The almogavars (Aragonese: almogávars, Catalan: almogàvers, Spanish: almogávares from Arabic: al-maghāwīr, "scout")[1] were a class of soldiers mostly from the Crown of Aragon, but they were present in others iberian kingdoms.[1] They were well-known during the Christian Reconquista (reconquest) of the Iberian Peninsula. They were much employed as mercenaries in Italy, Latin Greece and the Levant during the 13th and 14th centuries.
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The Almogavars came mainly from the country regions of Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre and to a lesser extent, from other contemporary iberian kingdoms. They were frontiersmen and foot-soldiers who wore no armour, dressed in skins, were shod with brogues (abarcas), and carried the arms similar to those of Roman legionaries: two heavy javelins, or azconas in Spanish language, and a short stabbing sword.
The Almogavars were best known as shock troops of the Crown of Aragon. They made Light Infantry of Christian or Muslim religion from Catalan and Aragonese people, mostly illiterate mercenary soldiers of fortune who fought for a booty. They were active in the Mediterranean between the ages XIII and XIV. The origin of the name is in the Arabic المغاور. They Are Mostly muslim (or "sarraceyn" in mediaeval catalan) as they were described by contemporary "infanzon" of almogavar Troops Bernat Desclot, that wrote Libre del rei en Pere e dels seus antecessors passats These aragonese's crown troops were commanded mainly by officers, infanzones or low noblemen without money, of Catalonia and Aragon, and at first troops were originally formed by farmers and shepherds originating from the countryside, woods and mountain areas in No Man's Land. At the time of its greatest activity they came from all over the Crown of Aragon.
In 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad, under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I, led a large army from the north coast of Morocco, on April 29 711, the armies of Tariq, composed of recent converts to Islam,[2] landed at Gibraltar. The Muslim armies swept through Hispania. During the Islamic period, the native population had a large contingent of muslim newcomers, so the population was gradually converted to Islam.
The society was composed of Muslims who were at first ethnically either of a minority of Arabian, a greater number of Near East muslims, and a large percentage of muslim Berber descents among spanish native converts (muwallads), native Christians, and a Jewish minority which represented about 5% of the population. The ethnically Arab were at the top of the social hierarchy; Muslims in general had a higher social standing. Although Christians and Jews were considered dhimmis, having to pay a specific tax levied on all non-muslims or jizya, they still enjoyed the possibility of social mobility. Conversion to Islam translated into a higher rate of social mobility for Christians and Jews alike. Christians were eager to convert to Islam. Many wished to secure higher ranking government positions; while others took such liking to Islamic teaching and culture that they felt compelled to convert. Half of the Christians in Al-Andalus are reported to have converted to Islam by the 10th century, with more than 80% by the 11th century. Even Christians that did not accept Islam as their religion, became increasingly Arabized in terms of culture. These Christians became known as Mozarabs or musta’ribs, a word meaning ‘Arabized’, as they had adopted the Arabic language and customs.
After the conquest of the islamics kingdoms by the northern Christian kingdoms, the population was again gradually becoming a Christian for the same reasons.
At that time, the land that later would form the Crown of Aragon had a high percentage of indigenous inhabitants of the Muslim faith. The Almogavars people origin, came from peasant or shepherd people ruined by the continual incursions of troops in "reconquista" wars contex, that acted as mercenaries in the service of the King of Aragon. Many soldiers were illiterate deserters from the Muslim side, originating in the Muslim areas or in the Ebro Valley Christian or Muslim. They were too muslims who remained in the territories of Christian conquest. They not follow Christian precepts as not eating meat on Friday, which horrified their Christian enemies. They were not feared by excommunication of the Pope and called themselves and their bosses with Arabic names. In their war cries they not cursing against name of God. They shouted "Awake sword, kill, kill, Aragon, Aragon..."[3] as referred to by Ramon Muntaner in XIV Century. Muntaner witnessed some of the facts related.
