Las Navas de Tolosa

[GAME4WAR]

Does anyone else see the irony that this was done by a jew "goldsmith"? the people that first invited the moors into spain in the 1st place

[DrGull1888]

@GAME4WAR I do not understand.

[LordBuntaro]

And not only this, but other battles such as Lepanto

[LordBuntaro]

The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (for the Moors is Al Uqab, " The punishment "). It is unaccountable to me as a battle of this size and this magnitude, it still lacks a movie. I'm sure than if those Christian warriors they had been British or American, they would have a movie a long time

[DrGull1888]

@LordBuntaro Indeed a movie about Las Navas de Tolosa would be awesome. Also one about Lepanto. But you oversee the major Hollywood production of El Cid with Charlton Heston.

By the way my compliments to Lady Toda and to honourable Hiromatsu Sama.

[Thrashgu]

At the final charge the three kings commanded all the rest of the crusaders army (For that is called the charge of the three kings). Sancho VII and his navarres broke the chain of the Moor and killed the black fanatics, the chain of the tent, is still conserved with the flails used by Sancho VII in the battle. The chain became the actual coat of arms of Navarre.

[98bigbutt]

In the West,the Muslims were weak;but in the east,the Christians were the weak ones.

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt Yes and no. We still had in the West Corsair kingdoms which terrorized shipping in the Mediterranean between the 15th and 18th century and in the East we had the Ottomans besieging Vienna twice in 1529 and in 1683 but after 1683 they lost more and more territories on the Balkans culminating in the loss of Egypt, Kuwait, the Caucasus and Lybia during the 19th centufry.

[meatspice]

@DrGull1888 WHY IS IT IF THE MOORS CONQUERED SPAIN FOR 700 YRS YOU DON'T SEE TOO MUCH ARAB FACES MOSTLY ALL WHITE LATIN FACES IN SPAIN

[LordBuntaro]

@meatspice

Eyes or dark hair (it is not my case) is synonymous with an Arab descent? And what about the many white Americans with these characteristics (Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Love Hewitt, George Clooney? Or the italians? Or the greeks? Or the french? Or the irish? Or british like Clive Owen, Victoria Beckam or Catherine Zeta Jonnes? They also have these characteristics...

[LordBuntaro]

@meatspice

Then, for you also they are Moors? Or rather, they are European features, particularly Celtic and Latin? I don't know of no scientific evidence that links us with the Moors

[meatspice]

@LordBuntaro I don't see many north african (arabic) features in the Spainish mostly European features

[98bigbutt]

@meatspice,Yes they do especially in Southern Spain with their olive skin,dark hair and blue eyes.

[98bigbutt]

It sounds like the movies lof Lawrence of Arabia or Ben-Hur.

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt The second half certainly does. The first half reminded me of "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. But nevertheless I'm very discontent with La Mer since it was an emergency solution. I used originally the soundtrack to "The Thirteenth Warrior" which had some Arabian and Wagneranian allusions. And it was more action driven. After almost a year it was blocked due to copy right claims and I needed a replacement from youtube audio swap.

[98bigbutt]

Thank you,Dr.Gull1888,I learned a lot from this.

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt You're welcome and thanks for commenting.

[98bigbutt]

This battle must have been like Gettysburg for the Christian Spaniards What I don't after they successfully push the Muslims southward,why didn't the Spanish Christians take Granada right away before 1492?

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt Within the next decades following Las Navas de Tolosa those Christian kingdoms conquered Cordoba, Valencia and Sevilla. But all Christian kingdoms like Castillia, Aragon or Portugal competed with the others for hegemony on the Iberian peninsula and the team play quickly ended. Furthermore Granada could buy time by paying tributes. And finally some Christian kings found it more gainful to trade with the emirate than fighting it.

[98bigbutt]

Just saying that's all.Nothing personal.

[98bigbutt]

You La Mer in Spanish is El Mar.

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt And?

[98bigbutt]

Why did it take 700 years for the Spanish christians to get rid of the Islamic Moors and not sooner?

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt They were delayed by a strong enemy and rivalry between the Spanish kingdoms.

[98bigbutt]

What song is that?

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt "La Mer" by Claude Debussy.

[Amatherasu1789]

Great work... but even if las Navas was very important, it shows how late christians joined and began to work and fight decently... no wonder if those different kingdowns had different interests.

