Egilona (or Egilo) was a Visigothic noblewoman and the last known queen of the Visigoths. She was the wife first of Roderic, the Visigothic king (710âÂÂ11), and then of ÿAbd al-ÿAzëz, Muslim governor (wÃÂlë) of al-Andalus (714âÂÂ16). Her name is rendered Aylà « by Arabic writers, who also give her the kunya Umm ÿAá¹£im ("mother of ÿAá¹£im"). She was independently wealthy.
Egilona may have been related to Kings Egica and Wittiza. Since the succession of 710 was contested, Roderic may have married Egilona to strengthen his position. Their marriage did not last long, as he died at the Battle of the Guadalete the following year.
The date of Egilona's second marriage is uncertain. She may have married ÿAbd al-ÿAzëz before he became governor, when he was still merely the son of the conquering general, Mà «sàbin Nuá¹£ayr, who had overthrown the Visigothic kingdom. There is no reference in the sources to Egilona converting to Islam, and scholars are divided on whether it is likely that she did. Although both Arabic and Latin sources depict Egilona and her second husband as communicating directly, it is not clear whether they could have done so directly, since Egilona would have spoken a vulgar Latin dialect and did not likely have time or reason to learn Arabic quickly. Likewise, ÿAbd al-ÿAzëz could have had little reason to learn Latin, although he was criticised for certain foreign (ÿajamë) practices.
Both Christian and Muslims sources make her responsible for the governor's assassination, and there is no reason to doubt the general portrayal of her role. The Christian Chronicle of 754 records that:
The ninth-century Muslim historian ÿAbd al-Ḥakam, on the other hand, says that he ÿAbd al-ÿAzëz was killed because Egilona "had made him a Christian". This seems unlikely, since he took refuge in a mosque and recited from the Koran when attacked. Al-Ḥakam does corroborate the Chronicle of 754<nowiki>'</nowiki>s claim that Egilona stoked his royal ambitions, urging him to act so as to attain the respect her first husband had. The AkhbÃÂr majmà «Ã¿a of 858 even claims that Egilona had a crown made out of her own jewels and forced her husband to wear it on the grounds that "a king without a crown is a king without a kingdom". She also tried to have his men perform acts of obeisance to him in Seville.
Egilona's life and legend have been given dramatic treatment several times in the modern era. In 1760, Cándido MarÃÂa Trigueros published the play La Egilona, viuda del rey don Rodrigo. In 1785, Antontio Valladares de Sotomayor staged a similar play that has been called by the same title, La Egilona, viuda del rey don Rodrigo. In 1788, an anonymous play entitled La Egilona, drama heroica en prosa was put on during the coronation ceremonies of Charles IV. In 1845, the Cuban playwright Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda published a play titled Egilona.