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{{Short description|Visigoth King of Hispania and Septimania from 687 to ~702}}
{{multiple issues|
{{multiple issues|
{{cleanup reorganize|date=August 2016}}
{{cleanup reorganize|date=August 2016}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2015}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name = Egica
| image = Reyes visigodos Codex Vigilanus - Égica.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
⚫
| caption = Egica in the 9th-century ''[[Codex Vigilanus]]''
| succession = [[Visigothic Kingdom|King of the Visigoths]]
| reign = 15 November 687 – 701/703
| predecessor = [[Erwig]]
| successor = [[Wittiza]]
| birth_date = {{circa}} 640
| birth_place = [[Visigothic Kingdom]]
| death_date = 701/703
| death_place = [[Visigothic Kingdom]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Cixilo]]|680}}
| issue = [[Wittiza]]<br>[[Oppas]]
| full name =
| house =
| religion =
}}
}}


⚫
'''Egica''', '''Ergica''', or '''Egicca''' (''c''. 640 – 701/703), was the [[Visigoth]] [[Visigothic kingdom|King]] of [[Hispania]] and [[Septimania]] from 687 until his death. He was the son of Ariberga and the nephew of [[Wamba (king)|Wamba]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Egica {{!}} Real Academia de la Historia |trans-title='Royal Academy of History' |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/6379/egica |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=dbe.rah.es}}</ref>
⚫
[[File:Reyes visigodos Codex Vigilanus - Égica.jpg|thumb|Egica in the 9th century ''[[Codex Vigilanus]]''.]]
⚫
'''Egica''', '''Ergica''', or '''Egicca''' (''c''. 610 &ndash; 701x703), was the [[Visigoths|Visigoth]] [[Visigothic kingdom|King]] of [[Hispania]] and [[Septimania]] from 687 until his death. He was the son of Ariberga and the brother-in-law of [[Wamba (king)|Wamba]].


==Accession==
==Accession==


He was married (''c''. 670) to Cixilo (also known as Cixilona, Cioxillo, or Cixila), the daughter of his royal predecessor [[Erwig]] and wife Liuvigoto. On his deathbed on 14 November 687, Erwig confirmed Egica as his heir and sent him with the royal court to [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] to be crowned.<ref>Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 105.</ref> He was anointed on 24 November. Upon Egica's marriage to Cixilo, Erwig had made him swear an oath to protect Erwig's children. Before his death Erwig required a second oath, swearing not to deny justice to the people. Shortly after taking the throne, Egica called the [[Fifteenth Council of Toledo]] on 11 May 688, at which he claimed the two oaths were contradictory (because to do justice to the people required "harming" Erwig's children) and asked the council of bishops to release him from one or the other. Egica, however, met the opposition of [[Julian of Toledo]]. The council allowed Egica to abandon his wife but only partially rescinded the oath to protect Erwig's children. Egica waited until Julian's death in 690 to call a second provincial council of [[Tarraconensis]], which resulted in Erwig's widow, Liuvigoto, being sent to a convent.
He was married (''c''. 680) to [[Cixilo]] (also known as Cixilona, Cioxillo, or Cixila), the daughter of his royal predecessor [[Erwig]] and wife [[Liuvigoto]]. On his deathbed on 14 November 687, Erwig confirmed Egica as his heir and sent him with the royal court to [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] to be crowned.<ref>Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 105.</ref> He was anointed on 24 November. Upon Egica's marriage to Cixilo, Erwig had made him swear an oath to protect Erwig's children. Before his death Erwig required a second oath, swearing not to deny justice to the people. Shortly after taking the throne, Egica called the [[Fifteenth Council of Toledo]] on 11 May 688, at which he claimed the two oaths were contradictory (because to do justice to the people required "harming" Erwig's children) and asked the council of bishops to release him from one or the other. Egica, however, met the opposition of [[Julian of Toledo]]. The council allowed Egica to abandon his wife but only partially rescinded the oath to protect Erwig's children. Egica waited until Julian's death in 690 to call a second provincial council of [[Tarraconensis]], which resulted in Erwig's widow, Liuvigoto, being sent to a convent.


==Notable Events==
==Notable events==


In 691, Egica oversaw the beginning of the building of the Church of [[San Pedro de la Nave]] in [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]].
In 691, Egica oversaw the beginning of the building of the Church of [[San Pedro de la Nave]] in [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]].


In 693, the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo|metropolitan of Toledo]], [[Sisebert]], led a rebellion against Egica in favor of raising a man named [[Suniefred]] to the throne. The rebels controlled Toledo for a time, because they were able to mint coins in the potential usurper's name.<ref>Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 72.</ref> The plan to assassinate Egica, the dowager queen Liuvigoto, and several main counsellors failed, and Sisebert was [[defrocking|defrocked]], [[excommunication|excommunicated]] and his descendants were barred from holding office. The other rebels and their descendants were sold into slavery.
In 693, the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo|metropolitan of Toledo]], [[Sisebert]], led a rebellion against Egica in favor of raising a man named [[Suniefred]] to the throne. The rebels controlled Toledo for a time, because they were able to mint coins in the potential usurper's name.<ref>Collins, ''Visigothic Spain'', 72.</ref> The plan to assassinate Egica, the dowager queen Liuvigoto, and several main counsellors failed, and Sisebert was [[defrocked]], [[excommunicated]] and his descendants were barred from holding office. The other rebels and their descendants were sold into slavery.


==Legislation==
==Legislation==
⚫
In 693, Egica enacted severe anti-[[Jewish]] laws<ref>David Noy, ''Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe: Volume 1'', Cambridge University Press, page 264.</ref> described as the most significant such laws by a Visigothic king yet. This was in response, so he claimed, to the [[Seventeenth Council of Toledo]], to a conspiracy of domestic and foreign Jews to overthrow Christian leaders. Egica declared all Jewish-held land forfeit, all Jews to be enslaved to Christians, and all Jewish children over the age of seven to be taken from their homes and raised as Christians. Jewish-owned Christian slaves were to be invested with the Jews' property and to be responsible for paying the taxes on the Jews. This law was not applied in towns where Jews were deemed indispensable to the economy.<ref> https://www.jstor.org/stable/1853939</ref> Indeed, as a result of disintegrating Visigothic power, it was hardly enforced beyond the capital city of Toledo itself.
{{unsourced|section|date=September 2018}}
⚫
In 694, Egica enacted the most severe anti-[[Jewish]] law by a Visigothic king yet. This was in response, so he claimed to the [[Seventeenth Council of Toledo]], to a conspiracy of domestic and foreign Jews to overthrow Christian leaders. Egica declared all Jewish-held land forfeit, all Jews to be enslaved to Christians, and all Jewish children over the age of seven to be taken from their homes and raised as Christians. Jewish-owned Christian slaves were to be invested with the Jews' property and to be responsible for paying the taxes on the Jews. This law was not applied in towns where Jews were deemed indispensable to the economy. Indeed, as a result of disintegrating Visigothic power, it was hardly enforced beyond the capital city itself.


Shortly before he died, Egica amended a law which stated that anyone accused of theft of goods worth 300 ''[[solidi]]'' was to undergo a [[Trial by ordeal|trial by boiling water]]. Under Egica's changes, anyone accused of theft for whatever amount would have to undergo this ordeal. At the same time, Egica published several laws which dealt harshly with the issue of fugitive slaves, while simultaneously rescinding laws which permitted slaveholders to mutilate their slaves as punishment. Egica also remitted taxes, but this does not seem to have boosted his popularity. He got the bishops to order prayers to be said in his name and that of his family in every cathedral in Hispania.
Shortly before he died, Egica amended a law that stated that anyone accused of theft of goods worth 300 ''[[solidi]]'' was to undergo a [[Trial by ordeal|trial by boiling water]]. Under Egica's changes, anyone accused of theft for whatever amount would have to undergo this ordeal. At the same time, Egica published several laws that dealt harshly with the issue of fugitive slaves, while simultaneously rescinding laws that permitted slaveholders to mutilate their slaves as punishment. Egica also remitted taxes, but this does not seem to have raised his popularity. He got the bishops to order prayers to be said in his name and that of his family in every cathedral in Hispania.


