Iberian Crusades

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The Iberian Crusades were papally promoted wars, part of the Reconquista , fought against the Muslim states of the Iberian Peninsula within the wider Crusading movement from 1095 to 1492.

Contents

Terminology

The historian Christopher Tyerman emphasises "However closely associated, the Reconquest and crusading were not synonyms". [1] The crusade, as the medievalist Luis García-Guijarro Ramos concludes, "contributed to Christian military expansion only in a subsidiary way". [2]

Background

The Christianisation of the Iberian Peninsula began under Roman rule. In his Epistle to the Romans , Paul the Apostle sought the support of the Christians in Rome for a mission to Hispania. [3] Evidence of organised church life first appears in a 254 letter from the churches of León and Mérida to Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. [4] The Council of Elvira in the early 4th century, attended by 19 bishops and 24 priests, issued canons (decrees) indicating that Christians held civic office and often intermarried with pagans. [4]

After successive invasions by migratory peoples, the Visigoths gained control of most of Hispania by c. 472. [5] [6] Initially Homoian Christians, declared heretical at the Council of Nicaea, they converted under King Reccared I in the late 580s to Nicene (Catholic) Christianity, the faith of most Hispano-Romans. [7] [8] The Church was then guided by eminent bishops such as Isidore of Seville and Julian of Toledo. By the late 7th century the metropolitan bishops of Toledo consecrated bishops across the realm and made the Toledan liturgy the standard rite. [9] The Visigothic Kingdom, plagued by aristocratic coups, saw the noble Roderic seize the throne in 710 but face rebellion and Basque raids. In 711 Muslim Berber and Arab forces crossed from North Africa, crushed the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete, killed Roderic, and within nine years conquered most of the peninsula. [10] [11]

Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) was first ruled by governors of the distant Umayyad caliphs in Damascus or their North African deputies. In 749 the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads, but Abd al-Rahman, a fugitive prince, seized al-Andalus, making Córdoba his capital. [12] From 929 its rulers styled themselves caliphs, asserting independence from the Abbasid Caliphate. [12] [13] Christians and Jews became dhimmi ("protected people") and paid the jizya poll tax. [14] [15] Anti-Christian policies—including banning conversion of children from mixed marriages—sparked an anti-Muslim movement in Córdoba in the 840s. The "Martyrs of Córdoba' sought death by publicly vilifying the Prophet Muhammad; ensuing persecution prompted Christian migration north, though rural al-Andalus stayed largely Christian for centuries. [16]

The mid-9th century Church of San Miguel de Lillo in Oviedo, capital of the Kingdom of Asturias Iglesia de San Miguel de Lillo (2476595972).jpg
The mid-9th century Church of San Miguel de Lillo in Oviedo, capital of the Kingdom of Asturias

In the unconquered north, the Kingdom of Asturias arose after the victory of the Visigothic noble Pelagius over local Muslims at the Battle of Covadonga in 718–22. Exploiting internal strife in al-Andalus, Asturian kings advanced south to the River Duero by the early 10th century. After the capital moved from Oviedo to León in the 910s, Asturias evolved into the Kingdom of León. [17] [18] By the late 9th century Asturian writers cast this expansion as a divinely sanctioned war for lost Christian lands. [19] At the same time the shrine of the apostle James the Great at Santiago de Compostela became a major Christian pilgrimage centre. [20]

In 778 Charlemagne, king of the Franks, invaded al-Andalus. Later Frankish campaigns created Catalan counties along the Pyrenees, while Basque resistance to Frankish expansion produced the Kingdom of Navarre in the 820s. [21] Dominated by a warrior aristocracy, these small realms were repeatedly partitioned and reconstituted, giving rise to new autonomous polities such as Castile and Aragon. In the early 11th century the north came under Sancho III of Navarre and later his son Ferdinand I of León-Castile. [22] [23] [24]

