Barony of Polop

The Barony of Polop and Benidorm is an ancient Spanish hereditary lordship in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (in Spanish, baronía señorial aragonesa). The barony, including its castle and extensive land, is located in the province of Alicante, Valencia, Spain, only a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea.After being possessed by the Crown of Aragon, in 1429 the barony was bestowed by King John II of Aragon, father of King Ferdinand of Spain the Catholic upon the Fajardo de Mendoza family. The most notable Barons of Polop are the Infantes of Aragon and Doña Beatriz Fajardo de Mendoza y Guzmán, Lady of Albudeyte. Other people associated with the Barony include the Castilian nobleman Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid Campeador.HistoryIts origins date back to the conquest of Hispania by the Moors who occupied the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century, when a fortress was built and named Polop. In the 11th century, as it is related in the Historia Roderici ("History of Rodrigo"), El Cid Campeador occupied Polop Castle in 1089–1090 before conquering the city of Valencia in 1094. Following his conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia, King James I of Aragon offered Polop Castle to the Muslim leader Mohammad Abu Abdallah Ben Hudzail al Sahuir until 1258 when the latter was defeated during a failed attempt against the life of the monarch.