Day of the pit of Toledo

The day of the moat was a historical event that supposedly occurred in the city of Toledo (Spain) in the VIII, which is recorded in the Toledo chronicles of the XVI and XVII, as History or Description of the Imperial City of Toledo (1554) by Pedro de Alcocer. However, some experts, such as the philologist and Arabist Álvaro Galmés de Fuentes, great-nephew of Ramón Menéndez Pidal, question the historical basis and suggest that these are narratives that survive from a legend from the pre-Islamic era.

Alleged events

In the year 797, the Arab emir Alhakén I governed the peninsula. Toledo was a city subject to the emir, but with its own autonomy. Its population was made up of Visigoths, Hispano-Romans (the majority were Muladíes), Arabs and Jews (these settled in the countryside). Alhakén wanted to end once and for all with the independence and autonomy enjoyed by the city and he arranged a trap. He sent as the new governor of Toledo a muladí he trusted, Amrus ben Yusuf (Jiménez de Rada calls him Ambroz). To celebrate the appointment, the muladí invited the most prominent, rich and influential people to his palace, a total of more than 400. During the banquet, he slaughtered them all and had their heads thrown into a pit prepared in advance for the outcome. Other sources indicate that Amrus's motive was to avenge the execution of his son, Yusuf, by the city's nobility.

“Toledo night”

«Toledana Night» drawing of Mecachis with text by Navarro Gonzalvo (White and Black1896)

The phrase "spend a Toledo night", to indicate that one has not slept, may refer to these narrated events, although other sources refer to the heat « oppressive". On the other hand, Sebastián de Covarrubias, in his Treasure of the Castilian or Spanish Language (1611), stated that the Toledo night was one that "passes from light to light, without being able to sleep, because mosquitoes persecute strangers who are not provided with remedies like the others".

Literary works

Numerous authors have made reference to the expression “Toledo night” in their works, although with different themes, including Lope de Vega, who wrote a satire of entanglements and simulations, La noche toledana (1605), on the occasion of the birth of Prince Felipe, as well as Toledan Night (1841) by Ventura de la Vega or A Toledan Night (1870) by Enrique Pérez Escrich.