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With this issue of On This Day we remember three episodes from different eras and with different characteristics, they are: The Pilgrimage of Saint Francis of Assisi to Santiago de Compostela, the Millennium of the Kingdom of Badajoz, and the birth of Blas de Lezo.

In the year 1013, and as a consequence of the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the Kingdom of Badajoz, or the first Taifa (independent Muslim-ruled principality) of Badajoz, was founded. The event is owed to the freed slave known as Sabur or Sapur, who proclaimed himself independent king of Portuguese and Spanish Extremadura. On his death, in 1022, the rights of his children were usurped by the Andalusian Berber Abdallah ibn al-Aftas, thus giving rise to the Aftasid Dynasty which lasted until 1094. During this period, Badajoz enjoyed an era of splendour, with great development in the arts and the sciences. The Aftasids were followed by the Almoravids and the Almohads. In 1230, the Kingdom of Badajoz was conquered by Alfonso IX of Leon, from then forming part of the Christian kingdoms.
Source: Spanish Post

Released February 24, 2014