In 1031 the Caliphate of Córdoba fractured into taifas (small states), which often paid parias (tribute) or allied with Christian neighbours to deter attack. [25] [26] The Reconquista revived, and the papacy sometimes granted spiritual rewards to those fighting the Moors (Iberian Muslims). [26] The popes asserted supremacy over Christendom as the successor of Peter the Apostle in the see of Rome, invoking Jesus' words empowering Peter. [27] In the mid-11th century clerics seeking to free the Church from lay control gained power in Rome. They banned simony (the sale of church offices) and vested the exclusive right to elect popes in senior clergy, the cardinals. [28] Reformist popes eagerly offered spiritual rewards to soldiers fighting for the Church, like Pope Leo IX who raised troops against his Norman foes by promising remission of penance and absolution of sins. [29]

On the eve of the Crusades

A page from an early 12th-century manuscript of The City of God by Augustine BritLibRoyal5DVIIFolio57v.JPG
A page from an early 12th-century manuscript of The City of God by Augustine

For warriors fighting in Iberia, Pope Alexander II issued the first papal bull promising spiritual rewards in 1063: he instructed them to confess their sins, while also releasing them from penance and granting them remission of sins "by the authority of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul". The following summer French, Italian, and Catalan warriors, led by the Normand aristocrat Robert Crispin, William VIII of Aquitaine, and Ermengol III of Urgel, joined Sancho Ramírez, king of Aragon, to besiege Barbastro in the taifa of Zaragoza. They captured the town, massacred or enslaved its inhabitants, but the Moors retook it within a year. [30] The Spanish historian Ramón Menéndez Pidal describes the Barbastro campaign as "a crusade before the crusades". [31] [32] To secure continued papal support, Sancho Ramírez accepted papal suzerainty in 1068. In 1073 Pope Gregory VII claimed full suzerainty over all Hispania. [33]

Gregory strongly opposed secular rulers' attempts to appoint their own candidates to high ecclesiastical office, bringing him into direct conflict with monarchs, notably Emperor Henry IV. [34] This so-called Investiture Controversy brought fresh attention to the theology of war. In this climate the canon lawyer Anselm of Lucca gathered the scattered reflections of the late antique theologian Augustine on just war into a single clear and coherent synthesis c. 1083. [35] Drawing on classical philosophy, Roman jurisprudence, and biblical precedent, Augustine held that war, though inherently sinful, might be just when undertaken for a just cause—defence against invasion or recovery of rightful possession—duly declared by legitimate authority and conducted with right intent. [36]

In 1085 Alfonso VI of León-Castile, son of Ferdinand I, intervened in a succession dispute in the taifa of Toledo and captured the city on 23 October. [37] That same year the taifas of Zaragoza and Valencia sought the protection of the exiled Castilian noble Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, against Aragon. [38] [39] By contrast, the Muslim rulers of Seville, Granada, and Badajoz appealed to Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the fundamentalist Almoravids in Morocco. Ibn Tashfin led an army to Iberia and inflicted a crushing defeat on Alfonso I at the Battle of Sagrajas on 23 October 1086. Although he returned to North Africa, he came back repeatedly, beginning the conquest of the taifas in 1090. Backed by a fatwā (legal ruling) from the eminent jurist al-Turtushi condemning the taifa rulers, the Almoravids reunified Muslim Spain but failed to advance its northern frontiers against the Christian kingdoms. [40] Valencia was captured by El Cid in 1094, and he also defeated the Almoravids at the Battle of Cuarte. The Muslims regained the region only after he died in 1099. [39]

Confronting resurgent Muslim powers

Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont (from the late 15th-century Passages d'outremer by Sebastien Mamerot) CouncilofClermont.jpg
Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont (from the late 15th-century Passages d'outremer by Sébastien Mamerot)

