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
'');
* ''Sacavém de Baixo'' (''Lower Sacavém''), near the bank of the Trancão River, where the parochial Church and the old
monastery of the
Order of Poor Clares
The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...
are situated.
In the last few decades, besides these two urban areas, new urban agglomerations have emerged, such as ''Courela do Foguete'', ''Fonte Perra'', ''Olival Covo'', ''Quinta do Património'' and ''Real Forte'', as well as ''Terraços da Ponte''. The latter area replaced the old and much degraded ''Quinta do Mocho'' zone, which was the centre an
African emigrant community, from the former Portuguese
colonies, that returned to Portugal after the
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
in 1974, and whom lived in poor conditions, over the past three decades.
Architecture
The parish of Sacavém is region of several nationally and regionally recognizable architectural monuments, although many are not classified as architecturally significant under the auspices of the
IGESPAR designations. Many of these structures include buildings dating back to the Baroque and late medieval period of Portuguese growth.
Civic
* Arch of Largo do Olaio ( pt, Arco Brasonado no Largo do Olaio); an 18th- and 19th-century entrance to the Cabrias family estate;
* Barrio of Quinta da Vitória ( pt, Bairro da Quinta da Vitória)
* Residence Largo Pedro Gomes Junior ( pt, Casa com platibanda no Largo Pedro gomes Júnior); 18th-century residence with dependencies within walls, adapted for bourgeois use;
* Residence Quinta de São José ( pt, Casa da Quinta de São José), a residence located on the grounds of the São José estate, with ceilings of painted wood and silars of figurative azueljo;
* Residence Praça da Republica, No.18–21 ( pt, Casa na Praça da República, Nº18-21), a striking salmon-colored residence designed in the 20th century;
* Residence Praceta D. João I ( pt, Casa na Praceta D. João I), the ruins of a large signeurial house, in an advance state of ruin, but dating to the 19th or early 20th century;
* Residence Rua Tenente Possidónio Coelho, No.14–18 ( pt, Casa na Rua Tenente Possidónio Coelho), another 20th-century two-storey residence, integrated into a concentrated urban environment;
Religious
* Convent of the Poor Clares and Church of Nossa Senhora da Purificação ( pt, Antigo Convento das Clarissas/Igreja Paroquial de Sacavém/Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Purificação/Comando e Estado Maior do Batalhão de Adidos), the Mannerist architecture devoted originally to the monastery of the Poor Clares Xabreganas, and later operated by the Ministry of War, before being plans were established to convert the spaces into commercial and leisure services, a civic centre and local ''Junta de Freguesia'';
See also
*
Quinta do Mocho murals
The Quinta do Mocho murals are a public art project in a housing estate in Sacavém
Sacavém (; ar, شقبان) is a former civil parish in the municipality of Loures, Lisbon District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Sac ...
, a public art project in Sacavém
References
;Notes
;Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacavem
Cities in Portugal
Former parishes of Loures