History of Bérchules
HISTORY
The origin of the name Bérchules is believed to be derived from the Arabic 'berchul', meaning 'vergél' (garden), possibly due to the abundance of springs, fertile lands and pleasant temperatures, despite the town being situated at an altitude of over 1,300 metres and close to the perpetual snows of the Sierra Nevada. Another theory is that it could be derived from Banu Asad, a family who possibly settled there. Asad is a lineage of which the most illustrious chronicler of Al-Andalus, Ibn al-Jatib, speaks. Alcútar translates as 'spring of paradise' and was also known as Alcunca or Alcuza. Other towns that have disappeared from the Los Bérchules area include Purchenas and La Alfaguara.
The original settlement dates back to at least the eighth century and is of Mozarabic origin. During the Nasrid reign, the town experienced its greatest period of splendour and wealth thanks to its formidable silk production (which competed with the most refined silks from the East), as well as its production of garden produce, wine, dried fruit and aromatic essences, which were sent to other places in the Kingdom of Granada, either over the Sierra Sulayra or by sea. The most relevant historical event against the greatest empire of Felipe II's time was the Morisco uprising. Already in the final phase of the Alpujarras War, with the Moriscos hiding in caves and ravines, their last leader, Diego López Abén Aboo, was murdered by his lieutenants in a cave in order to obtain forgiveness for the rest of the Moriscos.
According to legend, the king (it is unclear which one) threw himself from his horse and landed alive in a place called La Patada, where there are marks from horseshoes. The Moriscos took refuge in caves hidden in the cliffs to defend themselves; more than seventy people died there, mostly women and children who were suffocated by smoke, while their captain, Abén Aboo, fled through a secret exit. Ultimately, Aben Aboo was treacherously killed in another cave between Bérchules and Mecina.
Bérchules was built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.