Local Societies and the State in the formation of al-Andalus rural fortresses: the case of the Alpujarra (7th-12th centuries)

Rural fortifications in al-Andalus, referred to as ḥuṣūn in Arabic sources, have been one of the focal points of the debate on the relationship between local communities and the central state since the origins of the discipline, although this debate has come to a standstill in recent years. Thus, the role of fortresses in the administration of rural territory and who built them has been one of the main axes of discussion. The ḥuṣūn of the Alpujarra have also been part of this debate since the pioneering archaeological work on them by P. Cressier in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In this chapter, we present new archaeological data on the fortifications of the Alpujarra, from their beginnings in the fitna period to the 12th century. These data have been obtained through the application of building archaeology and landscape archaeology, allowing us to analyse in detail the materiality and evolution of these buildings and their relationship with the surrounding settlement and territory. This has allowed us to make new interpretations of who were their builders, how local societies organised their defence, and what role they had in the administration of the territory driven by the different state powers that succeeded each other in this area of al-Andalus.