Benahavis Spain - History

It has been said that the history of Benahavis in Spain begins around the end of the 11th Century and that is true in part. But only as regards documented history from the time of the Arabs being here but of course its real history dates back considerably much further than that.

The Romans were here in Spain more than one thousand years before that.

In fact the Romans came to Spain in 206 BC.

Spain then became under the occupation of the Romans for some 700 years.

Before the Romans there had been many others including inter-alia the Carthaginians, Greeks and Phoenicians all of whom were great sailors and travelers.

Undoubtedly they all found Benahavis a good refuge point with the combination of it being very near to the coast together with commanding views of the coast and beyond to Africa. There are a string of valleys which cross Benahavis from North to South and over the ages these have been pathways to the hills and mountain areas which of course have provided strategic protection and refuge from pirates, invaders and raiders.

This was a very common occurrence in those times. These pathways were then of very great strategic importance at times of battle and warfare of which over the ages there have been many.

The Montemayor castle was constructed around the 11th century. This was extremely important for the Nazarine Kingdom of Granada and a key part of the Kingdoms defenses. The Castle was built before the village of Benahavis also played a key role in the battles between the various Arab Rulers in Southern Spain.

This would undoubtedly have been due to its great strategic position. It was disputed and fought over for many years by the war lords of the day because of the prominent location and views as outlined above. He who commanded this castle could command trading and commerce on the coast and know what was happening at Sea.

The Castle and the territory that it controlled got involved in the various power struggles between the ruling Malaga dynasty who were the Edrisitas and the Hammudies, who were the lords of Algeciras.

A Berber Lord established himself in 1232 as the first king of Granada, he was known as Mohammed I.

By 1246 his kingdom had become surrounded by the territory of Castile and he had little choice other than to make a treaty of co-existence with his neighbours.

He effectively became a vassal or sub ordinate to the King of Castile and agrees to pay homage and allegiance including a substantial annual payment.

In 1273, Mohamed 11 the then King of Granada, could see that that his throne could be at risk due to the inter tribal rivalry so requested help from the Berbers, who as they marched across the peninsula, occupied Marbella, Montemayor Castle and Malaga.

Some 200 years later the strategic location of the castle was of course noticed and envied greatly by the Christian Kings who were keen, to say the least, to conquer the last Moorish Kingdom remaining in the south of Spain.

Isabel and Ferdinand's army had already laid siege to the Nazarine kingdom of Granada, but initially they occupied the neighboring province of Malaga.

In the month of June, 1485, Benahavis, together with other villages all with in the district of Marbella and in the Bermeja Mountains were handed over to King Ferdinand by Mohammed Abuneza (Mohammed X1) after the signing of a capitulation agreement.

The King entrusted the villages to Don Pedro Villandrado who was the Count of Ribadeo.

He was actually the first christian mayor of Benahavis.

From that very moment in time a bitter feud arose between Marbella and Benahavis that lasted some three hundred and fifty years until Benahavís eventually achieved the status of complete,independence.

King Felipe II kindly granted Benahavis with its independence and its very own Municipal Charter effectively cutting all ties with Marbella in 1572.

With the current and on going planning scandals of the Malaya case that are still running in Marbella I have no doubt that many property owners in Benahavis are very grateful for this act by the King some 400 or so years later.

As for the Castle, apart from its very impressive location there were many underground tunnels and passageways that connected it to the coast apparently large enough to take a rider on horseback, you do hear of the same kind of idea in Britain where in by gone times smugglers and the like had similar passageways as indeed did the English Knights from their Castles.

In the case of Montemayor the Arabs would have been able to move their troops and in deed supplies of food and weapons.

Indeed it is said that in the 1960s a lorry fell through the roof of one of these Tunnels in the main square of Benahavis but I have also heard that a similar incident had happened on the main coast road, the old N340, also in the 1960s so it could well be that both reports are true.

As for the name one of the very early rulers of the Monteymayor castle was called Havis. His son was very impressed by the stunning views in the valley of the Rio Guadalmina near the castle and it is said that he built a small settlement, with a great villa, on a south facing slope above the river. It is I believe from that settlement that Benahavis gets its name, Ben al Havis simply meaning the Son of Havis. Also there was a Berber tribe of Banu Habis who had settled in this area.

In the Spanish language pronunciation of the B and the V is very similar so this is possibly another or complementary origin of the Name Benahavis. Modern day Benahavis is a very interesting place to say the least with many fine diining establishments and well worth a visit.