County of Coimbra

Part of a series on the
History of Portugal
Ancient Prehistoric Iberia Pre-Roman Peoples Roman conquest of Hispania Romanization of Hispania Lusitania Gallaecia Suebic Kingdom Visigothic Kingdom Spania
Medieval Umayyad conquest of Hispania Al-Andalus Gharb Al-Andalus Almoravid dynasty County of Portugal Reconquista Portuguese House of Burgundy 1383–1385 Crisis
Age of Discovery Imperial expansion House of Aviz Portuguese Renaissance Portuguese Empire War of the Portuguese Succession Iberian Union Dutch-Portuguese War
Bragantine Restoration War House of Braganza Great Lisbon earthquake Imperial decline, war, and revolt Transfer of Court Liberal Wars Constitutional Monarchy 1910 Revolution
First Republic First Republic Monarchy of the North Portugal during World War I 1926 coup d'état
Second Republic Ditadura Nacional World War II Estado Novo Portuguese Colonial War
Third Republic Carnation Revolution Processo Revolucionário Em Curso Transition to democracy Third Republic Financial crisis (2010–2014) COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022)
Topic Archives - Economy - Language - LGBT - Judaism - Military - Music
Regions Azorean history Madeiran history
Timeline
Portugal portal
v t e

Coimbra

Viseu

Lamego

Santa Maria da Feira

class=notpageimage|

County of Coimbra, consisting of the lands of Coimbra, Viseu, Lamego and Santa Maria da Feira on a map of in modern Portugal

The County of Coimbra (Old Galician: Comtato de Coimbra) was a political entity consisting of the lands of Coimbra, Viseu, Lamego and Santa Maria da Feira, in modern Portugal.

During the Visigothic Kingdom (from the 5th to the early 8th centuries, the County of Coimbra, with its seat in Coimbra (Emínio), was created by King Wittiza (c. 687 – probably 710) as a sub-county of his dominion and was established as a fief for his son Ardabast (Artabasdus), who became Count of the Christians of Coimbra.^[1]

The first Muslim campaigns that occupied the Iberian Peninsula occurred between 711 and 715, with Coimbra capitulating to Musa bin Nusair in 714. Under the Umayyad state of Córdoba the city of Coimbra (Qulumriyah) maintained a significant Christian population (known as Mozarabs), who were allowed to maintain their faith in exchange for paying the jizya (a tax levied on non-Muslims).^[2][3] The continued use of "Count" (comes, a Roman court title) by the leaders of this community up to as late as 805 reflects the continuation of older Roman and Gothic administrative traditions in the city.^[4][5][6][7]

The County appears within the Kingdom of Asturias after the reconquest of the region, when the lands were granted to Hermenegildo Gutiérrez (878 – 920),^[8][9] who over the next four decades was largely responsible for the resettlement of the depopulated province. He and his immediate successors were counts,^[10][11] and held Coimbra, but were not explicitly counts of Coimbra, although they are sometimes referred to as such retrospectively.

The first nobleman specifically to be called count of Coimbra was Gonzalo Muñoz (959 – 981),^[12] who was probably a scion of the family of Hermenegildo. Becoming count around 959, he was one of the most powerful noblemen in the western part of the kingdom until he rose in rebellion against King Bermudo II of León and was probably killed during the region's subjugation. The degree to which his successors were alienated from their monarch can be seen by the fact that after the region's recapture in 987 by the Moors of Abu Amir Al-Mansur, Gonzalo's sons joined that general in his sack of Santiago de Compostela in 997.^[13][14][15]

The city of Coimbra was permanently secured by the Christians in 1064 after it had been taken by the troops of King Ferdinand I of León, led by the Mozarab Sisnando Davides, who would be named its count.^{[16][17][18][19]}

The County of Coimbra ceased to be an independent political entity in 1096 when it was incorporated in the territory of the Second County of Portugal during the latter's restoration under Henry of Burgundy. Subsequently it formed part of the newly-founded Kingdom of Portugal under Henry's son, Afonso I.

Christian Counts of Coimbra^[4]

• Ardabast (710–714), count of the Christians of Coimbra^[1]
• Flávio Sizibuto (682–734), Judge of Coimbra, count of the Christians of Coimbra^[20][21]
• Flávio Ataúlfo (706–780), Count of Coimbra and ruler or the Christians on Coimbra territory^[22]
• Flávio Alarico (732–805), count of the Christians of Coimbra^[23]
• Flávio Teodósio (790 – ?), count of the Christians of Coimbra (c. 757 - after 805)^[6][7]
• Teodorico, heir to his father's county

Early holders of Coimbra who were counts^[11]

• Hermenegildo Gutiérrez (878 – 920); (Conqueror of Coimbra) Dux Bellorum of Coimbra^[24][11]
• Arias Menéndez (920 – 924), son of Hermenegildo^[25][11]
• Gutier Menéndez (924 – 934), son of Hermenegildo^{[26][27][25][10][11]}
• Munio Gutiérrez (934 – 959), son of Gutierre, son-in-law of Arias^[28][11]

Counts of Coimbra, first creation

• Gonzalo Muñoz (959 – 981), son of Munio^[12][11]
• Munio González (983 – 987), son of Gonzalo^[11]
• Froila Gonçalves (987 – 1017), under Muslim domain, brother of Munio González^[14][15]
• Gonçalo Froilaz (fl. 1037), son of Froila ^[29][30][31]

Counts of Coimbra, second creation

• Sisnando Davides (1064/1075 – 1091)^[19]
• Martín Muñoz (1091 – 1093), son-in-law of Sisnando

• Portugal in the Reconquista