Quintana place-names as evidence of the Islamic conquest of Iberia

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this paper we explore the long-standing hypothesis that the very abundant Quintana place-names, anomalously concentrated almost exclusively in northwestern Iberia, have their origin in the Islamic conquest of 711. Alternative etymologies are considered, and their inherent problems noted. We then address the distribution of said toponyms in both Spain and Portugal, noting a strong correlation in the latter with the coordinates provided by al-Gassani and which purportedly delimit an area differentiated in terms of the post-conquest land-partition. In the light of the Portuguese correlation, we tentatively propose Sajazarra (Rioja) as a new identification for the enigmatic Sayya, the eastern coordinate provided by al-Gassani, traditionally interpreted as referring to Ejea (Zaragoza).