Tudmir
Encyclopedia
Theodemir or Theudimer was a Visigothic comes (count) prominent in the southeast of Carthaginensis (the region around Murcia
) during the last decades of the Visigothic kingdom and for several years after the Moorish conquest
. He ruled seven cities in southeastern Spain, mentioned in the Treaty of Orihuela that was preserved by the Andalusian historian Ibn Adarí in the thirteenth century: Orihuela
, Valentila (possibly an equivalent for Valencia), Alicante
, Mula
, Bigastro
, Eyya (probably Ojós), and Lorca
.
Sometime probably during the joint reign of Egica and Wittiza
, a Byzantine fleet
raided the coasts of southern Iberia and was driven off by Theudimer. The dating of this event is disputed: it may have occurred as part of Leontios'
expedition to relieve Carthage
, under assault by the Arabs, in 697; perhaps later, around 702; or perhaps late in Wittiza's reign. What is almost universally accepted is that it was an isolated incident connected with other military activities (probably against the Arabs or Berbers
) and not an attempt to reestablish the province of Spania
, lost in the 620s. As E. A. Thompson
states, "We know nothing whatever of the context of this strange event."
After the defeat of king Roderic
at the Battle of Guadalete
in 711 or 712, Theudimer resisted the invading Arabs and Berbers, but he was eventually defeated in pitched battle and made peace with the Muslim emir Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa
. "The text of the treaty he signed has been preserved in at least three separate sources, including a fourteenth-century biographical dictionary, and is dated to 5 April 713 (4 Recheb 94 AH
)." The treaty allowed that Christians who submitted to Muslim rule
("the patronage of God") would be spared their lives and allowed to continue living with their families and practising their Catholic faith in their churches; they were, however, required to pay a tribute per capita
and to turn over any enemies of the conquerors to the government. The tribute consisted of one dinar
, four measures (or jugfuls) each of wheat, barley, grape juice, and vinegar, plus two of honey and oil; and half this for slaves. Theudimer retained his land and his local authority.
Theudimer later travelled to Baghdad
to have his treaty confirmed by the Caliph. However, it is unknown how long this treaty lasted in practice, whether it continued until Theudimer's death (which is recorded in the Chronicle of 754
) or after, or was cut short before his death. His prominence in the region is testified by the number of later Gothic nobles in the same region who tried to claim descent from him. The region itself was given the commemorative name Tudmir by the Arabs. Theudimer left a son, Athanagild, who was described as very wealthy by the Chronicle, but whether or not he was his successor is debated by scholars. If he did succeed, he would have done so around 740, but his fate is unknown and the region of Tudmir had lost its independence by the 780s.
Amaya o los vascos en el siglo VIII
(1879), the characters mention Teodomiro "duke of Aurariola and Baetica, general prevost of the army" as one of those who successfully resist Islamic dominance along with Pelayo of Asturias
and García Jiménez of Navarre
.
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
) during the last decades of the Visigothic kingdom and for several years after the Moorish conquest
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania is the initial Islamic Ummayad Caliphate's conquest, between 711 and 718, of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, centered in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known to them under the Arabic name al-Andalus....
. He ruled seven cities in southeastern Spain, mentioned in the Treaty of Orihuela that was preserved by the Andalusian historian Ibn Adarí in the thirteenth century: Orihuela
Orihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, Valentila (possibly an equivalent for Valencia), Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Mula
Mula, Spain
Mula is a municipality in the center of the autonomous community of Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain, with nearly 17,076 inhabitants . It is best-known for the tamboradas held during the Holy Week...
, Bigastro
Bigastro
Bigastro is a district in the Valencian Community situated in the south of the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura. It had a population of 6,450 at the time of the -History:...
, Eyya (probably Ojós), and Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...
.
Sometime probably during the joint reign of Egica and Wittiza
Wittiza
Wittiza was the Visigothic King of Hispania from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Ergica, until 702 or 703.-Joint rule:...