By the end of the 11th century the papacy had consolidated its spiritual and temporal authority and was able to launch large-scale military campaigns. At the Council of Clermont on 27 November 1095 Pope Urban II called for an expedition to free Eastern Christians from Muslim rule. Combining just war theory with the concept of penitential pilgrimage, he promised spiritual rewards to participants. The appeal initiated the First Crusade; thousands "took the cross", sewing a cloth cross to their garments as a sign of their crusade vow, and departed for the Holy Land. [41] The ensuing campaign led to the creation of new states in the Levant, including the County of Edessa and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. [42]

Between 1095 and 1212, the Iberian Peninsula witnessed the resurgence of Muslim power, first under the Almoravids and later the Almohads. Both reformist movements, drawing chiefly on Berber support from the Maghreb, gained little favour among the native Moors of al-Andalus. [43] Despite temporary Christian reverses, the balance between the Christian states and al-Andalus changed little. As historian Andrew Jotischky notes, the subsequent period was one in which "Muslim forces of Islam could win battles but without being able to occupy territory, whereas the Christians could suffer losses without having to yield territory". [44]

Aftermath of the First Crusade

Pope Urban II's appeal for the First Crusade stirred fervour in Iberia. William I Raymond of Cerdanya, and Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona, were among those who took the cross. In 1102 William Raymond's son, William II Jordan, likewise departed for the Holy Land. Yet Urban discouraged the Catalan magnates, notably Bernard I of Besalú, Giselbert II of Roussillon, and William Raymond, urging them instead to defend neighbouring churches against Moorish incursions by granting remission of sins. [45] His successor, Pope Paschal II, in 1102 formally forbade Iberian Christians to abandon territories threatened by Almoravid raids, promising the same spiritual reward. [46] [47]

Ruins of the fortress Juslibol near Zaragoza Frente del castillo de Juslibol (Zaragoza).jpg
Ruins of the fortress Juslibol near Zaragoza

Pedro I of Aragon and Navarre, son of Sancho Ramírez, was the first Iberian ruler to fight as a crucifer ("cross-bearer") within the peninsula. He took the cross in 1100 but, abandoning his plan to depart for Jerusalem, turned instead to attack the city of Zaragoza. In February he ordered the construction of a castle near Zaragoza named Juslibol, after the First Crusaders' cry Deus vult ("God wills it"), yet failed to capture the city. [48] [49] Sigurd I of Norway, the first crowned ruler on an armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land, scattered Muslim fleets in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and sacked Sintra, Alcácer do Sal, and three of the Balearic Islands on his eastward voyage in 1108. [50] [51]

In 1113 the Pisans sought Pope Paschal II's support for a campaign against the Balearic Islands. Paschal granted spiritual rewards for liberating Christian captives and appointed Cardinal Boso of Sant'Anastasia as papal legate. A fleet led by Pietro, Archbishop of Pisa, sailed from Italy on 6 August 1113 and wintered in Catalonia, where it was joined by Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona, William VI of Montpellier (a veteran of the First Crusade), Ramon Guillem, Bishop of Barcelona, and other Occitan and Catalan nobles and prelates. By 1114 the armada, numbering over 120 ships, seized Ibiza and in 1115 captured Palma de Mallorca. Ramon Berenguer then planned to take the city of Tortosa. He secured papal backing and raised funds by extracting tribute from the taifas of Valencia, Tortosa, and Lleida. Cardinal Boso began to preach the crusade, but the campaign was abandoned. In 1116 the Almoravids retook the islands. [52] [53]

Coin of Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, a prominent leader of early Iberian Crusades Monnaie - Espagne, Aragon, Alphonse I, denier - btv1b11335069w (1 of 2).jpg
Coin of Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, a prominent leader of early Iberian Crusades

