The War of Espadà: 500 years since the crusade to convert Muslim Valencians to Christianity
On 18 and 19 September 1526, 500 years ago, in the mountain range of Serra d’Espadà, a Christian army of between 6,000 and 7,000 combatants massacred several thousand Muslims who had taken refuge on the high ground in the central part of the mountain range. The War of Espadà was the main sixteenth-century battle aimed at imposing Christianity on the Muslims of the Crown of Aragon. It took place in a crusade-like atmosphere, amid concern in European courts and in Rome about a possible Ottoman invasion of Europe and the alleged internal assistance that might be provided for such an invasion.
18 de september de 2026
Juan Francisco Pardo Molero, professor of Early Modern History at the University of Valencia, is an expert on this battle and its historical context: the effort initiated by the Catholic Monarchs to convert all the inhabitants of their kingdoms to Christianity. “The War of Espadà was the result of the resistance of the Muslim population of the Kingdom of Valencia to conversion to Christianity. This population lived in their own communities, known as aljamas, in which they had been granted, since the thirteenth century, the right to practise their faith”, explains Pardo Molero.
“Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain), eager to be recognised as the monarch of all Christendom, decided to put an end to religious dissent in all his realms and proposed changing the status of the aljamas of the Crown of Aragon, thereby completing the religious unity initiated by the Catholic Monarchs, who expelled the Jews who refused to be baptised, as well as the Muslims from Granada and throughout the Crown of Castile”, explains the University of Valencia professor.
The War of Espadà, which began in late 1525, mobilised a large part of the economic resources of the Kingdom of Valencia, already depleted by the impact of the Revolt of the Brotherhoods (Germanies, 1519–1522), and put them at the service of the war. As Pardo Molero explains, to finance the war, the Fàbrica de Murs i Valls de València and the Valencian government issued debt, which was purchased mainly by the nobility, some merchants and the clergy.
As for the war itself, in the first months of 1526, the Christian army was unable to defeat the rebels and suffered several defeats, the most significant being that at Algimia de Almonacid, where the army of the Duke of Segorbe, Alonso of Aragón, was forced to withdraw despite having between 2,500 and 3,000 troops. Aware of the gravity of the situation, the kingdom’s authorities assembled a larger army, recruited mainly in Valencian territory. From July onwards, it gradually drove the rebels back from Onda towards the Espadà Massif, located in the centre of the mountain range, between the present-day municipalities of Aín, Alcudia de Veo and Algimia de Almonacid.
To launch what was expected to be the final assault on the rebel positions, Emperor Charles V sent a force of veteran troops: his German Landsknecht guard (professional soldiers of the Germanic Empire), numbering around 3,000 soldiers. In addition to this reinforcement, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, the papal legate, issued an indulgence to anyone who fought the rebels of Espadà.
Executions and sale into slavery
The final battle, fought on 18 and 19 September, marked the end of the Muslim resistance in the mountain range. Following the War of Espadà, with a possible death toll of several thousand on the Muslim side, both in battle and in subsequent executions, many of those who survived the victors’ attacks were sold into slavery and all were forced to be baptised. The mosques were converted into churches and the defeated population was subjected to heavy financial penalties. Numerous contemporary records provide evidence of the sale of Muslim slaves.
La guerra de Espadán (1526). Una cruzada en la Valencia del Renacimiento is the book, published by the Segorbe Town Council in 2001, in which Juan Francisco Pardo Molero began his research into these events. Other works based on his studies have shed further light on the Espadà revolt. “Of the various hotspots where the conflict between Muslims and Christians unfolded in the Crown of Aragon, the most enduring and substantial was that of the Serra d’Espadà”, he concludes.
100,000 Valencians expelled in 1609
In 1609, Emperor Philip III decreed the deportation of the baptised Muslims from the Spanish kingdoms, a process that continued until 1614. It began in the Kingdom of Valencia and was the most significant in numerical terms, with an estimated 100,000 people expelled, representing around one third of the total population at the time. This decree was followed by two battles, at Cavall Verd and Muela de Cortes, both fought in late 1609. Both ended in Christian victories and accelerated the embarkation of the defeated for North Africa from various Valencian ports.
Photo caption:
The area around Pic Espadà, where the battle of 18 and 19 September 1526 took place. The Christian army attacked from the east, south and west and advanced uphill.