Castle of Navas de Tolosa

Description

The castle of Navas de Tolosa is a small fortification in height that takes advantage of the defensive possibilities offered by the rock formation on which it is based, a hoss of a certain magnitude, capable of hosting a small military garrison. It is made up of a walled enclosure and a hexagonal tower, and may have had a second enclosure to protect them. Because of the presence in its surroundings of numerous vestiges of construction it may have been surrounded by a small population that would find refuge among its walls in case of danger.
The castle of the Navas de Tolosa or the Collados or the Eagles was one of the fortresses that were built to protect the Puerto del Muradal, one of the main mountain steps that communicated al- Andalus with the Plateau. The transcendental battle of the Navas de Tolosa marked its history, as it would be taken by the Castilians in the context of the confrontation between the Christian and Muslim sides, in July 1212. During the 13th century, it would have the role of protecting and monitoring the passage of troops and supplies for the campaigns carried out by Christian armies in the conquest of al- Andalus.

The castle of the Navas de Tolosa is made up of a trapeze-shaped walled enclosure and a hexagonal plant tower located at its northeastern angle. Possibly there was a second external enclosure to which some visible canvas would belong in the surroundings of the castle.

The site of the fortification, very destroyed, was possibly built in a tapial of argamase on a base of masonry, adapts to the rocky plateau on which it sits, using it as a foundation and as part of its defense. Inside it are distinguished some sections of walls that would belong to internal dependencies and a possible aljibe.

Two accesses are kept inside the fortress, the main door was located on its west side, protected by a narrow wall that supports a natural rock skid. On the eastern flank, next to the tower, a narrow posterna is opened partially hidden by a rock that gives it visual protection and creates a narrow corridor to reach it.

The tower, built in a very compact tapial with its high lime content, retains about 14 m from the outside and only two from the inside. In the outer plucido of the tower there are still some lines that would be part of some type of decoration or simulation of large armchairs, a technique known as false parting, especially in the area of the posterna.

Inside there is a rectangular space that occupies much of the stay, leaving a narrow corridor around it. It is possible to be an aljibe to collect and store the rain water, whose cover would hold the ground on the first floor of the tower.

To the north-east of the fortress there are traces of a rectangular building with internal divisions, perhaps the hermitage that was erected shortly after the Christian conquest. Other walls that are distinguished in their surroundings could be evidence of the existence of a small plateau.

The area of Despeñacolos has attracted inhabitants since Prehistory for its steep orography, in which caves and coats proliferate, as well as for its natural sites conducive to sacralization.

But it was its strategic value with respect to the natural steps that pass through Sierra Morena, so fortifications were erected during the Middle Ages, and even in previous periods, with the aim of controlling the communication routes between the Plateau and al- Ándalus.

Although the small plateau could be inhabited already in the Bronze Age and in Roman times, the Castle of Navas de Tolosa, it would be built between the XI- XII centuries by Muslims to control the natural steps of Despeñacolos. Years later, they would strengthen their defensive role in an attempt to stop the progress of Christian troops. This fortress became one of the "doors" of the passage of the Muradal, along with Castro Ferral, which made it a goal to beat. After the battle of the Navas de Tolosa will definitely be in the power of Castile.

The fortress was part of the stage of one of the most prominent milestones in the medieval history of the Peninsular, because of its significance in the advance of the Christian kingdoms over al- Ándalus, the battle of the Saves of Tolosa, fought on July 16, 1212. Conceived as a crusade, it was a contest in which the routes and steps to the Plateau played a fundamental role. A coalition of Christian kings, Alfonso VIII of Castile, Peter II of Aragon and Sancho VII of Navarra, supported by Pope Innocent III, faced against the Almohad Caliph of Muhammad al-Nasir, in whose army fighters from the Maghreb, from sub-Saharan territories and from Turkish contingents were integrated.

On 12 July 1212, troops under the command of Don Diego López de Haro took over the Puerto del Muradal. Two days later, after being blocked in the passage of the Slayer, Christians camp in the place known as the King's Table, from where they went to battle, defeating the Almohad army.

After the victory of the Christian armies, the fortification of the Navas would remain important on the route of the Muradal throughout the 13th century, becoming one of the strategic points for control of the passage of troops during the conquest of Alto Guadalquivir. In 1217 the archbishop of Toledo was awarded the castles of the region, with the consent of Pope Honorio III, who confirmed them as the limits of the Toledo archdiocese.

According to the written sources, this space was repopulated by Spanish contingents throughout the 13th century, and its castle was demolished in 1473 under the mandate of the City of Baeza.