County of Coimbra

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Coimbra
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Viseu
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Lamego
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Santa Maria da Feira
County of Coimbra, consisting of the lands of Coimbra, Viseu, Lamego and Santa Maria da Feira on a map of in modern Portugal

The County of Coimbra (Old Galician: Comtato de Coimbra) was a political entity consisting of the lands of Coimbra, Viseu, Lamego and Santa Maria da Feira, in modern Portugal.

Contents

History

Counts of the Christians of Coimbra

During the Visigothic Kingdom (from the 5th to the early 8th centuries, the County of Coimbra, with its seat in Coimbra (Emínio), was created by King Wittiza (c. 687 – probably 710) as a sub-county of his dominion and was established as a fief for his son Ardabast (Artabasdus), who became Count of the Christians of Coimbra. [1]

The first Muslim campaigns that occupied the Iberian Peninsula occurred between 711 and 715, with Coimbra capitulating to Musa bin Nusair in 714. Under the Umayyad state of Córdoba the city of Coimbra (Qulumriyah) maintained a significant Christian population (known as Mozarabs ), who were allowed to maintain their faith in exchange for paying the jizya (a tax levied on non-Muslims). [2] [3] The continued use of "Count" ( comes, a Roman court title) by the leaders of this community up to as late as 805 reflects the continuation of older Roman and Gothic administrative traditions in the city. [4] [5]

List of Counts of the Christians of Coimbra [4]

Within the Kingdom of Asturias

Hermenegildo Gutierrez (878 - 920), Conqueror of Coimbra (Dux Bellorum of Coimbra). Hguterres.png
Hermenegildo Gutiérrez (878 – 920), Conqueror of Coimbra (Dux Bellorum of Coimbra).

The County appears within the Kingdom of Asturias after the reconquest of the region, when the lands were granted to Hermenegildo Gutiérrez (878 – 920), [9] [10] who over the next four decades was largely responsible for the resettlement of the depopulated province. He and his immediate successors were counts, [11] and held Coimbra, but were not explicitly counts of Coimbra, although they are sometimes referred to as such retrospectively.

List of holders of Coimbra who were counts [11]

Counts of Coimbra, first creation

The first nobleman specifically to be called count of Coimbra was Gonzalo Muñoz (959 – 981) who was probably a scion of the family of Hermenegildo. Becoming count around 959, he was one of the most powerful noblemen in the western part of the kingdom until he rose in rebellion against King Bermudo II of León and was probably killed during the region's subjugation. The degree to which his successors were alienated from their monarch can be seen by the fact that after the region's recapture in 987 by the Moors of Abu Amir Al-Mansur, Gonzalo's sons joined that general in his sack of Santiago de Compostela in 997. [14] [15] [16]

List of Counts of Coimbra, first creation

Counts of Coimbra, second creation

Tomb of Sisnando Davides, named Count of Coimbra in 1064. Sisnando Davides tomb - Se Velha - Coimbra, Portugal - DSC09805.jpg
Tomb of Sisnando Davides, named Count of Coimbra in 1064.

The city of Coimbra was permanently secured by the Christians in 1064 after it had been taken by the troops of King Ferdinand I of León, led by the Mozarab Sisnando Davides, who would be named its count. [20] [21] [22] [23]

List of Counts of Coimbra, second creation

Incorporation into Portugal

The County of Coimbra ceased to be an independent political entity in 1096 when it was incorporated in the territory of the Second County of Portugal during the latter's restoration under Henry of Burgundy. Subsequently it formed part of the newly-founded Kingdom of Portugal under Henry's son, Afonso I.

