Ramon I (Count of Pallars)

Ramón I ^[1] ( Spanish: Ramón I ) (died 920 ) - the first sovereign count of Pallars and Ribagorsa (872–920), founder of the Pallars dynasty .

The exact origin of Count Ramon I has not been established. In modern documents, he is referred to as the son of a certain Count Lup, who most historians consider identical with Count Bigorra Lup I Donat , a representative of the Bigorr dynasty ^[2] . Perhaps Ramon was the youngest son of Lup and his lack of hope for part of his father’s inheritance forced him to leave the county of Bigorr and seek possession in the neighboring lands belonging to the counts of Toulouse , whose mother he was probably a relative of ^[3] .

It is assumed that in the early 870s, Ramon ruled Palliars and Ribagorsa on behalf of Count Toulouse Bernard II , although his title at that time was unknown to historians. In 872 ^[4] Bernard II was assassinated by Bernard Plantwell's vassal , after which Bernard received most of the slain's possessions. However, in a number of regions of Toulouse county, local feudal lords seized power. Among them was Ramon I, whose possessions were Pallars and Ribagorsa. No details about how this happened were preserved in modern Ramon documents. Folk legends say that he was called by the locals to become their count in order to protect these lands from Muslim attacks.

Having gained power, Ramon I immediately broke all vassal relations with the counts of Toulouse and their overlords , kings of the West Frankish state . To counter the attempts of the rulers of Toulouse to regain Pallars and Ribagorsa, Ramon I concluded an alliance agreement with Muslims from the Banu Kasi family, who owned vast lands south of his possessions. The count of Pallars and Ribagorsa also made an alliance with the king of Pamplona ( Navarre ) Garcia II Jimenez , marrying his sister Dadildis ^[5] .

As an ally of the head of the family, Banu Kasi, the Walis of Tudela and Zaragoza, Muhammad I ibn Lubba , Count Ramon I was drawn into conflict with the Emir of Cordoba Muhammad I. When, in 884, Muhammad I ibn Lubb, who did not hope to keep Zaragoza in his hands, sold her for 15,000 dinars to Ramona, he still could not take possession of the city, which before his arrival here was occupied by the Cordoban commander Hasim ibn Abd al-Aziz ^{[ 6]} .

In order to achieve full sovereignty in his possessions, Ramon I in 885 - 892 supported the schism caused by the actions of the non-canonical bishop Urhel Esclu , who wanted to rid the Catalan dioceses of the influence of the pro-Frankish metropolitanate with a center in Narbonne , in the dioceses of the Spanish brand . At the request of Ramon, in 888, Esclua restored the Pallars bishopric , which ceased to exist after the Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula at the beginning of the VIII century, having allocated land from the Urchel diocese for this. Adulf was consecrated bishop of the new diocese covering the territories of the counties of Pallars and Ribagors. Despite the condemnation of Esclua and his supporters by a number of cathedrals and their recognition of their guilt, Count Ramon was able to preserve the existence of the Bishopric of Pallars even after the split ended. In subsequent years, Ramon I also continued to provide patronage to churches and monasteries that were in his possession: in 903 and 908, the count gave charters to the monastery of San Vicente de Gerry, and in 911 , despite the demands of Bishop Urhel Nantigis , Fontkobertsky The Council of Bishops of the Narbonne Metropolis decided to temporarily preserve the existence of the Pallars Diocese.

Almost nothing is known about the events of the reign of Count Ramon I in the 890s. In one of the charters of Aragonese origin, it is reported that in 893 in the county of Aragon , a meeting of several rulers of the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula took place. It was attended by Count of Aragon Galindo II Asnares , King of Pamplona (Navarre) Fortun Garces , Duke of Gascony Garcia II Sansh , Alfonso of Galicia , Count Paliarsa and Ribagorsa Ramon I, as well as the head of Banu Kasi Muhammad who rebelled against the Emir of Cordoba at that time. Lubb and Wali Huesca Muhammad al-Tawil . Historians suggest that the meeting discussed the coordination of joint actions of its participants against the Cordoba emirate ^[8] .

