Archaeological remains from the siege of Madinat Basta (Baza, Spain), by the catholic monarchs in 1489

ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS FROM THE SIEGE OF MADINAT BASTA (BAZA, SPAIN), BY THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS IN 1489 Luis José García-Pulido (1) Alejandro Caballero Cobos (2) (1) University of Malaga. Department of Art and Architecture / Laboratory of Archaeology and Architecture of the City (LAAC), School of Arabic Studies, CSIC, (Spanish National Research Council) (Granada, Spain) (2) Centro de Estudios y Arqueología Bastetana (Baza, Spain) ABSTRACT The Catholic Monarchs (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) besieged the cities of the last Islamic kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula during the War of Granada, until surrender the capital of the Nasrid dynasty, Madinat Garnata and Madina alHamra. The military campaigns were strategically programmed. A series of cities was chosen so that their fall would cause the surrender of a part of the territory, due to a domino effect (Fig. 1). 1 The capture of Madinat Basta (Baza), to the extreme North of the Nasrid kingdom, was seen as an easy target by the strategists of the Catholic Monarchs. However, the battle-hardened defence of the population and the special configuration and territorial layout of the city resulted in one of the hardest sieges of the campaign, lasting from mid-June to the beginning of December, 1489 (Fig. 2). Around Baza there are archaeological remains of different structures that can be linked to this conflict. In this paper we have analysed the fortification works that could have been built during the Christian siege of 1489, on the basis of the archaeological evidence and the historical written sources (fig. 3). 2 THE SIEGE OF BAZA The Nasrid kingdom of Granada, developed from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, was conquered after a long lasting war of attrition carried out from 1482, with the capture of Alhama, until the beginning of 1492, when the last Nasrid Sultan, Boabdil, hand over 3 the keys of Granada and the Alhambra to the Catholic Monarchs (Fig. 4). The second city in importance and main port of this kingdom, Malaga, was conquered in 1487 (Fig. 5). After that, the Catholic Monarchs were hoping that the war would conclude with a general capitulation. Nevertheless, some areas of resistance worsened and the uncle of the Sultan of Granada, Muhammad ibn Sa’d (known as El Zagal by the Christians, The Brave), which was controlling the cities of Almeria, Guadix, Baza, Almuñecar and Salobreña, departed in 1488 from his headquarters in Guadix to plunder the fields of many border places. As a response, in the winter of 1489 the Catholic Monarchs began preparations to conquer the territories under his rule, after being sure that his nephew would not offer to him any support (Fig. 6). 4 They determined to siege the city of Baza for being next to the border, thinking that with its conquest it would be easier to surrender other important cities such as Guadix and Almeria. This decision was determined by the easy communications between Baza and Vera, conquered the previous year, which allows provisions by sea, and Quesada to the north, where the Catholic Monarchs brought together around 13.000 knights and over 50.000 foot-soldiers, followed by labourers and traders to supply needs to the troops. Different castles that created a first defensive perimeter of the city were conquered on the way to Baza. The iron will defence offered by the Muslims held up the Christian troops more than a week, allowing Baza to lay down plentiful extra supplies of provisions and fighting men. Even so, the ratio between besieged and besiegers 5 there must have been one to five, which seemed to predict a quick victory. Nevertheless, the siege of Baza was the hardest and most prolonged of the War of Granada up to 1489 (Fig. 7). The Christian troops found a difficult battlefield with many more natural and man-made defences than expected. Apart from the fortress of Baza and the city walls, the surrounding suburbs were full of houses and low walls. Outside and inside them, the irrigated area was a dense and intricate labyrinth of alleys between enclosures, water channels, houses and towers, with the addition of some strengthen walled structures specially designed to protect the defenders that were fighting outside the city walls (Fig. 8). 6 After the arrival of the Christian troops in mid-June, the military camp was established outside the orchards and groves spread around the city to a radius of almost 6 km. Probably, it was placed in a wide flat promontory that controlled the Meadow of the Seven Fountains, head of most of the hydraulic system of the fertile plain of Baza. Its control was vital to the supply of water to the troops and to cut off the main supply to the besieged city. Nevertheless, the thickness of the cultivated area was protecting the entry and exit of the Muslims to Baza. So, the overwhelming Christian army tried to conquer the city by storm. Eight fronts of assault were distributed in the perimeter of the city and other two detachments went down from the mounts. The orderly battalions entered the tangle of crops and trees and rapidly were disorganized, 7 and the body combat lasted more than twelve hours in an area unknown to them and favourable to the Muslims. After that contest, the Christian troops were scarcely able to maintain the positions that had been taken, or built proper military camps due to the irregularity of the ground, so, King Ferdinand fell back with his army to the first camp outside the fertile plain (Fig. 9). After these setbacks, other military camps were established outside this dangerous area, one of them was supervised by the Marquis of Cadix next to the coast road, where the big artillery and other munitions brought over by ships were finally placed. The other was under the control of the Count of Cifuentes and was probably situated close to the road to Zujar. Then, the King ordered the Commander of Leon to fell the orchards with 5.000 labourers 8 protected by 2.000 knights. According to the chronicles, the thickness of the crop area and the continuous skirmishes of the Muslims allowed them only to advance 10 steps per day, and for that reason they took 40 days to destroy the orchards in their exterior perimeter. After that, the Christians built a double palisade of almost 6 km long with a pit flooded by the water from the irrigation channels, joining the three military camps. According to the chronicler Hernando de Pulgar, “fifteen castles with their towers and battlements” (wall enclosures with a defensive tower) were built close to this palisade, to average distances of approximately 250 m. Another “castle” was established in the mountainous area. Each of them was supervised by a captain with a contingent of 300 soldiers. This fact was represented in the shield of the city of Baza, where sixteen towers can be seen close to the pits where the waters ran (Fig. 10). 