On November 23, 1248 AD, the people of Seville left their city after a siege that lasted about 17 months, and their number was estimated at about 400,000 Muslims.

And that day became the day of the fall of the largest cities in Andalusia in the hands of the King of Castile, as a result of the betrayal of the Emir of Granada, Ibn al-Ahmar, who is often called God, who contributed with his soldiers to the Christians' takeover of Seville, according to a treaty he signed with their king in 643 AH / 1246 AD, and was described as a "shame and disgrace" treaty.

And the King of Castile, Fernando, entered the city in December of the same year, and turned its mosque into a church. 

Name and location

The origin of the name Seville was "Spal";

That is, the plain land, and it was said that Julius Caesar, when he built it, called it "Julius' Rome", and it was known to the Greeks as "Ishbania";

Either attributing to the name of their king, Ishban ibn Tatish, or to a people with this name, or deriving from the Phoenician term Eshvila or Spana.

It was also called "Hesperia", which means the red planet or the star of the sky.

It was named "Ishbali" of Iberian origin, meaning: the flat city, then its name changed to the Latin name "Hispilis" after it was conquered by the Romans.

The Muslims Arabized it to (Seville), and from it the Spaniards derived the current name (Sevilla).

The city of Seville is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River (southern Spain), and the river - one of the largest and most important rivers in Andalusia - originates from the Shaqqura Mountains, passes through the city of Cordoba to Seville, and is a link between the city and other Andalusian cities.

Seville is 86 km from the Atlantic Ocean.

Markets and various businesses abound in this valley, which bring huge profits to Seville and its inhabitants.

Therefore, its people were known for their abundant wealth and trade.

Date

The Iberians are considered the first to establish the city of Seville, and before that it was a Greek and Phoenician military colony, then Carthage, before the Romans invaded it, then it was the capital of the Kingdom of the Vandals, and the seat of the kings of the Visigoths between the years 441 and 567 AD.

At the beginning of the seventh century AH, it was one of the most important early Christian centers in Spain, before the Muslim Arabs entered it in 713 AD.

Because of the importance of its location, it was one of the major bases for Muslims in Andalusia.

It was inhabited by Arabs and Berbers along with its original inhabitants, some of whom converted to Islam and called them "peaceful" or "converts".

As for those who grew up under Islam, they were called "Al-Muwalladun", and they were the majority of Seville's residents at the time of the Umayyad emirate, and many of them kept their Spanish names as a result of mixing and marriage. As for those who remained on the Christian religion, they were called "Ajam" or "Arabists".

Seville was the capital of Andalusia during the reign of Musa bin Naseer, and its first governor was Issa bin Abdullah Al-Taweel, then it became the seat of the rule of the kings of Bani Abbad, and the Almoravid caliphs after them, then the Almohads who were the last strong states and kingdoms in it, and Fernando III, King of Castile, wrested it from them, and established It has a cathedral, and is the first Christian king to be buried there.

Seville was the capital of Andalusia during the reign of Musa bin Naseer (Shutterstock)

sects and states

After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty, Andalusia was divided into emirates ruled by the princes of the districts, and they were called "kings of sects", and their era lasted about 70 years, from 1023 AD to 1091 AD.

And the country was divided under their rule into a group of states, the number of which reached more than 23, although approximately 25% of the area of ​​Andalusia was in the hands of the Christians.

The kings of the sects raced to pay tribute to the kings of Leon and Castile, hoping to defeat their opponents from the kings of the other sects.

After the defeat of the Almohads in the Battle of Al-Aqab (plural of Aqaba) in 1212 AD, the Andalusian regions fell successively in the hands of the Christians of Castile, and only two large states remained at that time, namely:

  • The state of Granada is located in the southeast, and represents about 15% of the area of ​​​​Andalusia.

    It was ruled by the Bani Nasr family (Banu al-Ahmar), and its prince was Muhammad bin Yusuf bin Nasr, who was nicknamed Ibn al-Ahmar because of the red color of his hair.

    They are the last dynasty that ruled in Andalusia between 1432 AD and 1492 AD.

  • The state of Seville, located in the southwest, and represents about 10% of the land of Andalusia.

