HISTORY OF CAMBIL
Archeological discoveries suggest that Cambil was once part of the Roman municipality of Virgilia, linked by a Roman road connecting Cástulo with Acci via Mentesa Bastia. However, it transitioned into the Middle Ages as one of the settlements mentioned by Al Udri in the tenth century within the Cora de Elvira, situated on the road from Córdoba to Almería and Pechina through Jaén. Between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, Cambil served as an advanced stronghold on the northern border of the Nasrid Kingdom together with Alhabar and Arenas. It briefly fell into Castilian hands between 1312 and 1369 due to the conquest of the Infante Pedro de Castilla.
The castles of Cambil and Alhabar had great strategic and military importance during the Granada War, since they dominated the northern border of the Nasrid Kingdom by controlling the natural passage of the Guadalbullón River and containing threats from Jaén, Martos and La Guardia. Seizing these sites on September 21, 1485 was a decisive victory for the Castilian advance and signalled the dismantling and abandonment of all strongholds along the old border. The siege campaign was planned by the Catholic Monarchs with a march from Jaén led by Fernando “el Católico” himself and supported by goods from Bishop Luis Ossorio, the forces of the Duke of Escalona, artillery under the command of Francisco Ramírez de Madrid (I Lord of Bornos) and the command of the Corregidor of the city of Jaén, Francisco de Bobadilla. It lasted 12 days and was carried out with 6,000 peons who excavated the land to level the ground so that artillery carts could pass. The artillery support and the absence of reinforcements from the rearguard squares caused the Mayor of the fortresses, Mahomed Lentin, to surrender the town squares of Cambil and Alhabar to Juan de Vilches, Mayor of La Guardia.
In the sixteenth century, Cambil, along with other border towns, experienced depopulation as Castilians resettled in areas vacated by Muslims. In 1558, Cambil gained independent jurisdiction from Jaén, with the lands of Arbuniel annexed to it. During this period, the sparse population of the area concentrated around the town’s fortresses. Droughts and plagues limited the productivity of Arbuniel, meaning that it remained a farmhouse dependent on Cambil until the eighteenth century. In 1676, Cambil was segregated from the population of Carchelejo, including Cárchel and Cazalla (today Cárcheles). According to the sources of Juan Villuga, Cambil continued on the road from Jaén to Almería through Guadahortuna until the end of the eighteenth century, when the route that connected Madrid with Jaén and Granada was transferred to its current route through Campotéjar.
According to the data obtained from the Historical Statistical Dictionary of Spain and Overseas Possessions by Pascual Madoz (1847), Arbuniel began to thrive because of flour mills being installed, which were powered by the waters of the Arbuniel River. Oil mills, irrigated olive groves and orchards further contributed to this development. In 1862, the territory of Mata Bejid, which until then had been under the jurisdiction of the city of Jaén, was incorporated into Cambil.
Cambil faced economic recession from the latter half of the twentieth century, driven by significant emigration to industrial hubs and major cities across Spain and Central Europe.