Almoravid expedition to Catalonia (1114)

Almoravid expedition to Catalonia (1114)
Part of the Reconquista
Map of the Iberian Peninsula in 1115
Date 1114 Location Catalan counties Result Catalan victory
Belligerents
County of Barcelona County of Urgell County of Cerdaña	Almoravid dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona Ermengol IV of Urgell Bernard I of Cerdanya	Muhammad ibn al-Hajj  † Muhammad ibn Aisha (DOW)
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
High	High

The Almoravid expedition to Catalonia in 1114 was led by Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and Muhammad ibn Aisha, the Almoravid governors of Zaragoza and Valencia respectively, against the Catalan counties. The Almoravid forces ravaged Catalan territory but were surprised in an ambush and defeated.

Background

Following the fall of Valencia in 1102, ^[1] the Almoravid dynasty began to expand into the Upper March, ^[2] conquering Zaragoza, the last taifa in the Iberian Peninsula, ^[3] in 1110. ^[4]

Three years later, in 1113, the Catalan counties together with the republic of Pisa and the county of Provence began an expedition against the Balearic Islands. ^[5] The Taifa of Mallorca asked the Almoravids for help, who sent reinforcements to the islands. ^[6] Taking advantage of the fact that a large part of the armies of the Catalan counties were outside the peninsula, the governors of Zaragoza and Valencia, Muhammad ibn al-Hajj  [ ca; ar ] and Muhammad ibn Aisha  [ ca; ar ], began an expedition to Catalan territory. ^{[7] [8]}

Expedition

The Almoravid forces penetrated through Lleida, the Pla d'Urgell and Segarra. ^[8] They attacked the Bages and caused great damage to the Monastery of Sant Benet de Bages, which would be restored three years later. ^[9] An Almoravid army from the Balearic Islands landed at the mouth of the Besòs River and attacked Sant Adrià de Besòs and Sant Andreu de Palomar. ^[10]

They had captured a large loot. However, while they were returning through the plain of Barcelona, ^[11] they were ambushed in a ravine near Martorell by the combined armies of the counties of Barcelona, Urgell and Cerdanya, ^[8] killing Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and most of their army. ^[11] The remaining Almoravid army was pursued along the coast of Salou. ^[12] Although Muhammad ibn Aisha managed to escape, he was seriously injured, which caused his death shortly after. ^[7]

Aftermath

One year later, in 1115, the Almoravids laid siege to Barcelona. ^[13] However, after 20 days, Catalan reinforcements commanded by Ramon Berenguer III arrived and forced them to lift the siege. ^[7] That same year, the Christians managed to conquer the Balearic Islands ^[14] but they were reconquered again by the Almoravids some months later. ^{[7] [15]}

References

1. Findlay & Lundahl 2016, p. 50.
2. Lomax 1978, p. 83.
3. Catlos 2014, p. 31.
4. Guichard 2001, p. 95.
5. Ellis 2002, p. 19.
6. Doxey 1996, p. 11.
7. Manjunath.R 2021, p. 1709.
8. Ferrer i Mallol & Riu i Riu 2018, p. 145.
9. Pladevall 1970, p. 38.
10. Seminario de Investigación 1964, p. 70.
11. Sanjuán 2022.
12. Font i Rius 1983, p. 100.
13. Curta 2016, p. 495.
14. Steinberg 1986, p. 38.
15. Syed, Akhtar & Usmani 2011, p. 119.

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