This article is about the specific polity Kingdom of Castile and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was a Christian Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula that emerged during the medieval period of Reconquista. It controlled most of modern Spain. In 1479 it entered a Personal Union with the Kingdom of Aragon that eventually led to the creation of Spain.
Summary
The Kingdom of Castile emerged as one of the most powerful Christian kingdoms in medieval Spain. It originated in the 11th century as a county within the Kingdom of León, but gradually expanded southward through the Reconquista, conquering large swaths of territory from the Moors.
Castile developed a strong, centralized monarchy, with the crown accumulating significant political and economic power. The Castilian monarchy also projected ambitions of imperial expansion, with Castilian forces playing a key role in the conquest and colonization of the Americas starting in the late 15th century.
Culturally, Castile became a major center of the Spanish language and literature, with the Court and capital of Madrid serving as a hub for artistic and intellectual activity. Castilian also became the dominant language within the unified Spanish monarchy that emerged in the late 15th century.
Establishment
January 1036: Establishment of the Kingdom of Castile.
January 1036: Sancho III of Navarre, also known as Sancho the Great, divided his kingdom among his four sons upon his death in 1035. The territory of Navarre went to his son, Ferdinand, while his son, Garcia, received the Kingdom of Galicia. The Kingdom of Castile was given to his son, Gonzalo.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Were a series military campaigns from the 8th century until 1492 by the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula to reconquer the region from the Islamic rulers that had conquered it during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania.
January 1173: All of Muslim Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172.
January 1178: Alfonso VIII of Castile takes Cuenca.
July 1195: At the subsequent Battle of Alarcos, the Castilians were defeated by the caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur. The reoccupation of the surrounding territory by the Almohads was quickly commenced with Calatrava falling first.
July 1195: Battle of Alarcos (July 18, 1195).
January 1213: In 1212, the Kingdom of Castile, led by King Alfonso VIII, captured the fortresses of Calatrava, Alarcos, and Benavente before facing the decisive battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Almohad Caliphate on July 16th.
January 1227: Taifa of Baeza conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1230: Alfonso IX of Leon advances along the Guadiana River and conquers Mérida and Badajoz.
January 1231: Taifa of Badajoz conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1232: Cazorla conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1233: Ibiza and Jaén finally fall into Christian hands.
January 1234: Ubeda conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1237: Ferdinand III of Castile took Cordova in 1236.
January 1239: In 1238, Niebla-Huelva was conquered by King Ferdinand III of Castile, not Leon as previously stated. This marked the territory's transfer to the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
January 1239: Niebla and Huelva conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1240: In 1239, the Portuguese, led by King Sancho II, defeated the Moors at the Battle of Aimonte. This victory led to the conquest of the eastern Algarve and the Alentejo regions.
January 1241: Ecija and Lucena conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1244: Orihuela conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1245: Taifa of Arjona conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
January 1247: In 1246, Carmona, a strategic town in Andalusia, fell to the Christians of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
January 1247: The Kingdom of Castile captured the Spanish provinces of Jaén and Arjona by King Ferdinand III of Castile.
December 1248: Ferdinand III of Castile entered Seville as a conqueror on December 22, 1248.
December 1248: Seville conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1249: Alicante conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
November 1261: Taifa of Jerez conquered by Castile.
January 1263: Taifa of Niebla conquered by Castile.
January 1267: The Taifa of Murcia was absorbed by Castile.
January 1270: In 1269, the Almohad Caliphate fell to the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista. This marked a significant victory for King Alfonso X of Castile, who continued to push southward, reclaiming territories from Muslim rule until 1270.
January 1270: After the death of the last Almohad caliph, the Emirate of Granada, led by Muhammad II al-Faqih, took control of the former Almohad territories in Iberia in 1269.
January 1276: In 1275, Muslim forces besieged Ecija, a town in Al-Andalus.
February 1276: End of Muslim siege of Ecija.
January 1293: Castilian conquest of Tarifa.
January 1310: Ferdinand IV of Castile conquers Gibraltar.
