Monda lies in the foothills of La Sierra de las Nieves,
its municipal area forming part of the natural park
of the same name, and retains the hallmark of its
Arabic past in the shape of its steep, narrow streets
lined with whitewashed houses standing in the shadow
of the castle, built on the ruins of the former Arabic
fortress and rehabilitated for touristic purposes.
History
Insufficient details are available for us to be able
to identify this village with the Roman Munda, scene
of the battle between Caesar and Pompey in 45 B.C.;
its name is probably derived from El Mundat Castle,
built in the 9th-century by Omar Ben Hafsun to fortify
his positions against the attacks of the last emirs
of Cordoba (886-912). The castle, razed to the ground
by Sab Al-Mundir, was rebuilt in the 11th-century
by the Hammudies; today, on the site of its ruined
walls, part of the old fortress has been rehabilitated
and its interior turned into a hotel. In 1485, Monda
was conquered by troops of the Catholic Monarchs led
by Hurtado de Luna, who became its first Christian
governor. It fell under the jurisdiction of Malaga,
and its inhabitants were allowed to continue living
in the area as mudéjares - Moslems permitted
to live under Christian rule - . After the 1501 rebellion
in the Serrania de Ronda region and Marbella, they
were forced to convert to Christianity. In 1570, following
the decision to expell the moriscos - Moslem converts
to Christianity - from the kingdom of Granada, the
village was repopulated by Old Christians.
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