Madrid

When Madrid was the capital of Armenia ... and Cartagena wanted to join the US

JORGE BENÍTEZ Nov 16 2018

In 1375 the king of Armenia Leon V of Lusignan fell prisoner of the Mamluks. He was held captive in Cairo for several years. His case was very media at the time because he refused to abjure Christianity, which made him a symbol of faith. King Juan I of Castile intervened in his liberation and not only that, he gave him the lordship of Madrid, Andújar and Villarreal with 150,000 maravedíes of pension.

The historian Carlos Fisas (1919-2010) tells in one of his famous anecdotal books that León V moved his court to Madrid, which at that time was to be just a small town. He promised the people of Madrid to keep their privileges, but soon forgot their commitments generating great discomfort among his subjects. Before the complaints, the king of Castile promised that these populations would return to their dominion to the death of Leon V. However, his successor Henry III did not want to wait that long and revoked the donation two years before the death of the Armenian, who had left his mini kingdom on the way to France.

Excerpt of a google translation of: https://www.elmundo.es/papel/cultura/2018/11/16/5beda229e2704e086f8b46f1.html

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