, a Byzantine fleet
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
raided the coasts of southern Iberia and was driven off by Theudimer. The dating of this event is disputed: it may have occurred as part of Leontios'
Leontios
Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo , but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.- Early life :Leontios was born in...
expedition to relieve Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, under assault by the Arabs, in 697; perhaps later, around 702; or perhaps late in Wittiza's reign. What is almost universally accepted is that it was an isolated incident connected with other military activities (probably against the Arabs or Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
) and not an attempt to reestablish the province of Spania
Spania
Spania was a province of the Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was a part of the conquests of Roman Emperor Justinian I in an effort to restore the western half of the Empire....
, lost in the 620s. As E. A. Thompson
Edward Arthur Thompson
Edward Arthur Thompson was a British classicist, medievalist and professor at the University of Nottingham from 1948 to 1979. He wrote from a Marxist perspective, and argued that the Visigoths were settled in Aquitaine to counter the internal threat of the peasant bagaudae...
states, "We know nothing whatever of the context of this strange event."
After the defeat of king Roderic
Roderic
Ruderic was the Visigothic King of Hispania for a brief period between 710 and 712. He is famous in legend as "the last king of the Goths"...
at the Battle of Guadalete
Battle of Guadalete
The Battle of Guadalete was fought in 711 or 712 at an unidentified location between the Christian Visigoths of Hispania under their king, Roderic, and an invading force of Muslim Arabs and Berbers under Ṭāriq ibn Ziyad. The battle was significant as the culmination of a series of Arab-Berber...
in 711 or 712, Theudimer resisted the invading Arabs and Berbers, but he was eventually defeated in pitched battle and made peace with the Muslim emir Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa
Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa
Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was the first governor of Al-Andalus, in modern-day Spain and Portugal. He was the son of Musa ibn Nusayr, the governor of Ifriqiya...
. "The text of the treaty he signed has been preserved in at least three separate sources, including a fourteenth-century biographical dictionary, and is dated to 5 April 713 (4 Recheb 94 AH
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
)." The treaty allowed that Christians who submitted to Muslim rule
Dhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
("the patronage of God") would be spared their lives and allowed to continue living with their families and practising their Catholic faith in their churches; they were, however, required to pay a tribute per capita
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
and to turn over any enemies of the conquerors to the government. The tribute consisted of one 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...
, four measures (or jugfuls) each of wheat, barley, grape juice, and vinegar, plus two of honey and oil; and half this for slaves. Theudimer retained his land and his local authority.
Theudimer later travelled to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
to have his treaty confirmed by the Caliph. However, it is unknown how long this treaty lasted in practice, whether it continued until Theudimer's death (which is recorded in the Chronicle of 754
Chronicle of 754
The Chronicle of 754 was a Latin-language history in ninety-five chapters with the narrative theme "the ruin of Spain", which was composed in the year 754, in Toledo or Córdoba...
) or after, or was cut short before his death. His prominence in the region is testified by the number of later Gothic nobles in the same region who tried to claim descent from him. The region itself was given the commemorative name Tudmir by the Arabs. Theudimer left a son, Athanagild, who was described as very wealthy by the Chronicle, but whether or not he was his successor is debated by scholars. If he did succeed, he would have done so around 740, but his fate is unknown and the region of Tudmir had lost its independence by the 780s.
In fiction
In the historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
Amaya o los vascos en el siglo VIII
Amaya o los vascos en el siglo VIII
Amaya o los vascos en el siglo VIII is a Romantic historical novel published in 1879 by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada, a noted novel by a Navarrese author...
(1879), the characters mention Teodomiro "duke of Aurariola and Baetica, general prevost of the army" as one of those who successfully resist Islamic dominance along with Pelayo of Asturias
Pelayo of Asturias
Pelagius was a Visigothic nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias, ruling it from 718 until his death. Through his victory at the Battle of Covadonga, he is credited with beginning the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors, insofar as he established an...
and García Jiménez of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
.