Just 300 Christians… There are moments in history when the incredible happens. There are many examples, the most shocking of which is Thermopylae… But there have been other Thermopylas over time, less well-known, but, in this case at least, equally important.
The Battle of Covadonga took place in 722 AD. In it, the bloodstained Islamic lines clashed with a dragon, literally made up of Christian men, most of whom were not even soldiers.
Their leader was a man of Gothic, according to some sources, Hispano-Roman, according to others, origin, the lord Pelagius, later known as Pelagius of Asturias.
In the 8th century AD fanatical Islam was advancing everywhere, both against the Byzantine Empire in the east and against Christian Spain in the west. In Spain, the Muslims had conquered almost the entire country, facing little resistance. In mountainous Asturias, however, in 718, a new nobleman, the Visigothic Pelagius (685-737 AD), was elected leader.
Resistance
Since the beginning of the Muslim invasion of Spain, refugees from the south of the peninsula had moved north to escape Islamic violence. Some had taken refuge in the remote mountains of Asturias in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. From these men, Pelagius recruited his warriors.
Pelagius refused to pay the tribute demanded of him and expelled the nearby Muslim garrisons. Initially, the Muslim leadership in Spain, based in Cordoba, did not deal with a rebellious local chieftain.
Their goal was to extend their rule against the “infidels” and into Gaul. In 721 AD, a strong Muslim force invaded Gaul but was defeated at Toulouse by the Franks. Returning humiliated to Spain, the governor of Andalusia, Anbasa ibn Suḥaym al-Kalbi, decided to at least eliminate Pelagius.
He assigned this task to his general Alcamas. The Arab army, which, according to the Codex Vigilanus, numbered 187,000 men, conquered parts of Asturias. However, Pelagius did not submit. With a small force, which according to Arab sources numbered only 300 men, he withdrew to the mountains and specifically to the Cavadonga valley.
There he deployed his men on both sides of the only route that existed and awaited the enemy. The Arab army reached the beginning of the valley and General Alcama sent a messenger to Pelagius demanding his submission.
The battle
Pelagius refused and then the Muslims rushed forward without calculating how difficult it was to march alone with so many people on the narrow route, let alone fight.
When the Muslim forces entered the road for good, Pelagius struck. His men, mostly farmers and shepherds, began to roll large stones on the crowded enemies, killing hundreds, as they could not avoid them.
Throws from slings, javelins, arrows struck the Muslim body without, even the valontes wanted, missing. Pelagius had hidden in a small cave, invisible from the road, the few real soldiers he had and at their head he rushed out at the moment when the enemies were completely disorganized and were barely able to offer resistance.
A savage massacre followed. Alcama, who tried to reverse the situation, was killed along with many of his men. Taking advantage of the small number of Pelagius’s force, some Muslims managed to escape. However, the defeat was catastrophic. The sources disagree regarding the losses.
Christian sources of the time, overestimating the victory, spoke of 184,000 dead Muslims. The Codex Vigilanus mentions 1,104 dead Muslims. Regarding the losses of Pelagius’ 300, 290 were, in total, dead and wounded.
Nevertheless, the message of victory against Islam was resounding. The Asturians revolted everywhere, killing thousands of the retreating Muslims in continuous ambushes. The remnants of Alcama’s force eventually came out of the mountains and, together with reinforcements, were placed under the command of General Manouza.
He attempted a new campaign against Pelagius. However, the Asturian leader had now also gathered significant numerical forces as all the men of the region rushed to be placed under his command. With his new army, Pelagius fought Manouza and defeated him. The Muslim general himself was killed. Tradition states that the Virgin Mary herself led the Christian troops to victory.