Subsequently, they were adding Christian or pagan ones from diverse origin reinforced by restocking with "Navarres" and "gascons" during Reconquista, so Aragonese, Vascon, Navarre, Vall D'Aranese and other vascon or vasconized people of Ebro Valley; Franks, Urgellese, Ampurianense, Gironese, Toulousian, Rosellonese, Barcelonian, Pallaresian... including Valencian, Mallorcans, Galician, Castilian, Sicilian, Sardinian, Calabrese, Occitan and even Greek, Turkish, and Even Germans, who joined the troops of the king of Aragon during the expedition by the Byzantine Empire.[4][5][6]
The original known Al-Mogauar were bandits located in the territories of the Al Andalus towards tenth century. The first historical reference appears in the Arabic chronicle «muluk Akhbar Al-Andalus», history of the kings of Andalus, written between 887 and 955 by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Razi, known among the Arabs with the nickname Al-Tariji (the Chronicler) and between Christians as the Moor Rasis. In his chronicle, the historian of Qurtuba describes the areas of Al-Andalus, and reached the Ebro valley, Al Tariji quote for first time in history the existence of troops called almogavars, in side muslim, in the city Saraqusta, the Islamic Zaragoza.[6]
The hinterland of Ebro Valley oscillated between two powerful states, Moors of al Andalus and Franks, of Carolingian Empire, looking for expanding The Marca Hispanica. When Charlemagne destroyed the walls of Pamplona after a failed attempt to conquest the muslim Saraqusta, the Vascons Leaders, allies and relatives of Banu Qasi, a muladi family of muslim leaders, annihilated the rearguard of Franks in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass through an ambush of a coaliated vascon and muslim force.
Íñigo Arista of Pamplona was stepbrother of Musa ibn Musa ibn Qasi, by mother. In 799, pro-Frankish assassins, murdered Mutarrif ibn Musa, governor of Pamplona, perhaps the brother of Musa ibn Musa ibn Qasi and of Íñigo himself. Ibn Hayyan reports that in 816, Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit launched a military campaign against the pro-Frankish "Enemy of God", "Velasco the Gascon" (Arabic: بلشك الجلشقي, Balašk al-Ŷalašqī), Sahib of Pamplona (Arabic: صاحب بنبلونة), who had united Christian and pagan factions. They fought a three-day battle in which the pro-Córdoba faction routed their enemies and killed Velasco, along with García López, kinsman of Alfonso II of Asturias, Sancho "warrior/knight of Pamplona", and pagan warrior "Ṣaltān". This defeat of the pro-Frankish force appears to have allowed the anti-French Íñigo to come to power. In 820, Íñigo is said to have intervened in the County of Aragon, ejecting a Frankish vassal, count Aznar I Galíndez, in favor of García el Malo (the Bad), who would become Íñigo's son-in-law. In 824, the Frankish counts Aeblus and Aznar Sánchez made an expedition against Pamplona, but were defeated in the third Battle of Roncesvalles.
Sitting the original source in lands of Al-Andalus, these bands consisting of small groups engaged in the assault of the people by surprise. It will be Aragonese's Crown people, the first documented Christians that they will adapt these lifestyle and fought as their counterparts muslims, ending in such a way as to be known too by the name of almogavers.
The Banu Hud Of taifa of Saraqusta resisted the Almoravid dynasty and ruled until they were eventually defeated by the Almoravids in May 1110. The last sultan of the Banu Hud, Abd-al-Malik, and Imad ad-Dawla of Saraqusta, was forced to abandon the capital. Abd-al-Malik allied himself with the Christian Aragonese under Alfonso I of Aragon and from the time, the Muslims of Saraqusta became military regulars within the Aragonese forces.
In the Taifa of Zaragoza Christian infanzon exiled of Castilla El Cid offer his service to Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud and accepted command of the forces of the Taifa of Zaragoza as their Master in services to the Moorish muslim king of the northeast Al-Andalus city of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, and served both him and his successor, Al-Mustain II. He was then given the title of Al Sidi ( El Cid, The Master) and served as a leading figure in a Moorish force consisting of Muladis, Berbers, Arabs and Malians.