==Death and succession==
==Death and succession==
{{unsourced|section|date=September 2018}}
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2018}}
As early as 694 he co-ruled with [[Wittiza]], his son by Cixilo, even though Wittiza was a minor. In one of his very last acts he had Wittiza anointed in 700. Egica died in his bed, with his succession secured, sometime between 701 and 703.
As early as 694 he co-ruled with [[Wittiza]], his son by Cixilo, even though Wittiza was a minor. In one of his very last acts he had Wittiza anointed in 700. Egica died in his bed, with his succession secured, sometime between 701 and 703.


His other two sons, were [[Don (honorific)|Don]] [[Oppas]], and Sisebuto. Don Oppas, who was possibly a bastard son, was [[Archbishop]] or [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|Bishop]] of [[Seville]] and joined [[Musa bin Nusayr|Musa bin Nusair]] and [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]] against [[Roderic]] during the [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania]]. Sisebuto became the [[Comes]] of the Christians of [[Coimbra]], as did his son Ataulfo, his grandson Atanarico and his great-grandson Teudo in 770, 801/802 and 805.
His other two sons were [[Don (honorific)|Don]] [[Oppas]], and Sisebuto. Don Oppas, who was possibly a bastard son, was [[Archbishop]] or [[Bishops in the Catholic Church|Bishop]] of [[Seville]] and joined [[Musa bin Nusayr|Musa bin Nusair]] and [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]] against [[Roderic]] during the [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania]]. Sisebuto became the [[Comes]] of the Christians of [[Coimbra]], as did his son Ataulfo, his grandson Atanarico and his great-grandson Teudo in 770, 801/802 and 805.


==Sources==
==Sources==
* Collins, Roger. ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710&ndash;97''. Oxford University Press, 1989.
* Collins, Roger. ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97''. Oxford University Press, 1989.
* Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409&ndash;711''. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
* Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711''. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
* [[Edward Arthur Thompson|Thompson, E. A.]]. ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
* [[E. A. Thompson|Thompson, E. A.]] ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.


==Notes==
==Notes==
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{{s-reg|}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Erwig]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Erwig]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Visigoths|King of the Visigoths]]|years=15 November 687 – 702}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Visigoths|King of the Visigoths]]|years=15 November 687 – November/December 702}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Wittiza]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Wittiza]]}}
{{end}}
{{s-end}}


{{Visigothic kings}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Visigothic kings]]
[[Category:7th-century Visigothic monarchs]]
[[Category:7th-century monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:8th-century Visigothic monarchs]]
[[Category:8th-century monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Antisemitism in Europe]]
[[Category:7th-century Visigothic people]]
[[Category:Genocides in Europe]]
[[Category:8th-century Visigothic people]]

Latest revision as of 20:56, 6 April 2024

Egica
Egica in the 9th-century Codex Vigilanus
King of the Visigoths
Reign15 November 687 – 701/703
PredecessorErwig
SuccessorWittiza
Bornc. 640
Visigothic Kingdom
Died701/703
Visigothic Kingdom
Spouse
​
(m. 680)​
IssueWittiza
Oppas

Egica, Ergica, or Egicca (c. 640 – 701/703), was the Visigoth King of Hispania and Septimania from 687 until his death. He was the son of Ariberga and the nephew of Wamba.[1]

Accession

[edit]

