El Cubo tower

Municipality: Siles

Regions: Sierra de Segura

Latitude: 38.386237°

Longitude: -2.581637°

Altitude: 820.542 m

Video - El Cubo tower

Introduction

Siles is nestled in the expansive valley of the Guadalimar River, situated at an elevation of nearly 700 meters, between the Carrizos River and the Molinos stream.

The tower of El Cubo, located within the urban area of Siles, appears to have Muslim origins but underwent modifications during the Santiago period.

Historical Data

During the Bronze Age, the surroundings of Siles featured settlements like the one on Cabeza Grande hill, which later became an Iberian oppidum, or the fortified settlement on Cerro Chulo. In Roman times, agricultural villae appeared, such as those discovered in the estates of Los Herederos and La Pendolera.

Under Arab rule, Silis belonged to the Iqlim or district of Segura. In the 11th century, it was part of the kingdom of Almeria after being conquered by Ibn Summadih, but later it became integrated into Granada when the Zirid king Abd Allah took control of Silis in exchange for the castle of San Aflay.

Situated on the Segura de la Sierra road connecting with the Vía de Levante, Siles was a key point on the border with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada and was frequently attacked.

It was conquered by Don Pelayo Pérez Correa, the master of the Order of Santiago, between 1239 and 1242, becoming part of the Encomienda of Segura de la Sierra.

When it was besieged by the king of Granada, Yusuf I, in 1339, as a prelude to taking the rest of the towns in the Sierra de Segura and the Adelantamiento de Cazorla, it was liberated by Master Don Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán, who came to its aid from Úbeda with a powerful army and forced the Muslim forces to flee.

The Encomienda of Santiago remodeled the old Arab fortification in the 14th century. This led to Master Don Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa granting it autonomy and the title of a town in 1397.

In the House of Settlement, where the Santiago knights kept tithes of bread, lived Don Rodrigo, the father of the poet Jorge Manrique, who self-proclaimed himself as the master of Santiago and actively participated in the internal struggles of the rebellious nobility of the 15th century.

It became part of the Kingdom of Murcia in 1507, along with the rest of the santiaguista lordship"s territories, depending on the chancery of Granada and the bishopric of Cartagena, a situation that lasted until 1748.

The defensive network of Siles began to deteriorate from the 19th century onwards.

Photo Gallery - El Cubo tower

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