    It was the meeting point of public roads in the south of the country, and it was ruled by Banu Abbad for 70 years, and it began with the rule of “Abu al-Qasim Muhammad” (19 years), then his son Amr bin Abbad, nicknamed al-Mu’tadid (28 years), followed by his grandson Muhammad bin Abbad, nicknamed al-Mu’tamid (23 years). .

base of Bani Abad and the Almohads

The state of Bani Abbad, the kings of Seville, is the most famous of the sects, and their origin is from the Arabs who first settled in Shalab (western Andalusia). Seville, and its people had presented him to the presidency until the strife cleared.

His son, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad bin Ismail bin Abbad, succeeded him after his death. Al-Qasim bin Hammoud had appointed him at that time as governor of Seville, declared his allegiance to Hisham al-Muayyed, and then became independent in ruling the city in 1029 AD.

This rich judge (he owned a third of the city's wealth) is considered the founder of the King of Bani Abad with his strength, firmness and intelligence.

Then his son Abu Omar Abbad bin Muhammad bin Ismail, nicknamed Al-Mu'tadid, was 26 years old.

Al-Mu'tadid closed its doors in his face, disguised him, and met with two of the country's elders, namely: Abu Abdullah Al-Zubaidi, and the vizier Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Barim, and they managed the matter of Seville, then Al-Mu'tadid singled out its rule, and entered into long wars with his neighbors to expand the city. For the sake of this, he committed major moral crimes, and Ibn Bassam described him as "the pole of the millstone of sedition, and the end of the end of the ordeal."

And he did reprehensible actions, such as establishing the Garden of Heads, which he founded from the skulls of his enemies after killing them, and he bragged about that, as he was able to expand his country at the expense of Muslims, and he rushed to pay tribute to Fernando I and then to Alfonso VI.

He died in 1068 AD, and it is said that the cause of his death was the death of his daughter in his hands, so he mourned her loss until death overtook him 4 days after her death.

Al-Mutamid was only 29 years old when he succeeded his father on the throne of Seville, and he was preoccupied with paying the tribute at that time, so Alfonso VI asked for some forts in addition to the amount of the tribute, and he also requested that his wife enter the Cordoba Mosque to give birth there, and to go down to Madinat al-Zahra, west of Cordoba.

He sent his demands with his Jewish minister to notify the authorized one, but the minister was harsh, so he hit him on the head with an inkwell that was in his hands and ordered him to be crucified backwards.

When Alfonso learned what Ibn Abbad had done, he swore to conquer Seville.

When Al-Mu'tamid seized Cordoba, Alfonso's ambitions threatened him, so he was forced to seek the help of Yusuf bin Tashfin Al-Murabiti, who moved to his rescue twice and defeated the Christian forces in the Battle of Zalaqa on October 22, 1086 AD.

In his third crossing, he annexed Seville to the rule of the Almoravid state in 1091 AD.

Al-Mu'tamid died captive with Yusuf ibn Tashfin in the town of Aghmat near the city of Marrakesh (southern Morocco) in 1095 AD.

In 1147 AD, Seville became a base for the Almohads, then their state fell after the death of Muhammad Al-Nasir in 1269 AD.

Treaty of "Shame and Shame"

It follows the fall of the cities of Andalusia and its major metropolises into the hands of the enemies, with the help of some sectarian kings.

Especially Ibn al-Ahmar (Prince of Granada), who became, during the first phase of his state's establishment, a follower of Fernando III and his collaborator in handing over the countries of Andalusia.

He was obligated to give military assistance when asked, to attend its councils (the Corts), and to pay an annual tribute of 150 pieces of gold to be paid within 20 years (the term of the treaty).

Ibn al-Ahmar was forced to send military aid that participated in the Castilian takeover of Seville;

Based on the treaty he signed with the King of Castile in 1246 AD, known as the Treaty of Shame and Disgrace.

After the death of Fernando I, Ibn al-Ahmar renewed the covenant with his successor, Alfonso X, dubbed "Alfonso the World".

Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib said in this regard, "This is how Ibn al-Ahmar bought his safety and the safety of his kingdom at this heavy price in order to devote himself to organizing his kingdom and consolidating his internal authority, which contributed to directing attention towards Seville, the last remaining metropolis of Andalusia outside the borders of Ibn al-Ahmar's kingdom."

