In 1567, under the auspices of the Inquisitor, Pedro de Deza, and edict was published by Felipe II under which the Moriscos were forbidden to bear arms, to speak or wite in their own language, dress in their traditional manner or follow the customs and rituals of their own religious or secular culture, and obliging them to surrender up all their books. This edict inflamed the feelings of the Moriscos of the Alpujarras, igniting a rebellion in the district of Poqueira at Christmas of 1568. The rebellion spread like wildfire throughout the whole of the Kingdom of Granada, reaching the village of Bentomiz, here in the Axarquía in April 1569, encouraged by militants like Almueden who, accompanied by Andrees el Xorairán from Sedella, and Captain Abén Audalla, marched on Canillas de Aceituno on the pretext of seeking to negogiate the release of Almueden’s wife, being held captive by an “old Christian”. Encouraged by the belief that they would soon receive the assistance promised to them by the ringleader of the Alpujarran rebellion, and on the promise of help from North Africa, virtually the whole of the Axarquía and the Moriscos of the Montes de Málaga region set off across country to gather on the slopes of El Fuerte, the mountain above Frigiliana.

However, on 11th June, 1569, Don Luis de Zuñiga y Requesens with an army of 6,000 men unleashed the attack in the decisive victory of the Christian forces in what is remembered as The battle of the Peñon of Frigiliana.

The following year, 1600, “History Of The Rebellion And Punishment Of The Moriscos Of The Kingdom Of Granada” was published to great acclaim by Luis del Mármol Carvajal. As a soldier who had served in the imperial army, the author bore witness to the acts perpetrated against the Moriscos of the Kingdom of Granada during the campaign. In the PDF which accompanies this section, we have extracted the chapters which deal with events connected to the Battle of the Peñon.

La batalla del Peñón de Frigiliana, por Luis del Mármol Carvajal260.76 KB

Today, the story of those days of uncertainty that resulted in the expulsion of the Moors can be read on the 12 ceramic panels that are situated throughout the old quarter of the village.