A crown put to the test from the start
On September 1, 672, the death of Recceswinth left the Visigothic throne vacant; it was then that the kingdom's leading men chose Wamba, a high dignitary of the court, to succeed him. The election took place in Gérticos, where the monarch had died, and Wamba immediately marched to Toledo, where he was anointed king.
Thus began one of the most intense reigns of the final stage of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo.
Wamba inherited an extensive territory and a political structure in which the great aristocrats exerted notable influence. Barely into his reign, he had to face the Vascones, and only after several days of campaigning did they request peace and surrender hostages and tribute.
With that conflict resolved, the monarch continued toward Septimania, where an uprising had broken out in Nîmes led by Count Ilderic, with the support of Bishop Gumild and Abbot Ranimiro. Wamba sent Duke Paul to quell it, but the latter switched sides, took charge of the rebels, and proclaimed himself king, extending his rule over Septimania and part of Tarraconensis.
Wamba then undertook a campaign himself that took him through Barcelona, Gerona, and Narbonne to Nîmes, where he defeated and captured Paul and his main collaborators. That victory in 673 ended the uprising and became the greatest military triumph of his reign.
Shortly after, Wamba had to face a Muslim incursion by sea. A fleet arrived at the kingdom's coasts, but the Visigothic forces managed to intercept and defeat it; this naval victory in 674 showed that the kingdom's defense could also be waged in the Mediterranean.
A kingdom under tighter control
Paul's rebellion highlighted the difficulties of rapidly mobilizing the kingdom's forces.
In 673, Wamba responded with a military law that compelled those subject to military service to report when the territory was threatened by a rebellion or an external enemy. Non-compliance could lead to severe penalties, especially for large landowners and members of the aristocracy.
In 675, he convened the Eleventh Council of Toledo, where issues related to Church discipline were addressed and measures were adopted to reinforce order within it.
Controls were also established over certain actions of the bishops, and questions related to their assets and responsibilities were addressed.
The council shows to what extent the government of the kingdom was closely linked to the decisions of the Church.
The strange end of a reign
In 680, the monarch fell seriously ill and those around him thought he was about to die, so, following the customs of the time appropriate for someone preparing for near death, they cut his hair as a sign that he was leaving the life of a king and dressed him in monk's clothing. But, against all odds, he recovered; however, he could no longer return to the throne: while he was ill, he had effectively renounced his status as monarch and Ervigius had occupied the Crown.
Eight years had passed since that election on September 1, 672. During that time, the monarch had fought on different fronts, defeated one of the most serious rebellions of the final Visigothic stage, strengthened military obligations, and actively participated in Church affairs.
After his fall, he retired to a monastery and remained far from power.
In 711, barely three decades later, the Muslim conquest put an end to the Visigothic kingdom, and the memory of that monarch remained linked to one of the last periods in which Toledo could still gather armies, recover territories, and face great rebellions, along with the question of whether anything would have been different had he remained in power at that time...
