Ojós

History

The municipality was inhabited in the Late Roman era, as an archaeological site proves. It was a fortified small town on a hillside. A specially noteworthy period of Ojós is during the Muslim Iberian Peninsula era, after the conquest in the year 711. The toponym of the city may have been originated in that era, and the Castle of Alarbona or Peñascales was built then. The Kingdom of Murcia, where the town belonged, was reconquered in the 13th century by Christian armies and the Treaty of Alcaraz took place in 1243. The treaty involved a supremacy of Castillian monarch over the kingdom and the main fortresses were under the power of the Christians, but Castille had to protect and respect the Muslims who lived in the conquered lands. In 1264 there was a Mudejar revoult in the Kingdom of Murcia because of a lack of observance of the terms of the treaty. During the early period of the Christian era, there was a phenomenon named encomienda, that is literally translated as entrusting, of the Order of Santiago in the territory. Encomienda consists that the conquerors are rewardaded by the labour of conquered people, but in theory, they would provide with protection and education. During the 15th century the territory was 'encommended' by various people, and some of them belonged to the highest nobility of the kingdom. Conversions to Christianity from mudejars were frequent in that era.