Achila II

Achila II

Achila II (also spelled Agila, Aquila, or Akhila because the sound represented by /j/ did not exist in Latin; died circa 714) was the king of Visigothic Hispania (much reduced since the time of his predecessors) from 710 or 711 until his death. Achila's reign is known solely from coins and regnal lists and is unmentioned by reliable narrative histories. Gold coins of Achila's have been found bearing the inscriptions of the mints of Gerona, Zaragoza, Tarragona, and Narbonne. [Collins, "Visigothic", 131. According to Thompson, 251, two types of coin have been found from the Narbonnese mint.] Because the narrative sources, the numismatics, and the regnal lists all confirm the reign of Roderic during the same years as Achila, it is almost doubtless the fact that the two were kings in opposition to each other following Roderic's coup, which may have resulted either in or from the death of the previous king, Wittiza. [Collins, "Visigothic", 138–139. Thompson, 251, believed that Achila succeeded Roderic after his defeat and death, when only the northeast of the kingdom remained under Visigothic control.]

There are more coins surviving from Achila's kingdom than Roderic's, but the findings do not overlap in territory and it is suspected that the kingdom had been divided between two factions, with the southwest (the provinces of Lusitania and western Carthaginiensis around the capital Toledo) following (or being subjected to) Roderic and the northeast (Tarraconensis and Narbonensis) fallilng under the rule of Achila. [Collins, "Visigothic", 131.] It is unknown to whom the provinces of Gallaecia and Baetica fell. That Roderic and Achila never appear to have come into military conflict is probably best explained by the preoccupation of Roderic with Arab raids and not to a formal division of the kingdom. [Ibid, 139.]

Two continuations of the "Chronicon Regum Visigothorum" record Achila's reign of three years following immediately upon Wittiza's. [Ibid, 132.] It has even been suggested by some scholars that Achila was in fact Wittiza's son and successor and that Roderic had tried to usurp the throne from him, even that he had been a co-ruler with Wittiza since 708. [Bachrach, 31–32.] Any son of Wittiza would have been a child in 711. [Collins, "Visigothic", 137.] Achila's reign probably began shortly after Roderic's and lasted until 713 or 714.

During Achila's brief reign, Arab raids began to plague the south of Hispania, where Roderic ruled. Roderic tried to deal with them but was killed in the trying. Some supporters of Achila may have deserted Roderic on his final campaign. [Bachrach, 32.] Because of the oppressive policy of his predecessors towards the Jews and the large Jewish population of Narbonensis and because of what he stood to gain should Roderic be removed, military historian Bernard Bachrach has written that " [t] here is a temptation to conclude that the Muslims, King Achila, and the Jews all joined together, at least temporarily, to overthrow Roderic." [Ibid, 33.]

It is possible that an ecclesiastic named Oppa was declared king at Toledo by rivals of both Roderic and Achila, either before Roderic's defeat and death at the Battle of the Guadalete or between his death and the Arab capture of Toledo. [Collins, "Visigothic", 139.] Whatever the case, almost all of Hispania save Gallaecia, the Asturias, the country of the Basques, and the valley of the Ebro had fallen to the Arabs within a couple years of Roderic's death. In 713 the Arabs and their Berber allies began the conquest of the Ebro valley, taking Zaragoza. These events coincide with the end of Achila's three-year reign and may have accounted for his death in battle with the invaders. [Ibid, 140.] The nature of the discovery of a smattering of coins at La Bovalar near Lérida shows that La Bovalar probably fell and was razed by the invaders in 714. [Ibid, 212.] Achila was succeeded by Ardo, who only reigned in Narbonensis north of the Pyrenees and probably died in the Arab invasion of that region in 721. [Ibid.]

ources

*Bachrach, Bernard S. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762%28197302%2978%3A1%3C11%3AAROVJP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D "A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589-711."] "The American Historical Review", Vol. 78, No. 1. (Feb., 1973), pp 11–34.
*Collins, Roger. "The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97". Oxford University Press, 1989.
*Collins, Roger. "Visigothic Spain, 409–711". Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
*Hodgkin, Thomas. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28188704%292%3A6%3C209%3AVS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T "Visigothic Spain."] "The English Historical Review", Vol. 2, No. 6. (Apr., 1887), pp 209–234.
*Shaw, R. Dykes. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28190604%2921%3A82%3C209%3ATFOTVP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 "The Fall of the Visigothic Power in Spain."] "The English Historical Review", Vol. 21, No. 82. (Apr., 1906), pp 209–228.
*Thompson, E. A. "The Goths in Spain". Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Achila — Achila, 1) Hügel im Stamme Juda, worauf Herodes d. Gr. ein Castell baute; 2) (Acholla), Stadt in Byzazium (Afrika), j. Elalia …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • ACHILA — silva ad dextram deserti Ziph. 1 Sam. c. 26. v. 3. Sycella apud Ioseph …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Achila — Sp Achilà Ap Agila L k. C Ispanijoje (Iberijos kk.) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Achila II. — …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Za'achila II — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar …   Wikipedia Español

  • Za'achila III — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar …   Wikipedia Español

  • Roderic — Titlepage of La Crónica del rey don Rodrigo (The Chronicle of the Lord King Roderic) published by Juan Ferrer (1549), recounting the legendary deeds of Roderic Ruderic (also spelled Roderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick[1]; Spanish and… …   Wikipedia

  • Agila II. — Agila II. (auch Achila oder Akhila, † um 714) war von 711 bis ca. 714 König der Westgoten. Er regierte in der Endphase des Westgotenreichs und beherrschte nur einen Teil des Reichsgebiets. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Regierung 2 Agila als angeblicher… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Battle of Guadalete — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Guadalete partof=the Muslim conquests caption= date=711 or 712 place=Near a body of water in southern Iberia result=Decisive Muslim victory combatant1=Christian Visigoths combatant2=Muslim Arabs and… …   Wikipedia

  • Oppas — Oppa redirects here. For the river named Oppa in German, see Opava River. Oppas or Oppa[1] (died after 712) was a member of the Visigothic elite in the city of Toledo on the eve of the Muslim conquest of Hispania. He was a son of Egica and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”