The Almoravids seized Zaragoza, the last taifa, in 1110. Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, brother and successor of Pedro I, sought French aid for its conquest in 1118; the French bishops at the Council of Toulouse endorsed the campaign ("the way of Spain") in language akin to a crusade call. Joining Alfonso were leading Occitan, Castilian, and Catalan nobles, including Gaston IV of Béarn (a participant in the First Crusade), his brother Centule II of Bigorre, Diego López I de Haro, and Ramon of Pallars. The siege opened on 22 May 1118. [54] Alfonso sent Pedro, bishop-elect of Zaragoza, to Pope Gelasius II, who granted absolution to those slain in the campaign and remission of sins to all contributing to the rebuilding of the city's church. Acting as papal legate, Bernard, archbishop of Toledo, extended similar spiritual benefits to donors unable to join the host. Zaragoza capitulated on 18 December 1118, and by 1120 Alfonso had advanced Aragonese frontiers to the River Ebro. [55] [56]

The historian Joseph F. O'Callaghan argues that Alfonso's conquest of Zaragoza prompted Pope Calixtus II to strengthen papal support for crusading in Spain. [57] In 1123 he convened the First Lateran Council, which recognised that crusading vows could be fulfilled in both the Holy Land and Iberia. [57] [58] Calixtus appointed Olegarius, archbishop of Tarragona, as legate to a new Iberian crusade. His summons shows that by then wearing the cross was an established practice among Iberian crusaders. O'Callaghan links the appeal to the Battle of Corbins, where Christian forces were defeated in 1124. [57] The following year Diego Gelmírez, bishop of Santiago de Compostela, described Iberian crusades as "a road toward the ... Holy Sepulchre which is shorter and less difficult". O'Callaghan reads this as a plan for a major crusade via Iberia and North Africa, while the medievalist Andrew Jotischky interprets it as an allegory suggesting that crusading in Iberia offered an easier path to spiritual reward. [59] [60]

Second Crusade

After 1120 the Almoravids faced rebellion from a new Muslim reform movement, the Almohads, in Morocco. Composed largely of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains, the Almohads denounced the Almoravids as apostates and hypocrites, proclaiming their leader Ibn Tumart as the divinely guided Mahdī . Although their initial rising failed, after Ibn Tumart's death in 1131 his successor, Abd al-Mu'min, declared himself caliph and began the conquest of Morocco. [61]

Alfonso VII of Leon-Castile, Emperor of Hispania (from the 13th-century Tumba A manuscript in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela) Alfonso VII of Castile, 13th c.jpg
Alfonso VII of León-Castile, Emperor of Hispania (from the 13th-century Tumba A manuscript in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela)

Alfonso I conducted campaigns of varying success until his death in 1134. By will he left his dominions to two military orders—the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller—and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but his subjects ignored these bequests. His brother Ramiro II, a monk, was proclaimed king of Aragon, and a distant kinsman, García Ramírez, king of Navarre. [62] [63] After the birth of his daughter Petronilla, Ramiro returned to monastic life, arranging her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona, which united the Catalan counties with Aragon into the Crown of Aragon. [64] [65] By this time Alfonso VII of León-Castile had emerged as the leading Christian ruler in Iberia. His vassals included García Ramírez, Ramon Berenguer IV, William VI of Montpellier, and Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse, and in 1135 he assumed the title of Emperor of Hispania. His cousin, Afonso Henriques of Portugal, a count in northwestern Iberia, expanded southwards and, following his victory at the Battle of Ourique, adopted the title of king. [65] [66] Taking advantage of the arrival of c. 70 ships carrying armed pilgrims from the north, he laid siege to Lisbon in 1142, but failed to capture it. [67]

The Muslim capture of Edessa in December 1144 alarmed Western Christendom and led Pope Eugenius III to proclaim a new crusade for the Holy Land in the bull Quantum praedecessores in late 1145. [68] According to O'Callaghan, the presence of Archbishop Raymond of Toledo in Rome influenced the Pope's extension of crusading privileges to Iberia in the bull Divina dispensatione on 13 April 1147. [67] [69] Meanwhile, the Almoravids' decline under Almohad pressure led to the re-emergence of the taifa system in al-Andalus, as local warlords and clerics assumed power in many cities. One of them, the Sufi master Ibn Qasi, sought the protection of the Almohad caliph ʿAbd al-Muʾmin. In early 1147 the Almohads crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began the conquest of al-Andalus from the Almoravids. [67]

