Battle of Sierra Elvira

Last updated
Disaster of the Vega de Granada
Part of the Spanish Reconquista
Reino de Granada.svg
The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada
Date25 june 1319
Location
Pinos Puente, Vega de Granada, Spain
Result Decisive Moorish victory
Belligerents
Bandera de la Corona de Castilla.svg Kingdom of Castile Standard of Grenade after Cresques Atlas s XIV.svg Kingdom of Granada
Commanders and leaders
Bandera de la Corona de Castilla.svg Infante Peter †
Bandera de la Corona de Castilla.svg Infante John †

Standard of Grenade after Cresques Atlas s XIV.svg Ismail I

Standard of Grenade after Cresques Atlas s XIV.svg Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula
Strength
More than 10,000 About 5,000
Casualties and losses
(Unknown) (Unknown)
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The Battle of Sierra Elvira, also called Disaster of the Vega de Granada, was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista fought near the city of Granada in 1319. The battle was fought between the troops of the Kingdom of Granada and those of the Kingdom of Castile. The battle resulted in a catastrophic defeat for Castile. [1]

<i>Reconquista</i> Medieval Christian extended conquest of Muslim areas in the Iberian Peninsula

The Reconquista was the period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the expanding Christian kingdoms in 1492.

Granada Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Darro, the Genil, the Monachil and the Beiro. It sits at an average elevation of 738 m (2,421 ft) above sea level, yet is only one hour by car from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.

Emirate of Granada Historic Iberian state

The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an emirate established in 1230 by Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar. After Prince Idris left Iberia to take the Almohad Caliphate leadership, the ambitious Ibn al-Ahmar established the last Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula, the Nasrids. The Nasrid emirs were responsible for building the Alhambra palace complex as it is known today. By 1250, the Emirate was the last part of the Iberian peninsula held by the Muslims. It roughly corresponded to the modern Spanish provinces of Granada, Almería, and Málaga. Andalusian Arabic was the mother tongue of the majority of the population. For two more centuries, the region enjoyed considerable cultural and economic prosperity.

Contents

Historical Context

The nobility of the Kingdom of Castile was quite used to periodical military raids into the Kingdom of Granada in order to collect booty. Notwithstanding temporary agreement and truces with the Nasrid rulers these expeditions were often performed under the leadership of the very same rulers of Castile. They were often true military expeditions with large armies in the thousands of men. In the late 1310s Castile was ruled by King Alfonso XI, a minor, under the joint regency of his grandmother Maria de Molina, of his granduncle infante John and of his uncle infante Peter. Infante Peter had led minor raids in granadine territory in 1316 and 1317 [2] and an agreement had been reached with the nobility of Castile in the Cortes held at Medina del Campo in 1318 for a new expedition to be done in late spring 1319. This expedition was to be a large one, blessed even by Pope John XXII who authorized to qualify it as a crusade and conceded the rebate to the crown of some of the Church tithes in order to finance it. [3] The troops met in Cordoba in the month of June 1319 and crossed the border under the leadership of infante Peter. With him were the Grand Masters of the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava and Alcántara and the Archbishops of Toledo and Seville. Infante John followed with his own troops. The two infantes resolved to march deep into the granadine kingdom and to reach the Vega de Granada, the plain territory immediately close to the town characterized for its fertility and its wealth. During the march the large army sustained various skirmishes with Moorish troops and conquered several places, collecting a substantial booty.

Nasrid dynasty Moorish dynasty

The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula, ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1230 until 1492. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Twenty-three emirs ruled Granada from the founding of the dynasty in 1230 by Muhammad I until 2 January 1492, when Muhammad XII surrendered all lands to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castille. Today, the most visible evidence of the Nasrid dynasty is part of the Alhambra palace complex built under their rule.

Alfonso XI of Castile king of Castile, León and Galicia

Alfonso XI of Castile, called the Avenger, was the king of Castile, León and Galicia. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313.

