Almogavars

[1] There are several theories as to where this name comes from: al-mughāwir (المغوار; Arabic for 'the raider'),[6] al-mukhābir (المخابر, 'the carrier of news') or al-mujāwir (المجاور, 'the pilgrim', as in 'adjunct [to a holy place]').

The knowledge required to be able to perform in this struggle was gained in their former life as shepherds, since the majority of them had grown up among the wildest mountains, where the harshness of the climate made it so that the land did not provide many resources and they had to take full advantage of the few that were present.

But after many generations of leading this new kind of life that they had been pushed into by the invaders, it seems clear that a genuine warrior spirit formed in these shepherd communities, so that they ended up not knowing how to live by any other means than making war.

In addition, they always carried a good piece of flint with them that they struck their weapons with before going into battle, which gave off enormous sparks, which, together with their terrible cries, terrorized their enemies.

The last Almogavars, those who from the second half of the 15th century to the 16th had the border of Granada as their sphere of influence, were residents of the towns there, very knowledgeable about the terrain, who rampaged against the Granadan territory.

[18] Their basic characteristics were lifelong dedication to war, not just as a profession but as a way of life, perfectly adapted to the conditions of the border with the Saracens, remuneration based on looting and the sale or rescue of prisoners, frugality and resistance to fatigue, light weapons and hierarchical organization.

[16][18] The Adalid required wisdom, courage, intelligence and loyalty in order to guide the army on appropriate routes and to avoid danger, as well as knowledge of the land to secure places for shelter, with adequate water, firewood and grazing, and to know how to track the steps of the enemy.

Among these functions were to prepare and organise expeditions and sole authority to make all decisions about raids, and he had a status similar to that of a knight (lower nobility).

He was of a lower rank and a captain of autonomous Almogavar groups; for this he was required to be knowledgeable about war and about leading his group, to have motivation, to know how to motivate his peers and to be light, to be faster and to be able to hide easily in addition to being fair, as set forth in Title XII, Act V of the entries (the Partidas): They now call Almocadenes those who formerly were usually called leaders of the peons, and these are very advantageous in war; in places they can go in among the soldiers and accomplish things that those on horseback could not do.

And so when he has there any peon that wants to be Almocadén has to do this: first to come to the Adalids and show them for what reasons have to deserve to be so, then they should call twelve Almocadenes and make them swear to tell truth if that who wants to be a man Almocadén itself having four things: the first war to be knowing and guiding those with him they belonged; second, it endeavored to undertake the facts and strive to yours: the third to be light, as this is something that should be much the peon to achieve what any soon to take, and for knowing as well garrison when it was great need, the fourth is to be loyal to be a friend of his master and campaigns he leads.

[21] Also called hombres de campo (countrymen) or peones (pawns) in Castile, these were of the lowest rank and the people who formed the bulk of the army.

[23] In an age where the cavalry was the favored weapon of armies and where the model of the chivalric ideal was a continuing myth, the Almogavars used the terrain to their advantage, fought at night and always went on foot without wearing armor, which gave them great mobility.

In the year he wrote his chronicle (1315), the Almogavars were at the height of their fame, and had achieved renown throughout the Mediterranean for their exploits in Tunisia, Sicily, and in the Catalan Company.

Their mission consisted of exploring the land where the army was advancing, standing at forefront and flanks, harassing the enemy, attacking their garrisons by surprise and intercepting their convoys.

In the mercenary companies, besides Almogavars, there were units of "knights, infantry, archers, scudars, and men guarding the weapons of galleys", each one with a specific mission and that could be coordinated in the battlefield.

[30] Acting as light infantry, the first thing they did was throw their spears at the knights, piercing through their armor and shields from a distance, but especially fatally wounding the horses.

The Catalan, Aragonese, and later, Valencian Almogavars played an important role in the advance of the Crown of Aragon against the Islamic States, participating moreover in countless raids, in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), in the crusade against Majorca (1229–1232) and in the conquest of Valencia (1233–1245).

The vacuum left never refilled, but yet were so remarkable in the crusade against Almeria (1309), in the campaigns of Granada (1330–1334), against the king of Mallorca (1343–1344), in expeditions to Sardinia (1353, 1354 and 1367), and yet again against Castile (1356–1369), but in the latter they no longer made up the bulk of the infantry but rather were special units for dangerous and explorers' raids.

There, it is told how a group of Almogavars achieved nothing in their brawls until they decided to hold a vigil in the chapel of Alcazar, after which they came out on horseback and won victory with good booty, offering the Virgin a cloth of purple and gold.

They arrived in Cordoba on the night of 23 December 1235, with great daring and skill stealth mounted a scale, clambering disguised as Moors seizing the Puerta del Colodro.

The brutal raids of Benimerines and Zenetes coming from North Africa, which especially affected the western area of the border, caused the destruction of entire towns and the enslaving of its inhabitants, which led the survivors, without hope and with their lives broken, to join Almogavar groups commanded by Almocadenes, turning their new life into a continuous feeling of revenge.

This was the case of many of the neighbors of Vejer, Alcala de los Gazules, Medina-Sidonia and Lebrija, who after an attack in 1293 where the North Africans kidnapped over 200 captives to sell them as slaves, enlisted in the Almogavar ranks.

When groups of bandits from Granada were detected going into in Christian territory, Almogavars hid by the roads they used or by their water sources, in order to surprise them as they passed by these places.

The mission of the Almogavar scouts was to observe possible entries of enemies and warn of this fact by smoke signals during the day and fire by night.

Also hosts of Murcian Almogavars intervened in the early reign of the Catholic Monarchs against aristocratic opposition led by the Marquis of Villena in his advocacy of the rights of the daughter of Henry IV.

[38] Their military rank, exactly the same as their Castilian and Aragonese counterparts, is collected in Alfonsine Ordinances, and the Chronicle of King Manuel states "They sent Almogavars to run (...) to attack the Moors".

[39][40] The end of the great wars of expansion in the Iberian Peninsula, with only the Kingdom of Granada resisting, meant the gradual decrease in the number of Almogavars.

On the one hand, the figure of Almogavars was transmuted to the Ballestero de monte (mountain crossbowmen) and head hunters, who held mainly defensive functions against frequent attacks from Granada.

When these activities were illegal in peacetime, some Almogavars from Orihuela soon discovered that it was much safer to make raids in their own territory, where there were also Moors; the Islamic communities at the time of the conquest had accepted Christian domain.

To do so, they found moral justifications based on the suspicions against the Moors of the Murcian kingdom, accused of helping fellow Granadians in raids on Christian territory.