Catalan counties in the 9th-12th centuries

The reconciliation in 898 of Muslims from Banu Kasi with the emir of Cordoba caused a break in allied relations with them of all the Christian rulers of the Iberian Peninsula. In 900, the annual campaigns began in the Christian lands of the new head of Banu Kasi, Lubba II ibn Muhammad . Despite the construction of several fortresses by Ramon I in the areas bordering the Muslim lands, in 904 the army of the Moors under the command of Lubba II ibn Muhammad invaded Palyars. Having ravaged almost the entire county, the Moors took the fortresses of Sarroc de Balier, Castissent and Mola de Baro. Isarn , the eldest son and probably co-ruler of Count Ramon I, was captured in Castissent. The total number of prisoners was 700 people. Isarn was taken to Tudela , where he spent the next 14 years in prison ^{[9] [10]} .

Particularly devastating were the invasions of Lubba II ibn Muhammad to Navarra, whose king, Fortun Garces, was forced to make peace with the emir of Cordoba and an alliance with Banu Kasi. This alarmed other Christian rulers and in 905 a coalition of opponents of King Fortune arose, which included King of Asturias Alfonso III the Great , Count Paliarsa and Ribagorsa Ramon I and his nephew, representative of the Jimenez dynasty Sancho Garces . The army they led invaded Navarra, captured Pamplona and overthrew King Fortune Garces and his co-ruler Inigo II Garces . King Sancho I Garces, an adversary of the alliance with Muslims, was elevated to the throne of Navarra. ^[11]

Despite the death of Lubba II ibn Muhammad in 907, Muslim attacks on Christian lands continued in subsequent years. The main adversary of the Christians at that time was the Waleski Muhammad al-Tawil. Already in 907 or 908, he made a campaign against Count Ramon I, capturing the central regions of Ribagorsa and destroying the cities of Roda and Montpedros. In 909 , in response to Ramon I seizing the Isaben valley and the fortresses of Oliola , Ponts and Alguayre , Muhammad al-Tawil again made a trip to Pallars, and during the campaign of 910 he returned to Oliola, captured Gwalter and reached Seo de Urgell . At this time, the territory controlled by Count Ramon I was limited only to the county of Pallars. Only after the death of Muhammad al-Tawil in 912, Ramon managed to go on the offensive on the lands of Muslims and by 916 completely restore his power over Ribagorsa ^[10] . Another goal of the campaigns of Count Pallars and Ribagorsa was the Sobrarbe region, which until the middle of the 9th century belonged to the county of Aragon. The legitimization of Ramon’s conquests in these lands was facilitated by the marriage of his son Bernat and Toda, the daughter of the last sovereign count of Aragon, Galindo II Asnares, concluded at that time. However, until the death of Count Ramon I, the conquest of Sobrarbe was never completed ^[12] . Also, soldiers from Pallars and Ribagorsa participated as allies in the campaigns of other Christian rulers: in early 920, the son of Count Ramon, Bernat, along with the King of Navarre, Sancho I Garces and Amrus ibn Muhammad, the son of Muhammad al-Tawil, participated in the campaign, during which the Allied army attacked Monson and seized the Rural district (in the Gallego Valley) from Muslims from Banu Kasi ^[11] .

Count Ramon I died in 920. After death, all his possessions were divided between his sons: Isarn I and Lope I received the county of Pallars, Bernat I and Miro - the county of Ribagors and Sobrarbe.

Ramon I was married twice. The “ Code of Childbirth ” calls him the first wife of Ginigentu, the daughter of Asnar Dato. Children from this marriage were:

• Isarn I (died in 948 or after September 13, 953) - Count of Pallars (920–948)
• Bernat I (died 950/956) - Earl of Ribagorsa (920-950 / 956)
• Lope I (died in 948) - Count Co-Co-Paliars (920–948). From his marriage with Gotruda ^[13] (died about 956/963), the illegitimate daughter of Count Cerdani Miro II , he had five children: sons Ramon II , Borrel I, Suniya I and Sunifred, as well as daughter Richard
• Miro (died around 950 or 955) - count-co-ruler of Ribagorsa (920-950 / 955)
• Ato (died 949 or 955) - Bishop of Paljars (923–949 / 955).

By his second marriage (from about 904), Ramon I was married to the daughter of Mutarrif ibn Lubba from the Banu Kasi family. The count did not have children in this marriage.