January 1328: Castilian conquest of Olvera.
January 1330: Ronda conquered by Marinid Dynasty.
January 1331: Castilian conquest of Ardales.
January 1334: The Marinids conquered Gibraltar.
October 1340: Defeat of the Merinids at the Battle of Tarifa in 1340. The Marinids loose all possessions in the Iberian Peninsula but Algesiras.
January 1342: Castilian conquest of Acala La Real and Priego.
January 1345: The loss of Algeciras in 1344 to the Castilians marked the end of the dynasty's Iberian ambitions.
January 1372: Territorial change based on available maps.
January 1408: Castilian conquest of Zahara.
January 1411: Castilian conquest of Antequera.
January 1434: Castilian conquest of Xiquena.
January 1435: Castilian conquest of Huescar.
January 1439: Castilian conquest of Huelma.
January 1463: Castilian conquest of Gibraltar.
January 1463: Castilian conquest of Archidona.
On his death, Sancho III of Pamplona divided his possessions among his four sons.
Was a Castilian military campaign that resulted in the conquest of teh Canary Islands.
3.1.Conquista señorial
Was the phase of the conquest of the Canary Islands when the military operations were led by the sole Crown of Castile.
September 1402: The Castilian army arrived in Lanzarote in the summer of 1402. The island's aborigines and their chief Guadarfia were unable to resist the invading forces and surrendered.
January 1406: The Castilian conquest of El Hierro Island took place in 1405.
January 1406: Fuerteventura conquered by Kingdom of Castile.
January 1451: The island of La Gomera was not taken in battle but was incorporated into the Peraza-Herrera fiefdom through an agreement between Hernán Peraza The Elder and some of the insular aboriginal groups who accepted the rule of the Castilian. However, there were a number of uprisings by the guanches due to outrages committed by the rulers on the native Gomeros. The last one, in 1488 caused the death of the islands ruler, Hernán Peraza The Younger, whose widow, Beatriz de Bobadilla y Ossorio, succeeded him in rule and sought the assistance of Pedro de Vera, conqueror of Gran Canaria, in order to snuff out the rebellion. The subsequent repression caused the death of two hundred rebels and many others were sold into slavery in the Spanish markets.
3.2.Conquista realenga
Was the phase of the conquest of the Canary Islands when the military operations were led by the united Crowns of Castile and Aragon.
3.2.1.Conquest of Gran Canaria
Was the Spanish conquest of the island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary islands.
June 1478: A Castilian expeditionary force disembarked on La Isleta on 24 June 1478. They founded Real de La Palmas near to Barranco de Guiniguada on the site of the present day Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
June 1478: A battle took place near to Real where the Canary islanders were defeated by the Castilian. This initial victory gave the Castilians control of the north east corner of Gran Canaria Island.
Was a civil war in the Kingdom of Navarre caused by the succession dispute started after the death of Queen Blanche I. The war pitted the supporters of Juan II of Aragon (the husband of Queen Blanche against Charles (the son of Blanche and Juan). The ware resulted in the victory of Juan II who united Aragon and Navarre in personal union.
November 1464: The Navarrese Civil War ended with the signing of the Tarragona concord between Juan II and the Beaumont leaders, by which they recognized him as king of Navarra.
September 1037: Bermudo III of León, was ultimately killed in the Battle of Tamarón by Ferdinand of Castile. This allowed Ferdinand to unite his Castilian county with the new-won crown of León as king Ferdinand I.
December 1065: By his will, Ferdinand of Leon divided his kingdom among his three sons: the eldest, Sancho, received Castile; the second, Alfonso, León. From the latter the region of Galicia was carved off to create a separate state for García.
January 1072: Sancho of Castile's attack on León resulted in Alfonso's defeat and exile in 1072. Sancho reunited Castile and Leon.
January 1158: Division of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon after the death of Alfonso VII.
January 1177: Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor, daughter of Henry II Plantagenet, married, with the Castilian king claiming Gascony as part of the dowry. It turned out a much needed pretext for the invasion of Navarre during the following years (1173-1176). The Navarrese lost the Bureba and Rioja areas.
