Editing Azuaga (section)

===Middle Ages===
When Spain fell into Moorish hands, Azuaga underwent a period of growth. Among the historical evidence of Moorish Azuaga, the Muslim geographer and traveler [[Al Idrisi]] mentions the settlement in the 12th century, alluding to it as a hilltop [[fort]] - ('''حِصْن زُوَاغَة''' - HiSn Zuwāghah). This is the first writing that mentions Azuaga by name. It would appear that at that time the people of Azuaga were of the [[Berber people|Berber]] tribe ''Al-Zuwaga'', hence the name. Azuaga still has a surviving portion of its 11th-century castle.

In 1236 Azuaga was conquered by the Christian kingdoms of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]], during the reign of [[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand III]], by the Order of Santiago, directed at that time by Pelay Pérez Correa. The Christian captured the castle and constructed the new Torre del Homenaje ("Tower of Homage"), the best conserved portion of the castle today.

In 1477, in the Ermita (Hermitage) de San Sebastián (later the Convento de La Merced [Mercy], then the Ermita de La Merced), the Order de Santiago held a general chapter meeting and selected Don Alonso de Cárdenas as its new master.