The Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo

The Visigoths conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 415 AD during the Middle Ages. After a period of Ostrogothic domination, Amalaric re-established the independence of the kingdom and named Narbona as capital city. When the Franks penetrated Narbonensis, Amalaric fled to Barcelona. Toledo was to become the new Visigothic capital in Spain.

During Athanagild’s reign, the Byzantines installed themselves in the south east of the Peninsula (where they stayed until expelled by Suintila in 625 AD). During Liuvigild’s reign, the Visigoth kingdom was consolidated and was supplemented by the acquisition of the Suevi kingdom.

Liuvigild’s successor, Reccared, converted to Catholicism at the Third Council of Toledo, bringing religious unification. Arianism was abandoned and the kingdom converted officially to Catholicism, beginning its distancing from the Church of Rome (favourable to Byzantium which would inherit the Roman Empire). From then on, ethnographical distinction between Goths and Hispano-Romans began to melt away, and Gothic customs were gradually abandoned.

Legal unification came with Recceswinth, who introduced the Visigothic Code (Lex Visigothorum) in about 654 AD. This common legal code was applied to both Goths and Romans who had, up to that point, been subject to different laws. Passing into later western legal codes, it rightfully established a reputation for Spanish law.

The Councils of Toledo gradually became the most powerful force in the Visigothic state as the monarchy gradually weakened. Towards the end of the 7^th century, there were continuous internal power struggles between two important branches of the nobility and the clergy. This, on top of social and financial crisis, seriously eroded control within the Visigothic kingdom. While King Wamba, Recceswinth’s successor, fought off the Vascons in the north of the Peninsula, a new uprising occurred in Septimania, and although he managed to pacify the area, he was later deposed in strange circumstances. The conflict worsened during Ergica’s and Wittiza’s reigns. When the last king, Roderick, came to the throne, he was delivered by his rivals into the hands of Moorish leader Tariq Ibn Ziyad, who defeated him in the Battle of Guadalete (near Medina Sidonia) in 711 AD. This marked the start of the Moorish conquest of the kingdom. The last Visigothic province to fall to the Moors was Narbonensis. This was overthrown in 716 AD, putting an end to the Visigothic Kingdom and ushering in the start of the Islamic period in the history of Spain.