According to the historian Jonathan Phillips, Afonso Henriques sought the support of the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, chief preacher of the Second Crusade, for an attack on Lisbon. [67] [70] A fleet of Flemish, Frisian, German, and Anglo-Norman crusaders departed from Dartmouth for the Holy Land in late April 1147. Commanded by nobles such as Arnold of Aerschot, and Hervey de Glanvill, the fleet, over 50 ships, reached Lisbon on 28 June. Although some objected, wishing to proceed to the Holy Land, the Crusaders joined the Portuguese in besieging the city. After five months of resistance, famine and desertion forced the defenders to surrender on terms of safe conduct; many, including the city's unnamed Mozarabic bishop, were killed in the ensuing sack. Having secured nearby fortresses such as Sintra and Almada, some Crusaders settled in Catalonia while others departed for the Holy Land on 1 February 1148. [71] [72] [73]

Walls of the Moorish fortress at Tortosa, captured by Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona during the Second Crusade 016 El castell de la Suda des de la placa de Sant Jaume (Tortosa).JPG
Walls of the Moorish fortress at Tortosa, captured by Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona during the Second Crusade

Alfonso VII was approached by Genoese envoys proposing a joint assault on the city of Almería. An agreement was concluded whereby Alfonso undertook to pay 20,000 gold dinars and grant commercial privileges to Genoa in exchange for naval and military support. His vassals, Ramon Berenguer IV and William VI, also pledged participation; Ramon Berenguer further arranged with the Genoese for a combined attack on Tortosa. The Divina dispensatione explicitly referred to Alfonso's preparations for the campaign. In July 1147, a fleet of 63 Genoese galleys and 164 additional ships, together with over 450 knights and 1,000 infantry, laid siege to Almería, which capitulated on 17 October. [74] Pope Eugenius extended crusading privileges to participants in the Catalan-Genoese expedition. Reinforced by crusaders coming from France and the siege of Lisbon, Ramon Berenguer and the Genoese took Tortosa on 31 December 1148 after a six-month siege, and by late 1149 he had secured further Muslim strongholds, including Fraga and Lleida. [75] [76]

Wars against the Almohads

Although fought across three theatres of war—the Holy Land, Iberia, and the Baltic—the Second Crusade achieved territorial gains only in Iberia. The setbacks in the Holy Land caused deep disillusionment among the French nobility. [note 1] Both Alfonso VII of León-Castile and Afonso I of Portugal continued their campaigns against Moorish strongholds, though without success. Despite these failures, Alfonso VII concluded a treaty with Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona on the division of future Muslim conquests, granting Dénia, and Murcia to Ramon Berenguer under his suzerainty. At Ramon Berenguer's request, Pope Eugenius III in 1152—and his successor Anastasius IV in 1153—granted crusading indulgences to those joining his campaign. The expedition strengthened Ramon Berenguer's position in the Ebro Valley. [78]

The Almohads intensified their offensive against both Muslim and Christian forces in Iberia and by 1154 had brought all former Almoravid mainland territories under their control. [79] In early 1155 the papal legate Cardinal Hyacinth granted remission of sins and ecclesiastical protection to those who took up arms in defence of Christendom. Hyacinth himself took the cross, and, according to O'Callaghan, Alfonso VII's subsequent conquests of Andújar and nearby towns were linked to this crusade. [44] [80] In 1157, however, the Almohads launched a major counteroffensive, and Alfonso could not prevent their recapture of these towns and of Almería. He died on his return from the campaign on 21 August. [81] [82] He was succeeded by his sons: Sancho III, who inherited Castile, and Ferdinand II, who received León. In early 1158 Sancho met Ramon Berenguer at Nájera, recognising the Aragonese claim to Zaragoza under his suzerainty. In May, at Sahagún, he and his brother agreed on the division of Portugal and of the remaining Muslim territories. Sancho died that August and was succeeded by his three-year-old son, Alfonso VIII. [83] Ramon Berenguer, who died in 1162, was succeeded by his son, Alfonso II of Aragon. [84]

