Almoravid northern expeditions (1112–1114)

Almoravid northern Expeditions
Part of the Reconquista
Map of the Iberian Peninsula in 1115
Date 1112–1114 Location Upper March Result Almoravid victory
Belligerents
Almoravid Empire	Kingdom of Aragon Catalan counties
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad ibn al-Hajj  [ es ]	Íñigo Sanz de Laves (POW)
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy

The Almoravid northern Expeditions was a series of raids led by Muhammad ibn al-Hajj, the governor of Zaragoza against the Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia.

Background

In 1110, the Almoravids took over the Taifa of Zaragoza and its capital Zaragoza. ^[1] The city of Zaragoza was the most important cities in Sharq al-Andalus, as the Almoravids made it the capital of the Upper March (Arabic : الثغر الاعلى), It was also a base for them to launch campaigns against the Kingdom of Aragon and Catalan Counties.

Expeditions

In 1112, Ibn al-Hajj left from Zaragoza with his forces heading to the lands of Aragon, where he destroyed the Huesca region and the surrounding cities, ^[2] the Almoravid forces reached the town of Ayera northeast of Huesca, where they captured and sacked it. Its governor Íñigo Sanz de Laves was among the prisoners. ^{[3] [4]} The invading forces continued their attacks north, raiding the Cinca River and foothills of the Pyrenees ^{[5] [6]}

Between 1113 and 1114, the Almoravids, led by Ibn al-Hajj carried out heavy raids on the regions of Huesca and Barbastro, during this campaign, the Almoravids recaptured the towns of Chalamera, Ontiñena, Pomar de Cinca  [ es ], Sariñena and Velilla de Cinca, ^{[7] [8]} the attacks reached Catalonia and the foothills of the Pyrenees. ^[9] There was no Aragonese or Christian resistance, as Ibn al-Hajj returned to Zaragoza after that. ^[8]

Aftermath

The absence of Alfonso I had a profound impact on the southern borders of his kingdom, which he was then tasked with defending. ^[10] In late 1114, the governors of Zaragoza and Valencia, Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and Muhammad ibn Aisha, launched a campaign against Catalonia. While returning to Zaragoza, they were ambushed at Martorell by Catalan troops, resulting in the deaths of Muhammad ibn al-Hajj.

In 1118, after six years in captivity, Íñigo Sanz de Laves finally paid a ransom of 500 mithqals for himself, his wife, his son and his daughter. ^[11]

References

1. Messier 2010, p. 135.
2. Kennedy, 2014
3. Arteta, Antonio Ubieto 1981, p. 145
4. José María Lacarra 1972, p. 305
5. Español Solana 2024.
6. Cobb, Paul M. 2014, p. 149
7. Rábade Obradó, María del Pilar 2005, p. 329
8. Dorronzoro Ramírez 2017, p. 244.
9. Thackeray and Findling 2012, p. 18
10. Rábade Obradó, María del Pilar 2005, p. 329
11. Lafuente 1998, p. 58.

Sources

• Cobb, Paul M. (2014). The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-935811-3.
• Dorronzoro Ramírez, Pablo (2017). "The Aragonese Episcopate and the Military Campaigns of Alfonso I the Battler against Iberian Muslims". In Radosław Kotecki; Jacek Maciejewski; John Ott (eds.). Between Sword and Prayer: Warfare and Medieval Clergy in Cultural Perspective. Brill. pp. 233–273. ISBN   978-90-04-35362-6.
• Español Solana, Darío (2024). Yihad y Reconquista: Guerra en Aragón, Navarra y Cataluña, siglos XI-XII (in Spanish). Desperta Ferro Ediciones. ISBN   978-84-128068-4-7.
• Kennedy, Hugh (2014). Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-87040-1.
• Lacarra de Miguel, José María (1972). Historia política del reino de Navarra: desde sus orígenes hasta su incorporación a Castilla (in Spanish). Aranzadi. ISBN   978-84-500-5700-3.
• Lafuente, José Luis Corral (1998). "La reconquista del Valle del Ebro". Militaria. 12: 49–66.
• Messier, Ronald A. (2010). The Almoravids and the Meanings of Jihad. Praeger/ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-0-313-38590-2.
• Rábade Obradó, María del Pilar; Ramírez Vaquero, Eloísa; Utrilla Utrilla, Juan F. (2005). La dinámica política. Historia de España Medieval. Tres Cantos (Madrid): Ed. Istmo. ISBN   978-84-7090-433-2.
• Stalls, William Clay (1995). Possessing the Land: Aragon's Expansion Into Islam's Ebro Frontier under Alfonso the Battler, 1104–1134. Leiden: Brill.
• Thackeray, Frank W.; Findling, John E. (2012). Events That Formed the Modern World: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror [5 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-59884-902-8.
• Ubieto Arteta, Antonio (1981). Historia de Aragón: La formación territorial (in Spanish). Anubar.