9 2. CHRISTIAN MILITARY CONSTRUCTIONS 2.1. MILITARY CAMP OF THE KING FERDINAND II OF ARAGON On a hill to the south of the meadow of the Seven Fountains there are pottery fragments that can be linked to a Nasrid farmhouse. This place was re-occupied during the siege of Baza by one of the “Castles” to control the water springs and a big plateau of 5,4 hectares in its eastern part, where there still exist concentrations of stones, tiles and pottery associated with the royal military camp of the King. There are several references in the Properties Distribution Book of Baza of 1491 to this main military camp, situated next to these 16 fountains, the Coayme’s irrigation channel and at the end of the pathway of the mills, since these were mainly placed in the headwaters of the major irrigation channel. The Campaign Hospital for the troops was also established in this area (Fig. 17). 2.2. CASTLE AND MILITARY CAMP OF THE ARTILLERY The place name of Cerro de las Lombardas (Hill of the Bombards) is still associated to with a small promontory close to the main road towards the coast, situated nearly 3 km from the fortress of Baza, where can be found pottery fragments from the fifteenth century. In the Museum of Baza some of the chambers and stone balls of these big bombards are preserved (Fig. 18). 17 2.3. CASTLES PROTECTING THE CHRISTIAN PALISADE 2.3.1. BERNAL FRANCÉS’ CASTLE Recently we have located the remains of this fortification, recounted by its singularity in the chronicles and other documents, as being the only castle of the Sierra de Baza. A part of its walls inside a farmhouse has been preserved, built on a small plateau situated 380 m from Morayja’s Spring (called St John by the Christians), controlling this other important water source. The wall is 30 m long between 0,8 and 1 m width. To the north of the farmhouse, there are some remains of what might have been a corner tower of this walled enclosure, faced towards Baza. 18 On the hillside there are several caves with buildings remains and terraces for harvesting. They could be some of the rooms mentioned by the chroniclers, built by the different garrisons during the siege of Baza when winter began (Fig. 19). 2.3.2. GARBÍN’S TOWER It is situated 3 km to the north of Baza, 1 km to the east of the tower of Cepero’s Hill and approximately 800 m to the west of Espinosa’s Tower. It has a rectangular shape of 6.4 and 4.1 m and the preserved height is approximately 2 m. It has been linked to a Nasrid farmhouse that would have existed in this part of the surroundings of Baza, though the archaeological material does not show that. 19 It was built with non-crusted lime rammed-earth, with rows of small size white stones and light ochre-coloured earth, mixed with a bit of lime. It has remains of covering plaster of white lime mortar. In 1997 an emergency excavation was carried out after part of its contents had been emptied by some thieves that had confused it with a sepulchral tomb. Its constructive technology is quite similar to Bernal Francés’ Castle, and very different to the referred cylindrical-shaped Islamic towers. As a result, we think that it might have been the only preserved fortification built by the Christian troops during the siege in the lowlands of Baza (Fig. 20). 20 In addition, the Properties Distribution Book of Baza give some little mentions of a part of these castles built to reinforced the palisade, donated to important Christian settlers after the city was captured. This book doesn’t refer to the captain who was in charge of these fortresses (recounted in Hernando de Pulgar’s chronicle), so it is difficult to place them with accuracy. Among them we can highlight: 2.3.4. A castle donated to Hernando de Zafra (secretary of the Catholic Monarchs). 2.3.5. A castle donated to Luis de Bocanegra (keeper of the Castle of Socovos). 2.3.6. A castle donated to Lope Sánchez del Castillo (deputy of priest of the city). 2.3.7. Two castles donated to Gonzalo de Segura and Diego Pérez de Santisteban (servants of D. Enrique, main noble of the city and cousin of the King). 2.3. THE WALL ON THE SIERRA DE BAZA On the Sierra de Baza there are remains of the constructions mentioned by the Christian chroniclers. They exaggerate this work saying that it was built of a double wall made of stone, earth and wood, with an inner military pathway of approximately 3.35 m width, and an exterior pit following the example of that one excavated previously in the fertile plain of Baza. Nevertheless, the preserved remains along nearly 4 km in the summits of these mounts are reduced to a collapsed wall of scanty height. They might have corresponded to the basement of a simple wall 1.2 and 2 m thick. It 21 was built with irregular ashlars in the parapets, filled with earth and rubble, with a low rate use of lime, which explain its collapse. Maybe the rest of the wall would have been made with rammed-earth, following the examples of Bernal Francés’ Castle and the Garvin’s Tower. There are no evidences of the double wall or the pit described by the chroniclers, the Christians must have decided not to build them because of the difficulties on working in this orography (Fig. 21). 22 CONCLUSION The difficulties in the conquering of Baza forced to bring together numerous military actions that had not been put in operation in the Iberian Peninsula since Antiquity, like: -The development of different tactics adapted to the own nature of the place in each time of the siege, and against the well-developed defence put in action by the Muslims. -And the quick construction of different military works on a huge scale, with both strategic and propagandistic purpose. -Or the management of wide contingent of troops from different Christian kingdoms, which had to be provided for supply during a long-lasting siege. -As well as the use of massive artillery brought to the place from a long distance, both overseas and overland. As we have showed, this was an approach specifically designed for the circumstances and different to elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula at this time. 23