Amaiur-Maya

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Maya
Amaiur
village
Amaiur/Maya
Amaiur/Maya
Entrance to Maya
Maya is located in Navarre
Maya
Maya
Maya is located in Spain
Maya
Maya
Coordinates: 43°12′00″N 1°28′50″W / 43.1999682°N 1.4804353°W / 43.1999682; -1.4804353
MunicipalityBaztán

Amaiur-Maya (Basque: Amaiur; Spanish: Maya de Baztán; officially: Amaiur-Maya)[1] is a village in the municipality of Baztan in the autonomous region of Navarre in Spain. It is situated in the Pyrenees mountain range close to the border with France.

History[edit]

The Royal Castle of Amauir-Maya

The fortress of Amaiur, sitting on a hill by the village, was one of the key medieval strongholds of the Kingdom of Navarre. It was one of the few fortresses in Navarre making a stand against the Castilian invasion of 1512, once they had taken over Pamplona. It bore witness to frequent battles between the combined French-Navarrese and the Spanish imperial forces (Ferdinand the Catholic, Charles V), with the most famous being the Battle of Amaiur (Maya) in 1522, when the Mayor-Alcaide of the town and Castle of Amauir-Maya Don Jaime Velaz de Medrano[2][3][4][5] and his son Don Luis Velaz de Medrano held the last Navarrese stronghold in an attempt to resist the Spanish (Castilian-Aragonese) push.

The Battle of Maya (25 July 1813) was fought by French and British forces during the Peninsular War, in the Maya Pass close to the village.

Panoramic view of Maya.
Panoramic view of the village of Maya from the hill where the castle ruins are located.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Euskal Herriko leku-izenak: Noiz eguneratua: 2017-12-26" (PDF), The Royal Academy of the Basque Language (in Basque), archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-28, retrieved 20 December 2014
  2. ^ "Carta de Jaime Vélaz de Medrano, alcaide de Maya, amenazando a Miguel de Espinal, vicario de Espinal, para revelar el origen del falso rumor sobre la puesta en venta del castillo por 4.000 ducados. - navarra.es".
  3. ^ "Carta del señor de Saint André, lugarteniente de Guyena, a Jaime Vélaz de Medrano, alcaide de Maya, comunicando su partida a Bayona con el señor de Bonnivet, almirante de Francia, y las necesidades para la defensa de la fortaleza. - navarra.es".
  4. ^ "Las cartas de los últimos del castillo de Amaiur". 16 June 2021.
  5. ^ "MEDRANO, Jaime Belaz de - Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia".