Arnedo (Irniy)

Arnedo, called Irniy in Arabic, is a small town in the province of Logroño, on the left bank of the Cidacos, a tributary of the Ebro, about 35 km from the provincial capital. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. The name is of Iberian origin and is found in several Spanish provinces. ¹

In the middle of the sixth/twelfth century al-Idrisi counted Muslim Spain as twenty-six climes or regions, and Arnedo was one of them, with Calahorra, Daroca, Saragossa, Huesca and Tudela. The only Arabic work to describe it, al-Rawd al-Mitar, calls it an ancient town of al-Andalus, thirty miles from Tudela, surrounded by rich plains, and "a place of great strength". Arnedo, Tudela and Oñate were the principal towns of the lordship of the Banu Kasi. ¹

In 308/920 'Abd al-Rahman III, on his campaign against Navarre, occupied Calahorra, which Sancho Garces had conquered two years earlier, and forced Sancho to take refuge in Arnedo. Sancho left Arnedo when 'Abd al-Rahman moved off towards Pamplona to inflict a bloody defeat on the united forces of Navarre and Aragon. ¹