The settlement that emerged in Sabiote following the Islamic conquest probably consisted of a refuge with a rammed-earth wall used by the inhabitants of the nearby hamlets.  

The approach of the Christian armies following the conquest of Toledo and other territories in the La Mancha region caused many communities to move further south; in turn, this prompted the expansion of Sabiote’s urban centre, and its walled enclosure was extended towards the south and south-west.

At the same time, alterations were made to the existing walled enclosure, particularly on the north-east side, where three solid masonry towers were erected alongside the rammed-earth wall.

However, the town’s greatest transformation occurred when it was conquered by the Castilians (between 1227 and 1229) and subsequently granted to the Order of Calatrava in 1257 by Alfonso X. The town was extended to the north, west and south-west, and encircled by a new wall, while the reinforcement of the existing defences was finished with the construction of a solid fortification at the north end of the old hisn, resulting in the destruction of the Muslim buildings which had occupied that area. 

The new fortress comprised a rectangular enclosure built of masonry and crowned by seven solid masonry towers, four of which occupied the corners of the fortress while the others stood between them. Of particular note is the large keep on the south side of the castle, which protected the main entrance and was accessed via a staircase leading up to the first floor. The castle was laid out around a small courtyard paved with stone slabs, which was substantially altered when the Renaissance-era buildings were added. On the east side of the complex, a curtain wall was built between the gate tower and the bastion, thereby creating a large enclosed courtyard. The fortress had various areas for everyday use, including one which, in view of its size and the elements found during the archaeological excavations, may correspond to the casa tercia (granary) that the Order built inside the castle grounds. In the northern part of the site, evidence has been found of a structure with an east-west layout that may have served as the castle chapel or oratory.

Between the late 15th and early 16th century, Sabiote passed into the hands of Francisco de los Cobos, who commissioned Andrés de Vandelvira to transform the castle into a majestic Renaissance palace. Vandelvira altered not only the castle’s interior, but also its system of defences: the corner towers were enlarged through the addition of solid bastions, while the curtain walls were clad with dressed masonry and reinforced with ashlars at the corners. 
The castle’s new residential function was underlined through the addition of palatial buildings standing four storeys tall, while the entrances providing access to the fortress’ interior were also changed. The main entrance in the south wall, a monumental semi-circular archway crowned by the Cobos family coat of arms, was protected by a moat equipped with a drawbridge. Inside the castle, new residential spaces were laid out around a large porticoed courtyard, which boasted arches resting on columns on three of its sides and occupied most of the former bailey. The construction of the lower courtyards and an underground stable resulted in the destruction of most of the internal structures and rooms of the medieval fortress, including the keep and staircase.

The castle complex underwent thorough restoration during the second half of the 20th century.

Archaeological excavations carried out in Plaza del Castillo on the north and east sides of the walled enclosure, as well as inside, have shown that the land on which what is now Sabiote sits has been occupied since prehistoric times. The discovery of cist graves and the foundations of huts and storage silos, along with numerous other elements, confirms the existence of a Chalcolithic settlement around 2500 BC. These types of settlements were inhabited by subsistence communities who practised hunting, fishing, foraging and farming; activities made possible by the fertile floodplains of the nearby River Guadalquivir and River Guadalimar.

The archaeological studies also documented the existence of two phases of Islamic-era occupation: the first between the 8th and 10th centuries and the second between the 11th and 13th centuries. The second phase was structurally more important than the first, and corresponds to the remains of a walled town called Hisn Sabiyyuto.

This town was conquered by Ferdinand III between 1227 and 1229 during his military incursions into the region of La Loma de Úbeda. Following the conquest, Sabiote was granted a set of privileges under the medieval charter known as the Fuero de Cuenca. In 1257, Alfonso X gave the town to the Order of de Calatrava in exchange for the town of Almoguera and its castle. 

The Order made major alterations to the Islamic settlement, building a castle at the most strategic point within the former hisn and beginning the construction of a new walled enclosure that encircled (and, in certain locations, replaced) the existing Muslim defences. The fabric of the town was greatly transformed and large areas inside the walls were abandoned or repurposed as burial sites.

The network of fortifications built by the Order of Calatrava played an important role in securing the border during the process of territorial expansion carried out by the Castilian armies in the 13th and 14th centuries, and came to prominence once again during the second half of the 15th century within the context of the conflicts between noble families that broke out during the reign of Henry IV of Castile. The Order also supported Isabella’s claim in the War of the Castilian Succession. 

Sabiote was controlled by the Order of Calatrava until the late 15th or early 16th century, when it was eventually sold by Alonso de Baeza to Francisco de los Cobos. The new owner commissioned Andrés de Vandelvira to convert the castle into a majestic Renaissance palace.