[DrGull1888]

Yes, humans can achieve wonders when all work together but it's also typical human when they hold on their own - perhaps egoistic - interests.

[dabigpitt]

If I may add, I feel like you use too many adjectives. I don't know if you was trying to tell a entertaining story, or what. But if you want to be seen as objective and unbias. I would just deliver the facts, maybe site some sources. I did enjoy it though.

[DrGull1888]

Yes, guilty as charged. I try both, to deliver facts and to tell an entertaining story for I'm often confronted with the prejudice that history is boring.

I see myself as unbiased to a certain point for I dispise radicals of every political and religious fraction. But I've no illusions that this self-assessment is attackable due to the subjects of my videos.

That with the sources is a good idea. Perhaps in the closing credits. When I put them to the particular panels my videos become boring.

[DrGull1888]

And thanks for the cunstructive criticism.

[miguel1zz]

oh, finally my comment was published, i only want to add that is a really good video, one of the best videos i´ve seen about the topic, not like other videos you can find in the net full of ridiculous patriotism also is quite accurate in my opinion, thanks for posting

[miguel1zz]

the knights of navarra took Caliph al-Nasir´s royal chains that were around his tent which are nowdays in navarra, since then, the flag of navarra´s kingdoms is a picture of those chains over the red color. the problems between europeans and iberian christians shows how diferent was the war in "the frontier", for example the Cid fought for christian kings as well for muslims kings, he was a kind of noble mercenary but still a hero of the spanish "reconquest".

[NoAlGenocidio]

This is a most wonderful video. I watch it every day at least once. Congratulations, DrGull1888, you always deliver!

[DrGull1888]

Muchas Gracias. Once a day? What a compliment! Well, when my viewers are content then I am also content.

[dkrustyklown]

¡Santiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaago!

[reyalpdemannu]

Very good video though

[reyalpdemannu]

Nice one, where is the other message?

[DrGull1888]

Right above.

[DrGull1888]

Thanks anyway.

[reyalpdemannu]

There is no such thing as "Islamic Spain" and never has been. Al-Andalus is NOT Spain. If you want to use a geographical concept "Iberian Peninsula" is best.

You said this battle had no effect. Wrong, it was the most decisive battle, muslims never were able to recover and was a matter of only 40 years to reconquest all the peninsula except Granada, who were allowed only paying taxes to Castillian christian kingdom.

I miss some details of the battle and the story of the Navarra's escutcheon.

[DrGull1888]

Well, "Islamic Part of Iberian Peninsula" is indeed more accurate.

I didn't say the battle had "no" effect, I wrote it had no "direct" effect. A direct effect would have been if the Caliphate had fallen appart during the same year, or one of the Spanish Kingdoms had gained new provinces directly after the battle. Of course the Moors were driven back step by step during the following decades but you can't speak of direct effects when those events took place during decades.

[DrGull1888]

I don't doubt the historical importance of Las Navas de Tolosa and I don't think I diminished it's importance.

Well, well, well, the details. It's always hard to decide what to include and what to exclude to keep the video in a watchable length.

I also don't claim to possess the ultimate historical truth and I have no delusions to compete with a good book. I can only give a little insight. For exhaustive information I reommend to read books.

[nandor41]

Very interesting. Beautifull music. . Congratulations DrGull for this excellent video- description of this principal battle in the liberation of Spain. Is surpresing for me what betwen Orders participants in Las Navas de Tolosa, not were the Templars, what had several "houses" and great influence in spanish countries, specially in Kingdom of Aragón.

[DrGull1888]

Thanks a lot nandor41.

When I'm not mistaken did the Templars participate in the Reconquista but not at Las Navas de Tolosa. If they did, my sources did't mention it.

[1anissalah]

The Christians only won because the Muslims was at their weakest at the time and the Christians their strongest. internal fighting caused about 8 different territories to be formed as a result of the internal fighting (Muslims that is ). And they even had talks with the Christians to fight against the last strong hold of the other Muslim territories in order to make a deal with the Christians to keep Granada the last strong hold.

[DrGull1888]

Yes, possible. A lot of empires rose because they had weak neighbours. History is full of that.

[truthisthemostdeadly]

Christians? I wouldn't call it a crusade. Most of the other foreign crusaders left and it was left to the Spanish and the Portuguese to deal with it.

Their army was only 1/3 the size of the Islamic army. How can you say the Muslim's were at their weakest?