Gold coin of the Almohad caliph Yusuf I Abu Yaqub Yusef Coin.png
Gold coin of the Almohad caliph Yusuf I

Unlike his predecessors, Pope Adrian IV withheld crusading privileges from those fighting in Iberia, prioritising the defence of the Holy Land. [85] The Almohads consolidated their rule over al-Andalus, exploiting rivalries among the Christian monarchs. In 1170, when Afonso I of Portugal attacked Badajoz, Ferdinand II of León allied with the Almohads to relieve the city. Two years later the new Almohad caliph, Yusuf I, reunited al-Andalus by seizing Murcia and Valencia. [86] When he attacked Huete in 1172, Cardinal Hyacinth granted remission of sins to the defenders, and Alfonso VIII relieved the town. Returning to Rome, Hyacinth persuaded Pope Adrian's successor Alexander III to issue a crusading bull on 23 March 1175, granting absolution to those who died fighting the Moors and remission of penance to those who fought for a year and confessed. The bull also threatened excommunication for Christian monarchs who allied with Muslims. In 1177 the kings of León, Castile and Aragon met at Tarazona, apparently to coordinate their campaigns. Alfonso VIII of Castile and Alfonso II of Aragon subsequently captured Cuenca. At a later meeting at Cazola they agreed on a new division of Muslim lands, confirming Castile's claim to Murcia while releasing Aragon from Castilian suzerainty. The treaty also envisaged a partition of Navarre. [87]

In 1179 Pope Alexander confirmed Afonso I's royal title and placed Portugal under papal protection. In 1184 Afonso, supported by León, repelled Yusuf's attack on Santarém. Yusuf died of wounds received in the battle and was succeeded by his son, al-Mansur. [88] [89] The next year, after Afonso's death, his son Sancho I became king of Portugal. In 1188 Ferdinand II of León was succeeded by his son Alfonso IX, who did homage to his cousin, Alfonso VIII of Castile, to secure his crown, though the act later strained their relations. [90]

Third Crusade

After the field army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Hattin in Palestine in July 1187, the victorious Muslim forces also captured the relic of the True Cross. Upon learning of this disaster, Pope Gregory VIII issued the papal bull Audita tremendi in October, calling for a new crusade. [91] The following year, Gregory's successor, Clement III, extended crusader privileges to the Iberian Christians fighting against the Moors, and ordered the Christian kings of Iberia to conclude a truce lasting at least ten years. He also urged the Iberian clergy, and those unable to take up arms, to support the crusaders financially. [88]

In the spring of 1189, Danish and Frisian crusaders en route to the Holy Land assisted Sancho II of Portugal in capturing the Castle of Alvor. Following their victory, they massacred c. 6,000 of its inhabitants. In July, they were joined by German, French, and English crusaders led by nobles such as Henry I of Bar, and Saer de Sandwich, who together laid siege to Silves. Starved into submission, the defenders surrendered on terms of safe conduct, but the crusaders nevertheless plundered the city. In July 1190, the Almohad caliph al-Mansur launched his first Iberian campaign from Morocco. His initial assault on Silves failed, and Sancho repelled his attack on Santarém with English assistance, but during the following year's campaign he succeeded in capturing Alcácer do Sal and Silves in July. Having secured these successes, he concluded truces with the Christian monarchs, who soon resumed hostilities among themselves. [92] [93]