January 1178: Alfonso VIII of Castile takes Cuenca.
January 1179: Ferdinand of Leon surprised his nephew Alfonso VIII of Castile, and occupied Castrojeriz and Dueñas.
January 1201: By 1200 the conquest of western Navarre was complete. Castile allowed these territories (with the exceptions of Treviño and Oñati, which were directly ruled from Castile) the right to keep their traditional customs and laws.
June 1230: In 1230, the Kingdom of Leon, under the rule of King Alfonso IX, conquered the entire region of Extremadura, including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz. This marked a significant expansion of Leon's territory and influence in the Iberian Peninsula.
September 1230: When Alfonso IX died in 1230, his son by Berenguela of Castile, Ferdinand III of Castile, invaded León and assumed the crown.
January 1231: Elvas was definitively reconquered by King Sancho II of Portugal around 1230, along with the castle of Juromenha near Alandroal. This marked a significant victory for the Kingdom of Portugal in their efforts to expand and consolidate their territory in the region.
January 1241: Sancho II of Portugal continued the holy war, which led him, between 1238 and 1240, to subject some castles in the south of the Alentejo and the entire western part of the Algarve.
January 1254: Having become king of Castile, Alfonso X, in 1253, invaded Portugal and appropriated the Algarve region.
January 1264: Alfonso III of Portugal managed to obtain the hand of Alfonso X of Castile's illegitimate daughter, Beatrice, with the stipulation that when the couple's first child turned seven, the Algarve would revert to Portugal. In 1263, not without some resistance (perhaps because the heir was the third child and was only two years old), Alfonso X of Castile handed over the Algarve to Portugal.
January 1270: In 1269, the Almohad Caliphate fell to the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista. This marked a significant victory for King Alfonso X of Castile, who continued to push southward, reclaiming territories from Muslim rule until 1270.
January 1270: In 1269, the Almohad Caliphate fell to the Kingdom of Aragon during the Reconquista. This marked a significant victory for King James I of Aragon, who led the Christian forces in reclaiming territory from Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista continued until 1270, with the Kingdom of Aragon making further gains in the region.
January 1277: Conquests of Jaime / Jaume I during the Reconquista by 1276.
January 1286: Conquests of Pedro / Pere III of Aragon during the Reconquista by 1285.
January 1290: Conquest of Elx.
January 1292: Conquests of Alfonso / Alfonso III of Aragon during the Reconquista.
January 1295: Territorial change based on available maps.
January 1296: Taking advantage of the young age of the new king of Castile, the king of Portugal, Dionysius, declared war on Castile, forcing him to return the cities of Serpa and Moura and also to cede the cities of Aroche and Aracena to Portugal.
January 1297: Conquest of Crevillent.
January 1297: Secession of Leon from Castile.
January 1301: Conquest of Lorca.
January 1302: Prince John renounced his claims to the kingdom of León, in exchange for large donations.
May 1305: The Treaty of Elche was an agreement signed between the representatives of the kings Fernando IV of Castile and Jaime II of Aragon in the city of Elche , on May 19 , 1305 . In this agreement the division of the kingdom of Murcia was finalized.
January 1479: In 1469, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon were married, uniting the crowns of their respective kingdoms. This union eventually led to the formation of the powerful Spanish Empire.
Disestablishment
January 1479: In 1469, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon were married, uniting the crowns of their respective kingdoms. This union eventually led to the formation of the powerful Spanish Empire.
Selected Sources
Expansión peninsular de la Corona de Aragón. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 21 September 2021. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Expansi%C3%B3n_peninsular_de_la_Corona_de_Arag%C3%B3n.png
Harvey, L. P. (1992): Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500, Chicago (USA)
O'Callaghan, J. F. (2011): The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait, Philadelphia (USA)
O'Callaghan, J. F. (2014): The Last Crusade in the West: Castile and the Conquest of Granada, Philadelphia (USA)
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Kingdom of Castile