[nunctecognovi]

absolutely interesting

[DrGull1888]

I can't ask for more! Thanks.

[trecedelemos]

Alfonso VIII was 57 years old when he led the last and desperate charge of Christian cavalry. He was forced to charge uphill himself since he saw most of his troops retreating after the second attack was overcome by the Senegalese forces of Al-Nasir. The King thought he was going to die in the charge, as he told the Archbishop of Toledo (also fighting in the battle) Don Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada: "Let's die here you and I, Archbishop, that this is not a dishonorable place to die".

[DrGull1888]

Oh yes, I know that quote. I wanted to assemble it in my video but somehow I didn't. As I wrote above it's always hard to decide what to include and exclude. By the way the history of this battle reads like a collection of biblical wonders. You've this anonymus shepherd who showed the way around the Moorish army and then disappeared. You have the collapse of an-Nasir's army in the most desperate hour and the (doubtful) Christian losses of "30" men.

[trecedelemos]

Yes, it is a beautiful story. The name of the shepherd is actually known: MARTIN ALHAJA. The secret mountain pass was marked with a dead cow's head, thus his descendants received the surname CABEZA DE VACA. Several Conquistadors of America come from this shepherd, such as Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (1490-1559). In the prologue to his story relating his shipwreck and wanderings in North America, he refers to his forefather's service to the King, and regrets his own deeds were not as great.

[DrGull1888]

Cabeza de Vaca has an interesting history. He was one of the first who described the Indians as humans with a own culture, even before Las Casas and the Valladolid debate.

[trecedelemos]

Another interesting detail: Humbled by this miraculous victory, King Alfonso VIII retired to the Monastery of Las Huelgas, where he remained until his death in the year 1214 (Burgos, Spain). His tomb can be visited there.

[DrGull1888]

Like King Carlos I., or as we know him Emperor Charles V., 300 years later. But I think Carlos had enough.

[trecedelemos]

Good observation. I mean known to Christianity. India and China were hardly known (Marco Polo's stories were considered legend for many centuries). Columbus thought he had arrived at "Cipango" (Japan), and called the native Americans "Indians". Becoming Buddist is an interesting proposition, but unfortunately Mongols were not Siddhārtha's followers.

[DrGull1888]

Oh, you're right. The Mongols followed Tengriism. They became Buddhists in the 16th century.

[trecedelemos]

This video is amazing. Thanks so much, DrGull1888.

Let's remember that the South of France was occupied by the Muslims for 50 years, Sicily and Naples for over 2 centuries, and East Europe by the Ottoman Empire for 5 centuries. Historians avoid the topic, because it is not part of the English historiography.

But people should realize how close Islam came to be the only religion in the known World. Las Navas de Tolosa was the turning point.

[DrGull1888]

Yes, yes, the Moors were beaten between Tours and Poitiers 732 AD. Muslim minoreties lived in Sicily until the 13th century.

I don't know how you define the known world. Does it include India or China? Because there you had/have Hinduism and Budhism. The Mongols had no troubles in crushing the Caliphate of Bagdad. Maybe they'd have overrun an Islamic Europe and the Caliphate of Cordoba. Maybe the old world would've become Budhistic.

[trecedelemos]

What's the name of the paintings shown at 6:54 and 7:20? Who is the author?

[DrGull1888]

Sorry, no idea.

[makidtrej]

Great Video. Would you say this was the beggining of the re-conquest of Spain?

[DrGull1888]

No, the Reconquista started in the late 11th century. But I think Las Navas de Tolosa finally tipped the balance to Spain's favour.

[98bigbutt]

@DrGull1888,but what about Don Pelayo and the start of the Reconquest in the 8th century?

[DrGull1888]

@98bigbutt Yeah, you are right. Historians see the establishment of Asturias by Don Pelayo as the start of Reconquista. I was thinking in terms of territorial gain and except the establishment of Asturias there was little territorial gain for the Christians. And the Moors remained a strong enemy for the following centuries in spite of setbacks like the Battles of Tours and Poitiers and Covadonga.

[20freddie20]

Very interesting video. Enough material for a full segment on the History channel.

[DrGull1888]

Thanks. It's always hard to decide what to include and exclude. You have to make it interesting and not too long.

[CULtSHORt]

Great video man!

[DrGull1888]

Thanks a lot bud.