Name of Monument:

Castle

Location:

Baños de la Encina, Jaen, Spain

Date of Monument:

Hegira 357 / AD 968

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad of al-Andalus, Caliphate period

Patron(s):

Al-Hakam II (r. AH 349–65 / AD 961–76).

History:

In the Middle Ages it was under the control of the archbishopric of Toledo and the Order of Knighthood of Saint James until it was granted in 1458 to the Constable, Iranzo, by King Enrique IV. It was much favoured by successive Christian monarchs up to Charles III (r. 1759–88). On 15 June 1931 it was declared a national monument. More recently, it was converted to a municipal cemetery and in the 1960s the reinforcement of the turrets and walls, the restoration of the crenellations and the complete reconstruction of the gateway were ordered.

Description:

Located on the edge of the village, this was an important fortress commissioned by al-Hakam II, according to a foundation inscription found nearby in 1902. It is a clear example of an encampment system, of which few examples have survived on the Iberian Peninsula, and fewer still so little altered and in such an excellent state of conservation. Its enviable strategic position caused a succession of conquests and reconquests. It was not taken until AH 609 / AD 1212 after the battle of Navas de Tolosa, but it was not until AH 621 / AD 1224 that it was finally handed over to Fernando III by ‘Abdallah bin Muhammad, in recognition of his alliance against the attacks of al-‘Adil 'the Just', amir of Murcia. The monarch gave it to Baeza council, in whose jurisdiction it remained until AH 644 / AH 1246.
It consists of a medium-sized adobe enclosure marked with 15 narrow prismatic turrets distributed regularly around its perimeter. The wall was fortified with crenellations, and the original ones have survived on one of the towers. The towers were built on two floors separated by floorboards, now lost. The roof rests on a barrel vault in which there is a communicating trapdoor. The military courtyard now has no buildings except for an interesting masonry diaphragm made up of a truncated cylindrical tower towards which two wall sections converged at an obtuse angle, of which only one has survived. These structures correspond to Christian reforms probably made in the late 14th century (AH 8th century) or early 15th century (AH 9th century). The homage tower protected by this diaphragm wall also dates back to this period. Below the military courtyard there is a reservoir, the walls of which have retained a reddish plaster used to stop the water putrefying. The motifs inscribed in the plaster of some of the external surfaces of the walls are of interest: circular geometric drawings that mimic ashlar work in order to disguise the poor structural quality of the adobe wall. This military complex harmoniously links the Caliphate building with the Christian stronghold formed by the diaphragm wall.

Unlike previous Umayyad fortresses, the castle at Baños de la Encina has a medium-sized enclosure made of adobe and punctuated by 15 hollow towers containing superposed living areas accessed from the courtyard or the wall walk.
Commissioned by al-Hakam II, as recorded on the foundation inscription now in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, it was sited strategically on the Córdoba–Toledo road on the southern slopes of the Sierra Morena, and its principal function was to protect this route.

How Monument was dated:

By the foundation stone kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. Information provided by epigraphic sources, in particular portable ones, should be used with caution as they may not correspond to the building. Nonetheless, it coincides chronologically with the building programme conceived by the Caliphate of Córdoba to control the region, and the layout and shape of the turrets are consistent with this hypothesis.

Selected bibliography:

Gómez Moreno, M., El Arte árabe Español Hasta los Almohades: Arte Mozárabe,Ars Hispaniae, Vol. III, Madrid, 1951, p.179.
Muñoz-Cobo y Fresco, J., Baños de la Encina y su Castillo, Madrid, 1968.
Olivares Barragán, F., Castillos de la Provincia de Jaén, Jaen, 1992, pp.49–54.
Ruibal, A., “Castro Ferral, las Navas y Baños de la Encina: Tres Enclaves Islámicos de la Alta Andalucía”, Homenaje al Profesor Garzón Pareja, s. l., 1985, pp.285–301.
Valdecantos Dema, R., “Provincia de Jaén”, Castillos de España, I, León, 1997, pp.252–5.

Citation of this web page:

Ángela Franco "Castle" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2025. 2025.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;es;Mon01;14;en

Prepared by: Ángela FrancoÁngela Franco

Ángela Franco es Jefa del Departamento de Antigüedades Medievales en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional.
Obtuvo el Grado de Doctor por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid con la tesis Escultura gótica en León y provincia, premiada y publicada parcialmente (Madrid, 1976; reed. León, 1998); y la Diplomatura en Paleografía y Archivística por la Scuola Vaticana di Paleografia, Diplomatica e Archivistica, con la tesis L'Archivio paleografico italiano: indici dei manoscritti, publicada en castellano (Madrid, 1985). Becas de investigación: beca posdoctoral del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Academia Española de Bellas Artes de Roma (1974-75); beca posdoctoral del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Academia Española de Bellas Artes de Roma (1975-77); beca de la Fundación Juan March de Madrid (1978).
Tiene en su haber 202 publicaciones, fundamentalmente sobre arte medieval cristiano, en especial la iconografía: Crucifijo gótico doloroso, Doble Credo, Danzas de la Muerte, temática bíblica en relación con la liturgia (el Génesis y el Éxodo en relación con la vigilia Pascual) o con el teatro (Secundum legem debet mori, sobre el “pozo de Moisés” de la cartuja de Dijon). Es autora de cuatro catálogos monográficos del Museo Arqueológico Nacional, entre ellos el de Dedales islámicos (Madrid, 1993), y de publicaciones sobre escultura gótica y pintura en la catedral de León y sobre escultura gótica en Ávila, así como de numerosas fichas para catálogos de exposiciones.
Ha participado en innumerables congresos nacionales e internacionales, presentando ponencias y mesas redondas, y ha dirigido cursos y ciclos de conferencias. Es Secretaria de Publicaciones en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional desde 1989.
Copyedited by: Rosalía AllerRosalía Aller

Rosalía Aller Maisonnave, licenciada en Letras (Universidad Católica del Uruguay), y en Filología Hispánica y magíster en Gestión Cultural de Música, Teatro y Danza (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), ha obtenido becas de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional y la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia de Madrid, así como el Diplôme de Langue Française (Alliance Française), el Certificate of Proficiency in English (University of Cambridge) y el Certificado Superior en inglés y francés (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Madrid). Profesora de Estética de la Poesía y Teoría Literaria en la Universidad Católica del Uruguay, actualmente es docente de Lengua Castellana y Literatura en institutos de Enseñanza Secundaria y formación del profesorado en Madrid. Desde 1983, ha realizado traducción y edición de textos en Automated Training Systems, Applied Learning International, Videobanco Formación y El Derecho Editores. Integra el equipo de Museo Sin Fronteras desde 1999 y ha colaborado en la revisión de los catálogos de “El Arte Islámico en el Mediterráneo”. Así mismo, ha realizado publicaciones sobre temas literarios y didácticos, ha dictado conferencias y ha participado en recitales poéticos.
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: SP 17