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Iberian Military Orders Complex

Type Object Region Iberian Peninsula Time c. 1158–1835

The Iberian Military Orders Complex refers to the network of armed religious organizations formed by the knightly orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcá…

Timeline

  1. 1471–1474Extremadura · ExtremaduraThe orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, and Christ each controlled extensive estates, and their knights bore obligations of frontier garrison duty, settlement, and warfare against Muslim strongholds.
  2. 1474–1479Valladolid · ValladolidDuring Isabella's succession crisis, Ferdinand brought the leadership of the major military orders under royal control by concurrently serving as Grand Master of Santiago and elsewhere, weakening the independent military power of the nobility.
  3. 1480Frontier of the Kingdom of Granada · AndalusiaIn 1480 order knights participated in royal offensives against frontier fortresses of Granada; the complex was deployed as a standing cavalry force in the final wars of the Reconquista, providing a military template for the subsequent full conquest.

Sources