Salvatierra Castle Explained

Salvatierra Castle is a fortification near Calzada de Calatrava in the south of the province of Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. It is located on a small hillock at the foot of the volcanic Mount Atalaya, about from Calzada de Calatrava.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

History

Originally an Islamic building tentatively dating back to the 11th or 12th centuries, the castle passed to Christian control in the second half of the 12th century, returning to Muslim hands in 1195, to be soon conquered in 1197 by knights of the Order of Calatrava, who strengthened its defences.^[5] It was seized by Almohads in 1211, a year before the Battle of Las Navas. Christians passed over the place during the aforementioned campaign after taking the nearby castle of Calatrava, eventually deciding not to siege Salvatierra, but to directly go to find the Almohad Caliph instead.^[6] It was taken again by Christians circa 1225–26.

References

38.6693°N -3.8218°W

Notes and References

1. https://archive.today/20130414133228/http://www.castillosnet.org/programs/castillosnet.php?tip=inf&dat=ciudadreal/CR-CAS-008 Castillosnet.org - Castillo de Salvatierra
2. http://www.campocalatrava.com/salvatierra/salvatierra.html En la página del campo de Calatrava
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20030914130313/http://www.manserja.org/municipi/calzada_calatrava/historia.htm Con más datos sobre este castillo
4. http://www.castillosybatallas.com/contenido.swf Más sobre este castillo, con animación
5. Book: Ruibal Rodríguez, Amador. 40. https://buleria.unileon.es/bitstream/handle/10612/5480/ruibal%20rodriguez0001.pdf?sequence=1. La arquitectura militar de la frontera musulmana, en Castilla, en torno al 1200. El caso de Salvatierra. 1992. El arte español en épocas de transición. 1992. Universidad de León . 84-7719-428-9.
6. Book: García Fitz, Francisco. Las Navas de Tolosa y el paradigma bélico medieval. https://medievalistas.es/wp-content/uploads/attachments/00887.pdf. 48. La Península Ibérica en tiempos de Las Navas de Tolosa. 2014. Madrid. 978-84-941363-8-2.