Navarre (Spanish: Navarra, French: [la] Navarre, Basque: Nafarroa) is the name of a former kingdom situated on both sides of the Pyrenees in northern Spain and southwestern France. Originally, the name referred only to the region south of the Pyrenees around the city of Pamplona. The partially Basque and partial Visigoth population founded this independent state in the 8th and 9th centuries to defend themselves against the Islamic invasion that had swept up Spain under Muslim control. It was independent from 824 to 1620, when the remaining Kingdom became part of France, although it kept some autonomy. The French king held from that time until the French Revolution the title of Roi de France et de Navarre (King of France and Navarre).[1]
Categories: [French History] [Spanish History]