Monda information
Monda lies in the foothills of La Sierra de las Nieves,
its municipal area forming part of the natural park of the
same name, and retains the hallmark of its Arabic past in
the shape of its steep, narrow streets lined with whitewashed
houses standing in the shadow of the castle, built on the
ruins of the former Arabic fortress and rehabilitated for
touristic purposes.
History
Insufficient details are available for us to be able to identify this
village with the Roman Munda, scene of the battle between Caesar and Pompey
in 45 B.C.; its name is probably derived from El Mundat Castle, built
in the 9th-century by Omar Ben Hafsun to fortify his positions against
the attacks of the last emirs of Cordoba (886-912). The castle, razed
to the ground by Sab Al-Mundir, was rebuilt in the 11th-century by the
Hammudies; today, on the site of its ruined walls, part of the old fortress
has been rehabilitated and its interior turned into a hotel. In 1485,
Monda was conquered by troops of the Catholic Monarchs led by Hurtado
de Luna, who became its first Christian governor. It fell under the jurisdiction
of Malaga, and its inhabitants were allowed to continue living in the
area as mudéjares - Moslems permitted to live under Christian rule
- . After the 1501 rebellion in the Serrania de Ronda region and Marbella,
they were forced to convert to Christianity. In 1570, following the decision
to expell the moriscos - Moslem converts to Christianity - from the kingdom
of Granada, the village was repopulated by Old Christians.
Malaga province
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