O'Callaghan writes:
That kingdom was divided between al-Mutamin (1081–1085) who ruled Zaragoza proper, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa. El Cid entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza against the assaults of al-Mundhir, Sancho I of Aragón, and Ramón Berenguer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082. In 1084, El Cid and the Moorish armies defeated Sancho of Aragon at the Battle of Morella near Tortosa. He was then troubled by the fierce conflicts between the Muladis of Badajoz and the Arabs of Seville.
In 1086, the Almoravid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula through and around Gibraltar began. The Almoravids, Berber residents of present-day North Africa, led by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, were asked to help defend the divided Moors from Alfonso. El Cid had probably commanded a large Moorish force during the great Battle of Sagrajas, which took place in 1086, near the Taifa of Badajoz. The Almoravid and Andalusian Taifas, including the armies of Badajoz, Málaga, Granada, Tortosa and Seville, defeated a combined army of León, Aragón and Castile.
Although there are no contemporary chronicles of the events of eleventh century or twelfth century, the first mention about almogavers on the Christian side was when the Christian king Alfonso I of Aragon and Pamplona destined Almogavers as population of "El Castellar" fortress, on the banks of the Ebro near Zaragoza circa 1110 or 1111, the same year that Aragonese and Navarrese troops were conquested Ejea and Tauste and they are preparing to besiege Saraqusta.
Already in 1095 troops named almogavars were at service of King Sancho Ramírez I of Aragon, in the conquest of a Muslim city, which the Chronicles not give the name and that after his recapture, was named by the King, naming it in Limousin Mont Són, which was transformed to Castilianize in Monzón.[7][8]
Alfonso the Chaste went to the siege of Al- Madinat kunka (Cuenca) in 1177 with a group armed identified as almogavers to support the Castilian monarch, by be then Aragon yet, a vassal kingdom of Castilla kingdom.
When Peter III of Aragon made war on Charles of Anjou after the Sicilian Vespers of March 30, 1282 for the possession of Naples and Sicily, the Almogavars formed the most effective element of his army. Their discipline and ferocity, the force with which they hurled their javelins, and their activity, made them very formidable to the heavy cavalry of the Angevin armies. They fought against cavalry by attacking firstly horses instead of knights. Once the knight was on the ground he was an easy victim for the Almogavar.
The "Crusade against the Crown of Aragon" was declared by Pope Martin IV against the king Peter the Great of Aragon between 1284 and 1285, for his intervention in Sicilian affairs against the papal will. Most of the conflict took place in Catalonia, although the first episode took place in the frontier of Navarre and Aragon. The Almogavars were at the service of King commanded by King Peter or Roger of Lauria.
Roger of Lauria had much more control over his captains than the enemies did. His crews were made up of specialized troops, instead of the more generic types used by his enemies. His archers were used initially, while his oarsmen almogavars stayed under cover. These almogavars were much more agile than the heavily armored knights with swords, as his enemies often used, especially on the moving deck of a galley at sea. He used trickery to disguise the size of his force. In addition, he sometimes kept some of his galleys hidden, to attack the rear of the enemy after the battle had started.
Roger was also infamous for the ruthless sackings and the devastations of his actions, often driven only by greed and personal advantage. On the other side, his reputation alone possibly caused some enemies to lose heart during a battle.
When the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302 ended the war in southern Italy, the Almogavars, under the leadership of Roger de Flor ("Roger Blum", a former Knight Templar), formed the Catalan Company in the service of the emperor of the East, Andronicus II Palaeologus, to fight against the Turks. Both kings of Aragon and Sicily agreed with the idea since peace had been reached and it was viable alternative to having the Almogavar standing army unemployed in their realms.
Their campaign in Asia Minor during 1303 and 1304 was a series of military victories, but alongside widespread looting of Byzantine civilians, so when they insisted in receiving the agreed payment, the Emperor refused. Thereafter the Almogavars turned to violence, making their presence intolerable to the Byzantine population. Roger de Flor and his lieutenants were assassinated by orders of the Emperor in 1305 while meeting to discuss terms on their compensation, presumably on the instigation of Genoese merchants, who were conspiring to keep their own position of influence and power and keep the Catalans out of the loop. This betrayal resulted in the Almogavars ravaging the neighbourhood of Constantinople.
