La Extremadura musulmana (1142-1248). Organización defensiva y sociedad

Abstract

Almohade Extremadura extended on the western side of the penin­sula as the northern most Muslim domain. The Tagus River usually defines the boundary between Muslims and Christians during the period after the final conquest of Coria by Alfonso VII. Thus, Muslim Extremadura beco­mes a true border area, although it does not present a very homogeneous profile. The area corresponding to the southern bank of the Tagus is clearly defensive in character (only fortresses can be found, but not villages) and must have had a small population and scarce economic activity. Places like Cáceres, which was easily conquered by Geraldo Sempavor, became im­pregnable thanks to Almohade construction. The valley of the Guadiana River maintains a certain continuity in its economic structure, judging by numerous villages and the important agricultural activity. Thus, a dicho­tomy is established between the first area, which is clearly a border zone, and the second, which could be called in a relative sense the rearguard. In Extremadura, the Almohades do not go beyond the merely defensive and they never conceived the fortification of the area as a stage in the recupera­tion of the Christian Transierra.