Egilona facts for kids

Egilona was a powerful noblewoman from the Visigoth kingdom. She was the last known queen of the Visigoths. First, she was married to Roderic, who was the Visigothic king. After he died, she married ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, who was a Muslim governor of a region called al-Andalus. Her name was written as Aylū by Arabic writers. They also called her Umm ʿAṣim, which means "mother of ʿAṣim." Egilona was a very wealthy woman on her own.

Egilona's Life

Egilona might have been related to earlier kings named Egica and Wittiza. King Roderic may have married Egilona to make his position stronger, as there was some disagreement about who should be king. Their marriage was short because Roderic died in a big battle called the Battle of the Guadalete the next year.

Her Second Marriage

The exact date of Egilona's second marriage is not known. She might have married ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz before he became governor. At that time, he was just the son of Mūsā bin Nuṣayr, the general who had taken over the Visigothic kingdom.

Historians are not sure if Egilona changed her religion to Islam. There are no old writings that say she did. Both Arabic and Latin writings show Egilona and her second husband talking directly. However, it's not clear if they could understand each other easily. Egilona spoke a type of vulgar Latin, and she probably didn't have much time to learn Arabic quickly. Also, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz likely didn't need to learn Latin.

Her Influence on ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz

Both Christian and Muslim sources say that Egilona played a part in her husband ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz's death. The Christian Chronicle of 754 says that Egilona advised him to try and become independent from the Arab rulers. She wanted him to keep the conquered kingdom of Iberia for himself.

A Muslim historian named ʿAbd al-Ḥakam wrote that ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz was killed because Egilona "had made him a Christian." This seems unlikely, as he went to a mosque and read from the Koran when he was attacked. However, al-Ḥakam also agrees with the Christian story that Egilona encouraged his royal dreams. She urged him to act in a way that would earn him the same respect her first husband, King Roderic, had received.

The Akhbār majmūʿa from 858 even claims that Egilona had a crown made from her own jewels. She supposedly made her husband wear it, saying that "a king without a crown is a king without a kingdom." She also tried to make his men bow down to him in Seville.

Egilona in Modern Times

Egilona's life and story have been shown in plays several times in modern history. In 1760, Cándido María Trigueros wrote a play called La Egilona, viuda del rey don Rodrigo. In 1785, Antontio Valladares de Sotomayor put on a similar play with the same title. In 1788, an unknown writer's play, La Egilona, drama heroica en prosa, was performed during the crowning of Charles IV. In 1845, a Cuban writer named Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda published a play called Egilona.

See also

In Spanish: Egilona para niños