Almohad triumph and internal rivalries

In 1191, Cardinal Hyacinth, former papal legate to Iberia, was elected pope as Celestine III. Condemning the Iberian monarchs for their alliances with Muslims, he urged reconciliation and granted crusading indulgences to offenders against the clergy who took up arms against Muslims. Bypassing royal authority, he appealed directly to the military orders and Christian populace, asserting papal supremacy. Eventually, Alfonso VIII of Castile, Alfonso IX of León, and Alfonso II of Aragon made peace shortly before their truce with the Almohads expired in 1194. [94]

Meanwhile, Alfonso VIII ordered the construction of a fortress at Alarcos on the southern bank of the Guadiana. Provoked also by a raid led by Archbishop Martín of Toledo, the Almohad caliph al-Mansur launched a campaign from Morocco in the spring of 1195. Although Alfonso sought aid from León and Aragon, he engaged al-Mansur's forces before reinforcements arrived. [94] At the Battle of Alarcos, al-Mansur won the last notable Almohad victory over the Christians on 19 July 1195. After taking several fortresses, he abandoned the campaign within three weeks. [89] [95]

Alfonso IX of Leon, subject of a papal crusade in 1197 for his alliance with the Almohads (from the 13th-century Tumba A manuscript in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela) Adeffonsus IX, king of Galicia and Leon.jpg
Alfonso IX of León, subject of a papal crusade in 1197 for his alliance with the Almohads (from the 13th-century Tumba A manuscript in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela)

Alfonso IX reached Toledo only after Alfonso VIII's catastrophic defeat, and their meeting rekindled their rivalry. Alfonso IX formed an anti-Castilian alliance with Sancho VII of Navarre and the Almohads. When Almohad forces invaded Castile early in 1196, Alfonso IX and Sancho VII also attacked from the west and north respectively. The papal legate, Cardinal Gregory of Sant'Angelo—nephew of Celestine III—excommunicated Alfonso IX for allying with the Muslims and persuaded Sancho VII to make peace with Castile. At Sancho I of Portugal's request, Celestine proclaimed a crusade against León. [96]

In spring 1197, al-Mansur invaded the Tagus valley but soon concluded a ten-year truce with the Christians. [95] Alfonso VIII then invaded León with the new king of Aragon, Peter II, while Sancho I attacked Galicia, in the north-west of Alfonso IX's realm. Seeking aid, Alfonso IX met al-Mansur in Seville, but, failing to secure support, he made peace with his Christian rivals. As a token of reconciliation, he married Alfonso VIII's daughter, Berengaria, in October 1197. [97]

The truce with the Almohads brought renewed internecine rivalries among the Christian monarchs. Castilian and Aragonese forces invaded Navarre, prompting Sancho VII to seek Almohad aid to preserve his kingdom's independence. [97] In 1199, al-Mansur was succeeded by his son al-Nasir, who completed the conquest of the Balearics with the capture of Mallorca. [98] Peter II travelled to Rome to seek papal backing for a campaign against the island and, after agreeing to hold Aragon as a papal fief, was crowned by Innocent III on 10 November 1204. [99]

While Peter planned a crusade against the Muslims, the papacy was chiefly concerned with the spread of Catharism, a dualistic movement in Occitania. His submission to papal authority angered the Aragonese barons, who at an assembly in November 1205 rejected his proposed extraordinary property tax to finance the campaign. Nevertheless, he continued preparations for a major offensive, prompting Pope Innocent to urge Alfonso VIII to join the enterprise, or at least not hinder his subjects from doing so. [100] Peter launched the campaign in summer 1210, capturing several fortresses in the region of Teruel. [101]

Crusade of Las Navas de Tolosa

Tapestry covering the entrance of Caliph al-Nasir's tent, brought to the Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas among the spoils of the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Espana, sus monumentos y artes, su naturaleza e historia (1884) (14780336692).jpg
Tapestry covering the entrance of Caliph al-Nasir's tent, brought to the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas among the spoils of the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

