History - Génave
Génave’s location at a natural crossroads explains why it has always been a connecting corridor between upper Andalusia and the eastern peninsula. Among other remains of road infrastructure, a section of Roman road from the first and second centuries has been preserved, with an approximate length of about 100m and a width of 3m in which the construction technique shows their workmanship. It is still unknown what role this road would have played in the communication scheme of Roman times between Baetica and Levante, considering the hypothesis that it was the road between Cástulo and Saetabis.
Between 1235 and 1239, Fernando III assigned Génave to the Order of Santiago de Segura de la Sierra. Later, it had to support raids by Saracen troops, so the population had a castle to take refuge, built by the Christians between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, replacing the old Arab hisn. From that castle, nestled in the town square, remains its keep, known as the Torreón de la Tercia, with an impressive cubic structure. According to Don Francisco León, Commander of Bastimentos del Campo de Montiel, in his account of the visit made to the Commandery in 1468 by order of Don Juan de Pacheco, Marquis of Villena and Master of Santiago, he points out: “there is another place called Xenave, with another very good tower that has two lime and stone vaults where the locals retract when the Moors come.”
According to Juan Eslava Galán, the tower could be identified with the keep of a small late-medieval castle of irregular masonry, which could have replaced an old Islamic fortress. The tower, almost 11m on each side, has a square base and is accessed inside by a staircase. It is divided into two floors covered by a pointed half-barrel vault and in the upper room it has a large covered window, in this case, by a pointed vault. The rooms and the roof were connected internally by a staircase inserted in the wall.
At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the town was a small rural settlement. After the re-conquest it was handed over to the Order of Santiago, joining the possessions of the Encomienda de Segura. In 1551 it was declared a town by Felipe II. In 1580 it was governed by ordinances and formed part of the maritime province from the eighteenth century.