Parias
Encyclopedia
In medieval Spain
, parias (from medieval Latin
pariāre, "to make equal [an account]", i.e. pay) were a form of tribute
paid by the taifa
s of al-Andalus
to the Christian kingdoms
of the north. Parias dominated relations between the Islamic and the Christian states in the years following the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba
(1031) until the reunification of Islamic Spain under the Almoravid dynasty (beginning in 1086). The parias were a form of protection money established by treaty. The payee owed the tributary military protection against foes both Islamic and Christian. Usually the original exaction was forced, either by a large razzia or the threat of one, or as the cost of supporting one Islamic party against another. (The word "taifa" means "party [kingdom]" and refers to the prevalence of factionalism in Islamic Spain during the taifas era.)
and the County of Barcelona, which exacted a very early one—called the vetus paria or "old paria"—from the taifa of Zaragoza
. While parias may have been paid by the local Muslim leaders just west of the Llobregat
after Raymond Borrel
's razzia on Córdoba
in 1010, the earliest paria that can be dated was collected by Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona from Lleida
and Zaragoza after his attack on those territories in 1045. In the 1060s he was still demanding parias from Lleida and Zaragoza, as well as the taifa of Tortosa
. The Aragonese king Sancho Ramírez also took parias from the king of Zaragoza's underlings at Huesca
and Tudela
.
In western Spain the first ruler to exact such tribute was Ferdinand I of León and Castile. From at least 1060, perhaps as early as 1055, Ferdinand had been exacting parias from the taifas of Seville
, Toledo
, and Zaragoza, and possibly also Badajoz
and Valencia
. In accordance with his testament, Ferdinand's parias were divided amongst his heirs along with his kingdom in December 1065: the eldest son, Sancho II, received Castile
with the vetus paria; the second son, Alfonso VI, received León
with the parias of Toledo; and the third son, García II, received Galicia
with the parias of Badajoz and Seville. Eventually all the tribute found its way into the hands of Alfonso VI, who also exacted parias from Granada
. Valencia fell into the hands of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1094), and upon recovery by the Muslims it was forced to briefly pay parias to Barcelona, payments which were later re-established by Raymond Berengar IV. These parias were still being collected in the reign of James I the Conqueror
(1213–76), who put and end to them by conquering Valencia.
Much of the wealth acquired through parias was distributed to cathedrals and monasteries, while some found its way back to the aristocracy
. Sometime between 1053 and 1065 Ferdinand of León pledged an annual census of 1,000 aurei
for the Abbey of Cluny, a donation re-established by Alfonso VI in 1077 and then increased to 2,000 aurei in 1090 by this same monarch. This, known as the "Alfonsine census", was "the biggest donation that Cluny ever received from king or layman, and it was never to be surpassed." The large payments to Cluny, which financed Hugh the Great
's construction of the massive third abbey church, undoubtedly helped publish the wealth of Spain throughout Europe. Unfortunately for Cluny, changing conditions in Spain caused the payments to cease in 1111, and this brought on a financial crisis during the abbacies of Pons of Melgueil
(1109–22) and Peter the Venerable
(1122–56). By 1100 the parias had decreased to a mere "trickle". Only in 1246, when the Kingdom of Granada, the last remaining Islamic state in Spain, agreed to pay half its annual revenue in parias to Castile, did tribute again constitute a major portion of Christian Spain's wealth. Though the burden of these last parias was sometimes reduced to a quarter or a fifth of state revenue, the Grenadine kings were forced to tax their subjects far beyond what was permissible under Islamic law
.
, "golden ones", or numos de auro, "coins of gold", in Latin), usually Islamic dinar
s or mithqal
s, accompanied by gifts of carpets, silks, ivories, plate, and other luxuries not produced widely in Christian Europe. They were extremely large sums for the times, though it is impossible to determine their precise value in modern terms. The vetus paria in about 1060, when it was being paid to Ferdinand of León, was worth around 10,000 aurei per annum. This was raised to 12,000 numos de auro per annum when Sancho IV of Navarre
acquired it. In 1075 Alfonso VI negotiated 30,000 mithqals from Granada, including two years' worth of arrears, putting the annual parias at around 10,000 mithqals, comparable to the vetus paria. The largest parias on record were those forced on the eastern taifas by Alfonso's vassal Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar in 1089–91, during which period he took in 146,000 dinars. By comparison, a typical nobleman's ransom cost 500–1,000 aurei in contemporary Spain and in Córdoba
400 horses or seventy human slaves were worth about 10,000 mithqals in the 1060s. "From being among the poorest rulers in Europe," historian Richard Fletcher
notes, "[the Christian kings of Spain] quickly became among the richest," and "the kingdom of León-Castile, in particular, acquired a reputation for inexhaustible wealth during the second half of the eleventh century," due in large part to the receipt of parias.
Spain in the Middle Ages
After the disorders of the passage of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 408, the history of Medieval Spain begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arianist Visigoths , who were converted to Catholicism with their king Reccared in 587...
, parias (from medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
pariāre, "to make equal [an account]", i.e. pay) were a form of tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
paid by the taifa
Taifa
In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...
s of al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
to the Christian kingdoms
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
of the north. Parias dominated relations between the Islamic and the Christian states in the years following the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
(1031) until the reunification of Islamic Spain under the Almoravid dynasty (beginning in 1086). The parias were a form of protection money established by treaty. The payee owed the tributary military protection against foes both Islamic and Christian. Usually the original exaction was forced, either by a large razzia or the threat of one, or as the cost of supporting one Islamic party against another. (The word "taifa" means "party [kingdom]" and refers to the prevalence of factionalism in Islamic Spain during the taifas era.)
History
The earliest evidence of parias pertains to eastern Spain, to the Kingdom of AragonKingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
and the County of Barcelona, which exacted a very early one—called the vetus paria or "old paria"—from the taifa of Zaragoza
Taifa of Zaragoza
The taifa of Zaragoza was an independent Muslim state in Moorish Al-Andalus, present day eastern Spain, which was established in 1018 as one of the taifa kingdoms, which emerged in the 11th century following the destruction of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the Moorish Iberian Peninsula.During the...
. While parias may have been paid by the local Muslim leaders just west of the Llobregat
Llobregat
The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. It originates in Castellar de n'Hug at an altitude of 1,259 meters in the Serra del Cadí, and ends in the Mediterranean Sea, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona...
after Raymond Borrel
Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona
Raymond Borrel , was count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 992. Son of Borrell II of Barcelona and Letgarda de Rouergue. He was associated with his father from 988....
's razzia on Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
in 1010, the earliest paria that can be dated was collected by Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona from Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
and Zaragoza after his attack on those territories in 1045. In the 1060s he was still demanding parias from Lleida and Zaragoza, as well as the taifa of Tortosa
Taifa of Tortosa
The Taifa of Tortosa was a medieval taifa kingdom which existed for two separate periods: from 1010 to 1060 and from 1081 to 1099.-Saqlabi dynasty:* Lab'ib : c. 1009-bfr. 1039/40* Muqatil Sayf al-Milla: bfr...
. The Aragonese king Sancho Ramírez also took parias from the king of Zaragoza's underlings at Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
and Tudela
Tudela, Navarre
Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second city of the autonomous community of Navarre. Its population is around 35,000. Tudela is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electrified railways serve the city and two freeways join close to it...
.
In western Spain the first ruler to exact such tribute was Ferdinand I of León and Castile. From at least 1060, perhaps as early as 1055, Ferdinand had been exacting parias from the taifas of Seville
Taifa of Seville
The Taifa of Seville was a short lived medieval kingdom, in what is now southern Spain and Portugal. It originated in 1023 and lasted until 1091, and was under the rule of the Arab Abbadid family.-History:...
, Toledo
Taifa of Toledo
The taifa of Toledo was a Muslim medieval kingdom located in what is now central Spain. It existed from the fracturing of the long-eminent Muslim Caliphate of Córdoba in 1035 until the Christian conquest in 1085.-History:...
, and Zaragoza, and possibly also Badajoz
Taifa of Badajoz
The Taifa of Badajoz was a medieval Muslim kingdom in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain and centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain....
and Valencia
Taifa of Valencia
The Taifa of Valencia was a medieval taifa kingdom which existed, in and around Valencia, Spain during four distinct periods: from 1010 to 1065, from 1075 to 1099, from 1145 to 1147 and last from 1229 to 1238 when it was finally conquered by Aragon....
. In accordance with his testament, Ferdinand's parias were divided amongst his heirs along with his kingdom in December 1065: the eldest son, Sancho II, received Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
with the vetus paria; the second son, Alfonso VI, received León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
with the parias of Toledo; and the third son, García II, received Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
with the parias of Badajoz and Seville. Eventually all the tribute found its way into the hands of Alfonso VI, who also exacted parias from Granada
Taifa of Granada
The Taifa of Granada was a Moorish kingdom in Al-Andalus, within the present day Granada Province in southern Spain...
. Valencia fell into the hands of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1094), and upon recovery by the Muslims it was forced to briefly pay parias to Barcelona, payments which were later re-established by Raymond Berengar IV. These parias were still being collected in the reign of James I the Conqueror
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
(1213–76), who put and end to them by conquering Valencia.