He was married (c. 680) to Cixilo (also known as Cixilona, Cioxillo, or Cixila), the daughter of his royal predecessor Erwig and wife Liuvigoto. On his deathbed on 14 November 687, Erwig confirmed Egica as his heir and sent him with the royal court to Toledo to be crowned.[2] He was anointed on 24 November. Upon Egica's marriage to Cixilo, Erwig had made him swear an oath to protect Erwig's children. Before his death Erwig required a second oath, swearing not to deny justice to the people. Shortly after taking the throne, Egica called the Fifteenth Council of Toledo on 11 May 688, at which he claimed the two oaths were contradictory (because to do justice to the people required "harming" Erwig's children) and asked the council of bishops to release him from one or the other. Egica, however, met the opposition of Julian of Toledo. The council allowed Egica to abandon his wife but only partially rescinded the oath to protect Erwig's children. Egica waited until Julian's death in 690 to call a second provincial council of Tarraconensis, which resulted in Erwig's widow, Liuvigoto, being sent to a convent.

Notable events

[edit]

In 691, Egica oversaw the beginning of the building of the Church of San Pedro de la Nave in Zamora.

In 693, the metropolitan of Toledo, Sisebert, led a rebellion against Egica in favor of raising a man named Suniefred to the throne. The rebels controlled Toledo for a time, because they were able to mint coins in the potential usurper's name.[3] The plan to assassinate Egica, the dowager queen Liuvigoto, and several main counsellors failed, and Sisebert was defrocked, excommunicated and his descendants were barred from holding office. The other rebels and their descendants were sold into slavery.

Legislation

[edit]

In 693, Egica enacted severe anti-Jewish laws[4] described as the most significant such laws by a Visigothic king yet. This was in response, so he claimed, to the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, to a conspiracy of domestic and foreign Jews to overthrow Christian leaders. Egica declared all Jewish-held land forfeit, all Jews to be enslaved to Christians, and all Jewish children over the age of seven to be taken from their homes and raised as Christians. Jewish-owned Christian slaves were to be invested with the Jews' property and to be responsible for paying the taxes on the Jews. This law was not applied in towns where Jews were deemed indispensable to the economy.[5] Indeed, as a result of disintegrating Visigothic power, it was hardly enforced beyond the capital city of Toledo itself.

Shortly before he died, Egica amended a law that stated that anyone accused of theft of goods worth 300 solidi was to undergo a trial by boiling water. Under Egica's changes, anyone accused of theft for whatever amount would have to undergo this ordeal. At the same time, Egica published several laws that dealt harshly with the issue of fugitive slaves, while simultaneously rescinding laws that permitted slaveholders to mutilate their slaves as punishment. Egica also remitted taxes, but this does not seem to have raised his popularity. He got the bishops to order prayers to be said in his name and that of his family in every cathedral in Hispania.

Death and succession

[edit]

As early as 694 he co-ruled with Wittiza, his son by Cixilo, even though Wittiza was a minor. In one of his very last acts he had Wittiza anointed in 700. Egica died in his bed, with his succession secured, sometime between 701 and 703.

His other two sons were Don Oppas, and Sisebuto. Don Oppas, who was possibly a bastard son, was Archbishop or Bishop of Seville and joined Musa bin Nusair and Tariq ibn Ziyad against Roderic during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. Sisebuto became the Comes of the Christians of Coimbra, as did his son Ataulfo, his grandson Atanarico and his great-grandson Teudo in 770, 801/802 and 805.

Sources

[edit]
  • Collins, Roger. The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97. Oxford University Press, 1989.
  • Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
  • Thompson, E. A. The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Egica | Real Academia de la Historia" ['Royal Academy of History']. dbe.rah.es. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  2. ^ Collins, Visigothic Spain, 105.
  3. ^ Collins, Visigothic Spain, 72.
  4. ^ David Noy, Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe: Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, page 264.
  5. ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/1853939
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Egica.
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of the Visigoths
15 November 687 – November/December 702 		Succeeded by
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