Infante, also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain and Portugal to the sons and daughters (infantas) of the king, regardless of age, sometimes with the exception of the [male] heir apparent to the throne, who usually bears a unique princely or ducal title. The wife of a male infante was accorded the title of infanta if the marriage was dynastically approved, although since 1987 this is no longer automatically the case in Spain. Husbands of born infantas did not obtain the title of infante through marriage, although occasionally elevated to that title de gracia at the sovereign's command.

The battle

The large Castilian army encamped in the Vega de Granada [4] and, after probably raiding the immediate vicinities, resolved to return to Castile satisfied with the collected booty. A siege of the town of Granada was deemed impossible at the time. The retreat started on 25 June 1319, under a very intense heat; infante Peter lead the vanguard while infante John marched in the rear of the army. However at this point King Ismail I of Granada decided to strike. A large cavalry force of élite Moorish troops, the "Volunteers of the Faith", led by Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, exited from Granada and started harassing the retreating Castilians of infante John. These minor attacks turned probably into a general one once the Granadines realized the Castilians did not succeed in defending themselves and had lost cohesion. Infant John called on infante Peter for help but this one, according to chroniclers, was at first dissuaded from his companions and then, when anyhow resolved to lead the vanguard to help his uncle, fell from his horse being trampled dead. At this point the vanguard thought only to flee and to regain the Castilian border, with many men drowning while attempting to cross in full armour the rio Genil. The rear of the army, without help, simply collapsed with the aged infante John falling victim probably of a stroke, [5] leading to a spectacular Moorish victory. [6] The locality where most of the fighting took place was in the present municipality of Pinos Puente and from the fact that both infantes had died there took the name of Cerro de los Infantes.

The Volunteers of the Faith was a military institution of the Emirate of Granada, composed by soldiers recruited from Zanata Berbers who were exiled from the Marinid sultanate, to defend the Emirate against the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula.

Abu Sa'id Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula was a Marinid prince who led an unsuccessful rebellion aiming to capture the throne, and fled to the Nasrid Emirate of Granada in its aftermath. There he served as the Commander of the Volunteers of the Faith of Granada, and became one of the most important political figures of the Nasrid realm.

Genil river in Spain

The Genil River is the main (left) tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. The Roman Singilis, its modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: Sinyil, Sannil, and Sinnil.

Aftermath

Numbers are not available for the losses sustained by the Castilians but they had to be quite large. The border for some years after 1319 was undermanned and for this reason the Granadines could raid almost at will the southern Castilian territories. Maria de Molina remained as sole regent and was later joined by her other son infante Philip and by a distant relative, the celebrated Juan Manuel. [7] In 1325 Alfonso XI started to rule alone and soon started his lifelong and in the end victorious struggle with the Nasrid kingdom and its later ally, the Marinids of Fez, which was also intended to avenge the 1319 defeat.

Philip of Castile, Lord of Cabrera and Ribera Spanish noble

Philip of Castile, was an infante of Castile, son of Sancho IV of Castile and María de Molina.

Fez, Morocco City in Fès-Meknès, Morocco

Fez or Fes is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fas-Meknas administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, with a population of 1.4 million (2014). Located to the northeast of Atlas Mountains, Fez is situated at the crossroad of the important cities of all regions; 206 km (128 mi) from Tangier to the northwest, 246 km (153 mi) from Casablanca, 169 km (105 mi) from Rabat to the west, and 387 km (240 mi) from Marrakesh to the southwest which leads to the Trans-Saharan trade route. It is surrounded by the high grounds, and the old city is penetrated by the River of Fez flowing from the west to east.

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References

  1. ↑ Ladero Quesada, p.148
  2. ↑ Ladero Quesada, p.148
  3. ↑ Suárez Fernández, Vol.2, p.245
  4. ↑ Bleiberg, Vol.3, p.917 "Desastre de la Vega de Granada"
  5. ↑ Suárez Fernández, Vol.2, p.245
  6. ↑ Suárez Fernández, Vol.2, p.246
  7. ↑ Suárez Fernández, Vol.2, p.246

Bibliography

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