Martin Munoz (1091 - 1093), last Count of Coimbra. Martin-Munoz-Burgos.jpg
Martin Muñoz (1091 – 1093), last Count of Coimbra.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 García Moreno, Luis A. (2008). "Prosopography, Nomenclature, and Royal Succession in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo". Journal of Late Antiquity: 153.
  2. Lévi-Provençal (1967-06-01). Histoire de l'Espagne musulmane. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789004619098. ISBN   978-90-04-61909-8.
  3. Crow, Karim Douglas (2009-12-15). "David Levering Lewis - God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215". ICR Journal. 1 (2): 367–371. doi:10.52282/icr.v1i2.756. ISSN   2041-8728.
  4. 1 2 Rei, Antonio (2014). "Os Condes de Coimbra no século VIII". Armas e Troféus: Revista de História e de Arte: 295–311.
  5. Corte-Real, António Moniz Barreto (1831). "1". Bellezas de Coimbra by António Moniz Barreto Corte-Real. Coimbra: Real Imprensa da Universidade. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. Nobiliario de los reinos y señoríos de España. By Francisco Piferrer. 1857.
  7. Historia de la muy Ilustre Casa de Sousa. 1770.
  8. Rei, Antonio (2014-01-01). "Os Condes de Coimbra no século VIII". Armas e Troféus: Revista de História e de Arte: 305.
  9. Mattoso, José (1981). A nobreza medieval portuguesa, a família e o poder . Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, p. 115, OCLC 8242615
  10. "OF PORTUGAL, Hermengildo Gutierrez b. Abt 842 Portugal d. Aft May 912: Laidman families worldwide". laidman.one-name.net. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Marques, A. H. de Oliveira (2024). História de Portugal. Vol. 1 (Revised by João Alves Dias ed.). Editorial Presença. pp. 79, 81.
  12. "Manuel Abranches de Soveral - Os Ribadouro". www.soveral.info. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  13. "MENENDEZ, Gutierre b. Abt 875 Portugal d. Abt 924: Laidman families worldwide". laidman.one-name.net. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  14. Castellanos Gómez, Juan (2002). Geoestrategia en la España musulmana: las campañas militares de Almanzor. Ministerio de Defensa. p. 127, ISBN   9788478239672
  15. 1 2 Gonçalves, Pedro Alexandre (2020), Coelho, André Madruga; Sousa, Silvana R. Vieira de (eds.), "Froila Gonçalves. O condado de Coimbra, caudilhismo de fronteira e a defensio de cenóbios no Ocidente Peninsular", Juvenes - The Middle Ages seen by young researchers, Biblioteca - Estudos & Colóquios (in Portuguese), Évora: Publicações do Cidehus, ISBN   979-10-365-5865-8 , retrieved 2024-06-17
  16. 1 2 "FamilySearch.org". ancestors.familysearch.org. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  17. Ferreira, João Paulo Martins (2018). Studia Zamorensia. Vol. XVII. p. 38. ISSN   0214-736X.
  18. RAMOS, GONÇALO DE CARVALHO E MATOS BAETA (2014). PARADIGMAS DE LIMINARIDADE NO ENTRE-DOURO-E-TEJO: UM INTERFACE ARQUEOLÓGICO DE PODERES (987-1131) (PDF). UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA, FACULDADE DE LETRAS, DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA. p. 124.
  19. "Apelido Pestana". A voz do Algarve. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  20. Menéndez Pidal, Ramón; García Gómez, Emilio (1947). El conde mozárabe Sisnando Davídiz y la política de Alfonso VI con los Taifas. Vol. 12. pp. 27–41. ISSN 0304-4335
  21. Morujão, Maria do Rosário Barbosa (2006). "The Coimbra See and its Chancery in Medieval Times" (PDF). E-JPH. 4 (2): 2.
  22. Gonçalves, Pedro Alexandre (2020). "As relações entre o Mosteiro de São Salvador da Vacariça, as elites regionais e os concilia do condado de Coimbra (século XI)". Governar a cidade na Europa medieval, 2020, ISBN 978-972-9040-19-1, págs. 367-382. Instituto de Estudos Medievais. Universidade Nova de Lisboa: 367–382. ISBN   978-972-9040-19-1.
  23. 1 2 Alarcão, Jorge de (2021). "Coimbra e sua região no tempo de D. Sesnando". Portugalia: Revista de Arqueologia do Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto. 42: 159–173. doi: 10.21747/09714290/port42a8 . ISSN   0871-4290.