Overtaking Cazorla

When we speak of "Adelantamiento", we are referring to the territory that the adelantado governed. An adelantado was a high Spanish dignitary who carried out or managed (managed) a public enterprise (a territory) by mandate of service, account and under royal design. Adelantados were chosen for their military qualities and loyalty to the crown.

The Adelantamiento of Cazorla was one of the most important thanks to its strategic position.

The origin of the Adelantamiento

The Adelantamiento de Cazorla is the lordship granted by Ferdinand III of Castile to the Archbishopric of Toledo in 1231. It occupied a total area of 1,900 km2. The purpose of granting the Adelantamiento de Cazorla to the archbishopric was to involve it in the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada.

The origin of this concession lies in the insufficient material and human resources that the king had at his disposal to deal with the two axes of the Nasrid invasion: on the one hand, the Guadalquivir Valley and, on the other, the basin of the Guadiana Menor (towards Almería).

As the aim of the Adelantamiento de Granada was to involve the archbishopric in the conquest of Granada, Archbishop Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, known for his military prowess, promoted the seizure of a large number of fortresses and castles, creating a veritable military brand.

Geographical scope

The Adelantamiento de Cazorla covers some 1,900 km2 in the Kingdom of Jaén, at the head of the Guadalquivir fault.

There were six main towns, the capital being Cazorla. The overtaking of Cazorla served as the centre and support for a number of fortresses, watchtowers and castles. The towns that were part of the adelantamiento were Cazorla, La Iruela, Villacarrillo, Iznatoraf, Villanueva del Arzobispo and Sorihuela del Guadalimar. Quesada was also initially included as its capital, but was later transferred to the council of Úbeda.

The Adelantamiento de Cazorla was bordered by the following territories:

- In the north, it bordered the regions of Chiclana and Beas de Segura.

- In the east, it bordered the peaks of the Sierra de Castril and the territories of the Order of Santiago.

- In the south, it bordered on the Guadiana Menor.

- In the west, it borders the Loma de Úbeda and the Sierra de Cabra del Santo Cristo.

Within its bordering areas, there were castles and fortresses such as:

- La Torre El Cubo

- Castle of Peñas Negras

- Arab Tower of Sorihuela

- Castle of La Iruela

- Medieval Walls of Quesada

- Castle of La Yedra

History of the Adelantamiento of Cazorla

The history of the Adelantamiento de Cazorla dates from 1231 to 1812, when the Spanish War of Independence put an end to it. Its entire history can be divided into three stages:

- 1231 - 1495. Period of formation and splendour of the Adelantamiento.
- 1496 - 1618. This marks the decline of the Adelantamiento system, although the Adelantado"s autonomy from the Archbishop of Toledo grows.
- 1619 - 1812. The Adelantamiento continues to function without a military Adelantado at its head. It ends with the Spanish War of Independence.

In 1231, Ferdinand III of Castile granted Archbishop Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada the town of Quesada and its territories (remember that, at the origin of the Adelantamiento, Quesada was its capital). He did this because the borders of the territory were unstable, being continually attacked by the Nasrids. King Ferdinand III granted this territory to the archbishop, who could keep it as his own property if he succeeded in conquering it.

The first objective was the conquest of Baza, in the Kingdom of Granada. However, with the Pact of Jaén, the conquest of Baza was cancelled, so the archbishopric negotiated the cession by the king of the towns of Iznatoraf and Uceda in 1252. The archbishop tried to incorporate the castles of Úbeda and Sierra Mágina into the Adelantamiento, but was unsuccessful, although he did obtain the donation of Quesada and Toya.

In 1275, with the failure of the Adelantamiento in the conquest of the Guadiana Menor valley, King Alfonso X granted the rights to the conquest of the castles on the southern border, which continually threatened Quesada. As the town was taken on several occasions, in 1331, King Alfonso XI took Quesada from the Adelantamiento and handed it over to Úbeda.

Subsequently, when the troops of Úbeda managed to complete the conquest of the Guadiana valley and the Nasrid border fortresses, the Adelantamiento ceased to be a frontier town and began its decline.

With the conquest of Baza in 1489 and Granada in 1492, the Adelantamiento de Cazorla lost its strategic and frontier position.