Calatrava la Vieja (formerly justCalatrava) is amedieval site and original nucleus of theOrder of Calatrava. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks (Parques Arqueológicos) of theCommunity of Castile-La Mancha. Situated atCarrión de Calatrava, Calatrava during theHigh Middle Ages was the only important city in theGuadiana River valley. It thus guarded the roads toCordova andToledo.
Its name is derived from the (Arabic:قلعة رباح,romanized: Qalʿat Rabāḥ,lit. 'Fortress of Rabah'), a reference to theArab nobleman who held this area in the 8th century, although as a fortress it may date even earlier – toIberian times.
References to the site date from as early as 785, and in 853 owing to conflicts between the Muslims ofToledo and theemirate of Cordova, it was partially destroyed, but rebuilt later. The site was rebuilt under al-Hakam (son of Abd ar-Rahman II), brother ofMuhammad I. It became the capital of the region. At the fall of theCaliphate of Cordova, theTaifa kingdoms or republics ofSeville,Cordova, and Toledo competed to acquire Calatrava.
Toledo was conquered byAlfonso VI of Castile in 1085, and theAlmoravids arrived in theIberian Peninsula a year later. In 1147, Calatrava was conquered byAlfonso VII, becoming one of the farthestChristian outposts during this stage of theinvasions.
The castle was placed under the protection of theKnights Templar, but this proved unsatisfactory, andSancho III of Castile made an offer: he would grant the town and fortress of Calatrava to anyone who promised to defend it from the Moors. Encouraged by a friar named Diego Velásquez, who had been a warrior before becoming a friar,Saint Raymond of Fitero took up the challenge. Sancho granted them the privilege of defending Calatrava, and Raymond organized an army, with the support ofJuan II of Toledo, theArchbishop of Toledo, that successfully prevented the Moors from attacking this place in 1158.[1]
As a result of this success, Raymond decided to found the Order of Calatrava, organized alongCistercian[2] lines.
The city was reconquered by theAlmohads in 1195, after their victory againstAlfonso VIII at theBattle of Alarcos. They held it for 17 years, until 1212, when it was recovered as part of the campaign that resulted in the decisiveBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa: after conquering Calatrava, there were some disagreements among the members of the Christian coalition: French and other European knights were not used to the summer heat, but more importantly, they did not agree withAlfonso VIII´s order of humane treatment ofJews and Muslims. Previously, they had created problems inToledo, (where the different armies of the Crusade gathered), with assaults and murders in theJewish Quarter. So, more than 30,000 men deserted and crossed back over thePyrenees.
In 1217, the Order of Calatrava moved toCalatrava la Nueva (castle of Dueñas), 60 km to the south. Thus, the original site became known as "Calatrava la Vieja" ("Old Calatrava").
Calatrava la Vieja remained the center of the royal land grant, but it was completely abandoned by the early fifteenth century, when the Knight Commander of Calatrava moved his residence to Carrión de Calatrava.