Subsequently they marched against the Duchy of Athens, under the rule of the French House of Brienne. Duke Walter V of Brienne was defeated and slain by the Almogavars with all his knights at the Battle of the Cephissus, or Orchomenus, in Boeotia in March 1310. They then divided the wives and possessions of the Frenchmen by lot, and summoned a prince of the house of Aragon to rule over them.
The foundation of the Aragonese rule over the duchy of Athens was to be the culminating achievement of the Almogavars. Although the duchy eventually fell to the Ottoman Empire, even today the King of Spain still holds the title of 'Duke of Athens and Neopatria'.
Almogavars were also known as "catalans" in Byzantine Empire territories. The presence of the company left its mark on the Folklore and the popular legend of the different regions where they spent, Balkan area and Greece. A part of the folklore substrate has reached today a negative memory due to the devastation caused by Almogavars troops.
In the region of Thrace it get the saying: the revenge of the Catalans fall on you. In Bulgaria expressions "Catalan" and "Son of Catalan" mean "wicked man, soulless, torturer". This bad reputation reached beyond the boundaries of folklore to influence poets as Ivan M. Vazoz in the poem Pirates, first published in 1915, that cites the Catalans with the Turks as the greatest oppressor of the Bulgarian nation. In the region of Parnassus it is collected the saying: "I will flee from the Turks to fall into the hands of the Catalans".
The Greeks were referring to the Almogavars as dirt people. People are referring from Almogavars irreverence towards the Christian religion, with different examples: "Catalan even eat meat on Good Friday", "To fast as Catalan one" to refer to who did not fast.
In the current Albania the word "Catalan" means "ugly and wicked man." Likewise for "Catalan" ("Katallani") is designated in Albanian folklore, a monster with one eye, reminiscent in many ways the Cyclops Polyphemus. This Cyclops is represented as a blacksmith wild, that feeds on human flesh, without knees, so he can not bend, and with long legs like masts of a ship. He faces a young hero named Dedaliya, which expires with the help of his cunning. This tradition, in various versions, is usually called by the title of Daedalus dhe Katallani, Daedalus and Catalan.
The origin of the word Almogavar is not clear. Like most Iberian words beginning with the prefix "al-", it is likely to be derived from the Arabic language. Al-Mogawer المجاور means "beside" or "neighbor". Catalan sources claim that the word "Almogàver" is based on the name al-mughawwar, meaning «els que provoquen algarades» ("the ones wreaking havoc") given to them by the Saracens. When they made brief incursions (lasting one or two days) of about twelve men into Muslim-controlled territory, they were led by the "Adalí" (from Arabic ad-dalla, "guide"). The captain of a large squadron was known in Catalan as "Almogaten" (from Arabic al-muqaddam, "captain").[9]
Other sources claim that the word Almogavar may come from the Arabic "al-muqafir," a "raider" or "devastator".
Meaning: Listen! listen! Wake up, O iron! Help us God!...Just seeing us coming the villages are already ablaze. Just seeing us passing the crows are wiping their beaks. War and plunder, there are no greater pleasures. Forward Almogavars! Let them call the gravediggers! The voice of the somatent[11] is calling us to war. Weariness, rains, snow and heat we shall endure. And if sleep overtakes us, we will use the earth as our bed. And if we get hungry, we shall eat raw meat. Wake up, O iron! Forward! Fast as the lightning let us fall over their camp! Forward Almogavars! Let us go there to make flesh, the wild beasts are hungry!
The name "Almogavars" was revived for a short time as a party nickname in the civil wars during the reign of Ferdinand VII of Spain.
Además, y corrigiendo trabajos literarios aparecidos en los últimos años, se debe recordar que estos mercenarios hablaban y se comunicaban exclusivamente en aragonés y en catalán medieval. De ninguna manera lo hicieron en castellano, lengua en ese tiempo extraña para ellos [...] y así lo atestiguan documentos como los transmitidos por Johan Ferrández de Heredia o la corte de Pedro IV [de Aragón]—loc. cit. Chusé L. Bolea