Who were the almogávares

Image: great battles of history

The history of Spain is full of great combatants, warriors who have marked an era, great generals, and men who have created new forms of combat. One of these warrior groups formidable are the almogávares, and that is why in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about who were the almogávares so that you know our history better.

Index

1. Los almogávares: definition and historical context
2. Equipment of the almogávares
3. The tactics of the almogávares
4. Degrees of the almogávares
5. The almogávares of Aragon
6. Slope

The almogávares were light infantry soldiers dedicated to espionage and guerrilla actions. Its radius of action was the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. They were common in all the Christian kingdoms that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula, being an important part of the so-called Reconquest.

During the conquest of the Muslim territories, some lands were deserted, being areas without any authority. In the Ebro Valley area there were many of these areas and that led to the

At first, the almogávares were shepherds of the Aragonese lands that they had lost their lands. They began looting Muslims in order to support their families, but little by little they began to dedicate themselves exclusively to war.

The word almogávares comes from Arabic, from al-mugawir or from al-mujabir, referring the first word to people who make scandal, and the second to people who explore. Both words refer to two of the most important actions of the Almogávares: their guerrilla role and their role as spies.

Image: History of Aragon

The Almogávares wore light clothes, because their functions required that they have great mobility. They used to be covered with chain mail and a kind of head covering. The rest of the clothing was quite poor, since the Almogávares were shepherds who could not afford a great deal of equipment.

Like all warrior classes, the Almogávares also had different weapons for combat. The most common were the following:

• Azcona: A kind of short spear, it was a wooden stick with an iron spike.
• Venablos: Throwing weapon that worked as a kind of darts to attack enemies from a distance.
• Coltell: A unique long knife from the almogávares.
• Sword: The cutlass, a curved sword of Muslim origin, used to be used.

One of the reasons that the Almogávares were so important is because how novel his techniques were for the time. They were very different from the knights of the Middle Ages, being warriors who they moved on foot and at night, looking to surprise.

They did not behave like an army, his function was to get a loot, using guerrilla tactics. They sought to cut supplies and attack by surprise in order to achieve the greatest benefits even while at a disadvantage.

Their tactics were also common when facing knights. The almogávares sought to attack the legs of the horses, with this they managed to send the knight to the ground and kill them with their knives. They weren't looking for honor in battle, just to survive and get a loot.

Image: Alcoy History and Traditions

Due to their structure they did not have a large organization in terms of military ranks. Even so, we have evidence of some ranges that are the following:

• Champion: The highest degree, he was in charge of guiding the troops along the roads, being in charge of the looting carried out by the group he led.
• Almogávar on horseback: An intermediate grade between adalid and almocatén.
• Almocaten: He was the captain of autonomous groups, being a lesser degree than those mentioned above. He was an almogávar who was accepted as a leader by his group.
• Almogávar: The lowest rank. They were those that made up the majority of the different troops from Almogávares.

To continue with this lesson of who the Almogávares were, we must speak of their presence in the Crown of Aragon, these being the best known almogávares and whose importance in history was higher.

Its importance in history lies in its participation in the campaigns of the Aragonese against the Turks. Being an important part of the armies that faced the Turks in Sicily, whose expansion was beginning to be worrying.

The almogávares were also very important in the Reconquest, participating in great battles such as that of Navas de Tolosa or in the conquests of Jaume i in the Levantine area of ​​the Iberian Peninsula.

But the Almogávares were not only important in the Mediterranean expansion and in the Reconquest, but their role as the "Great Catalan Company" it was vital to fighting the Ottomans in Anatolia. They were very important in curbing the growing power of the Turks, but the betrayals did not let these campaigns end.

The Byzantines betrayed the leader of the Almogávares, assassinating him, and the Almogávares responded with the call "Almogávara revenge", defeating the Byzantines and killing the Alans, who had helped the Byzantines kill the leader of the Almogavars.

After this, the Almogávares were hired by the Duke of Athens, but as they did not receive any payment, the Almogávares They take the Duchy of Athens, giving it to the Crown of Aragon, being an Aragonese territory until the end of the century XIV.

Image: Kappo Storias

The origin of the Almogávares was due to the existence of battles between Christians and Muslims. So after the conquest of Granada, last Muslim territory in the Iberian Peninsula, began to disappear.

The almogávares they became bandits who were looking for Muslims and Christian converts to Islam to get rewards for their capture or death. Over time, they began to attack Christians, which caused the good reputation of the Almogávares to plummet.

Finally during the reign of the Catholic kings the almogávares disappeared. One of the most important warrior classes of the Middle Ages disappeared, leaving a bad taste in the mouth for their latest performances.

If you want to read more articles similar to Who were the almogávares, we recommend that you enter our category of Story.