Al-Maqri said about him, “And Ibn al-Ahmar was the first in his command to connect his hand with the tyrant (Fernando III) to show his command, so he supported him, and Ibn Hood gave him thirty fortresses in the palm of his west (safe from his evil) because of Ibn al-Ahmar, and to help him over the king of Cordoba, so he received it and then conquered Cordoba (…) Then (Fernando III) descended on Seville in the year forty-six and Ibn al-Ahmar with him, then he entered it by peace and took possession of its works...".

Aerial view of Seville (Shutterstock)

Siege of Seville

In the year 1245 AD, Al-Hakam in Seville passed to Abu Amr Ibn Al-Jed, who is the grandson of the famous jurist Ibn Rushd Al-Jed.

He had made a treaty with Fernando III on the same terms as with Ibn al-Ahmar.

So the people of Seville revolted against him and killed him, and declared the treaty invalid, so Fernando was angry at what happened, and he used that as an excuse to enter Seville, which was a military city surrounded by impregnable walls on all sides.

In August 1247 AD, Fernando crossed the river valley with his armies and near the city of Qarmona, and Ibn al-Ahmar, the prince of Granada, met him with military aid of 500 knights, and together they marched south towards Jaber Castle, the fortress of Seville, from the southeast.

The front fort of Seville, Garmona, was captured, then Lora, Qantlana, Ghaliana, and Greena, and with the fall of the castle town, all the front forts of Seville from the north, east and west were in the hands of the Castilians.

It was Ibn al-Ahmar who persuaded its owners to hand it over to Fernando in return for his pledge to spare their blood and preserve their money and livelihood.

Fernando gathered around the city great forces, and his fleet (13 large ships and a number of small ones) occupied the waters of the mouth of the Guadalquivir;

To prevent the arrival of supplies and supplies to Seville by sea, the castle of Tariana was the first line of defense for the city of Seville, as it was the only outlet to receive supplies from the Moroccan enemy.

Aerial view of the cathedral in Seville (Shutterstock)

The Castilians isolated the city from the north and east, and the Bishop of Lyon (Pierre de Tarentis) testified that cannons were used during the siege, and it was the first use of gunpowder in the west, and the severity of the siege intensified after the Christians cut off the connection between Tariana and Seville, and the bridge was destroyed, which was the only and last resort to supply the city.

The siege lasted for about 17 months, and hunger and disease ravaged the people.

Al-Marrakshi mentioned in the translation of Abi al-Hasan al-Dabbaj - who was one of the notables and scholars of Seville - that his supplication in the siege of Seville was "that God not expel him from it and not test him with what he tested inside it."

He died 9 days before it fell, and only 3 people attended the prayer for him, as a result of the epidemic and hunger that befell the people.

Because of the severity of the turmoil and bad condition, al-Dabbaj was buried in his house after digging his grave with knives.

In his book, “Al-Bayan al-Maghrib fi Akhbar al-Andalus wa al-Maghrib,” Ibn Adhara describes the city’s condition, saying, “They lacked all facilities, few and great, except for what was in some of the homes of the rich, and people walked drunk while they were not drunk. And people ate the skins."

A view of the Plaza de España in Seville (IRIN)

The last fall

The people of Seville - the capital of the Almohads in Andalusia - had no choice but to accept the handover of the city and leave it.

Their leaders first offered to hand over a third of the city, then half of it, then the negotiations ended with the handing over of the entire city and the rest of its lands on November 23, 1248 CE.

The governor's palace and the seat of government in Seville were handed over to the King of Castile, so he raised his royal emblem over the high tower of the palace, signaling the city's fall into the hands of the Christians.

The city was evacuated within a month, and the accounts estimated the number of those who left at about 400,000 Muslims, 100,000 of whom migrated by sea to Ceuta in Morocco, and 300,000 who left by land and dispersed throughout Andalusia.

Fernando entered the city of Seville in a huge procession, after the Muslims ruled it for more than 5 centuries.

As soon as he entered it, he issued an order to convert its congregational mosque into a church, remove the signs of Islam from it, and grant the homes of Muslims and their lands to his soldiers.

Since that date, Seville became the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Castile, and its fall came after the fall of Cordoba and the cities of the East, the liquidation of the Muslim sultan in the Iberian Peninsula, and only the Giralda silo, or the beacon of the Great Mosque founded by Abu Yaqub al-Mansur al-Muwahhid, remained of their ruins.