Much of the wealth acquired through parias was distributed to cathedrals and monasteries, while some found its way back to the aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. Sometime between 1053 and 1065 Ferdinand of León pledged an annual census of 1,000 aurei
Aureus
The aureus was a gold coin of ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii. The aureus was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century, when it was replaced by the solidus...
for the Abbey of Cluny, a donation re-established by Alfonso VI in 1077 and then increased to 2,000 aurei in 1090 by this same monarch. This, known as the "Alfonsine census", was "the biggest donation that Cluny ever received from king or layman, and it was never to be surpassed." The large payments to Cluny, which financed Hugh the Great
Hugh of Cluny
Hugh of Cluny was an Abbot of Cluny. He is sometimes referred to as "Hugh the Great" or "Hugh of Semur" and was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Hugh . He was one of the most influential leaders of one of the most influential monastic orders of the Middle Ages.Abbot Hugh built the...
's construction of the massive third abbey church, undoubtedly helped publish the wealth of Spain throughout Europe. Unfortunately for Cluny, changing conditions in Spain caused the payments to cease in 1111, and this brought on a financial crisis during the abbacies of Pons of Melgueil
Pons of Melgueil
Pons of Melgueil was the seventh Abbot of Cluny from 1109 to 1122. He was descended from a noble lineage of Languedoc which had long supported the Gregorian reform. He himself was a godson of Pope Paschal II....
(1109–22) and Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable , also known as Peter of Montboissier, abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny, born to Blessed Raingarde in Auvergne, France. He has been honored as a saint but has never been formally canonized.-Life:Peter was "Dedicated to God" at birth and given to the monastery at...
(1122–56). By 1100 the parias had decreased to a mere "trickle". Only in 1246, when the Kingdom of Granada, the last remaining Islamic state in Spain, agreed to pay half its annual revenue in parias to Castile, did tribute again constitute a major portion of Christian Spain's wealth. Though the burden of these last parias was sometimes reduced to a quarter or a fifth of state revenue, the Grenadine kings were forced to tax their subjects far beyond what was permissible under Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
.
Amounts
Parias were generally paid in gold coin (aureiAureus
The aureus was a gold coin of ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii. The aureus was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century, when it was replaced by the solidus...
, "golden ones", or numos de auro, "coins of gold", in Latin), usually Islamic dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s or mithqal
Mithqal
Mithqal is a unit of mass equal to 4.25 grams and mostly used for precious metals, The Gold Dinar is equal to 1 Mithqal.-Conversion factors:-Usage of the Mithqal:...
s, accompanied by gifts of carpets, silks, ivories, plate, and other luxuries not produced widely in Christian Europe. They were extremely large sums for the times, though it is impossible to determine their precise value in modern terms. The vetus paria in about 1060, when it was being paid to Ferdinand of León, was worth around 10,000 aurei per annum. This was raised to 12,000 numos de auro per annum when Sancho IV of Navarre
Sancho IV of Navarre
Sancho IV Garcés , called Sancho of Peñalén or Sancho the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1054 to 1076. He was the eldest son and heir of García Sánchez III and Estefanía....
acquired it. In 1075 Alfonso VI negotiated 30,000 mithqals from Granada, including two years' worth of arrears, putting the annual parias at around 10,000 mithqals, comparable to the vetus paria. The largest parias on record were those forced on the eastern taifas by Alfonso's vassal Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar in 1089–91, during which period he took in 146,000 dinars. By comparison, a typical nobleman's ransom cost 500–1,000 aurei in contemporary Spain and in Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
400 horses or seventy human slaves were worth about 10,000 mithqals in the 1060s. "From being among the poorest rulers in Europe," historian Richard Fletcher
Richard A. Fletcher
Richard A. Fletcher was a historian who specialized in the medieval period. He was Professor of History at the University of York and one of the outstanding talents in English and Spanish medieval scholarship....
notes, "[the Christian kings of Spain] quickly became among the richest," and "the kingdom of León-Castile, in particular, acquired a reputation for inexhaustible wealth during the second half of the eleventh century," due in large part to the receipt of parias.
Works cited
- Charles J. Bishko. 1980. Studies in Medieval Spanish Frontier History. London: Variorum Reprints.
- Thomas N. Bisson. 1986. The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Richard A. FletcherRichard A. FletcherRichard A. Fletcher was a historian who specialized in the medieval period. He was Professor of History at the University of York and one of the outstanding talents in English and Spanish medieval scholarship....
. 1978. The Episcopate in the Kingdom of León in the Twelfth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Jocelyn N. Hillgarth. 1976. The Spanish Kingdoms, 1250–1516, volume 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Adam J. Kosto. 2001. Making Agreements in Medieval Catalonia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Bernard F. Reilly. 1982. The Kingdom of León-Castilla under Queen Urraca, 1109–1126. Princeton: Princeton University Press.