In a 1210 letter to Infante Ferdinand, heir of Alfonso VIII of Castile, Pope Innocent III declared that kings were not bound by truces with the enemy and referred to the remission of sins, suggesting, according to O'Callaghan, that Ferdinand had taken the cross. When the truce with the Almohads expired, Christian raids into Muslim territory resumed, prompting Caliph al-Nasir to raise an army for the invasion of Castile. He seized the fortress of Salvatierra in July 1211 but soon withdrew. Anticipating a renewed Almohad offensive, Alfonso summoned his vassals to assemble at Toledo on Trinity Sunday. Although Ferdinand died in the meantime, preparations continued. Innocent instructed French and Provençal bishops to grant remission of sins to those joining Alfonso's campaign. Archbishop Rodrigo of Toledo sought aid in France with limited success amid the Anglo-French war. [102]

Upon their arrival in Toledo in February 1212, some crusaders committed a pogrom against the Jewish population. Over 70,000 crusaders assembled there during the octave of Pentecost in May. Arnaud Amalric, Archbishop of Narbonne and leader of a French contingent, persuaded Sancho VII of Navarre to make peace with Castile en route. Further French troops followed under Archbishop Guillaume of Bordeaux and other clerical and noble leaders. Crusaders from León and Portugal also joined, though their monarchs abstained. Deeply indebted, Peter II of Aragon raised forces with funds from Alfonso VIII. In total, he financed 2,000 knights, 10,000 mounted sergeants, and 50,000 on foot. Alfonso secured the money by appropriating half of clerical revenues. [103] [44]

The army departed Toledo on 2 June. The French contingent, except Archbishop Arnaud and 130 knights, withdrew after Alfonso forbade plundering. Soon afterwards the crusading host was joined by Sancho VII and his troops. On 16 July the crusaders won a decisive victory over the Almohads at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Al-Nasir fled, many of his soldiers were slain, and the crusaders took abundant spoils. [104] [105] The Muslim chronicler al-Marrakushi later ascribed the Almohads' defeat to the flight of poorly paid soldiers. [98] The crusaders advanced further, but shortages and plague forced them to abandon the campaign before month's end. [106] The victory was celebrated across Catholic Europe. [107]

Acceleration of the Reconquista

As the Almohads were the last Muslim power to pose a serious threat to Christian Spain, the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa has long been regarded as a major turning point in medieval Spanish history. The Almohads' defeat deepened tensions between native Iberian Muslims and their North African rulers, leading to the disintegration of al-Andalus. [108]

Aftermath of Las Navas de Tolosa

In early 1213 Alfonso VIII of Castile invaded al-Andalus, capturing several Moorish fortresses. He made peace with Alfonso IX of León, who likewise campaigned against the Moors and seized Alcántara on the Tagus. By contrast, Peter II of Aragon became embroiled in conflict with Simon de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade, who was waging war against Peter's brother-in-law Raymond VI of Toulouse. When Peter's efforts at mediation failed, he attacked Montfort but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Muret on 12 September. [109]

Peter was succeeded by an underage son, James I, in Aragon. [110] In the same year the child al-Mustansir became Almohad caliph after al-Nasir was slain by one of his retainers. [98] In Castile, Alfonso VIII was followed by his minor son Henry I in 1214. Believing that the Muslim threat in Iberia and the Cathar danger in Occitania had waned, Pope Innocent III withdrew crusading privileges from those fighting in both regions. [110]

Fifth Crusade

Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada, Archbishop of Toledo, leader of the 1219 crusade against the Almohad province of Valencia (depicted in the extended charter for the University of Alcala de Henares, c. 1235) Fuero viejo de Alcala de Henares (1235) primera pagina.png
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, Archbishop of Toledo, leader of the 1219 crusade against the Almohad province of Valencia (depicted in the extended charter for the University of Alcalá de Henares, c. 1235)

Convoked by Pope Innocent III, the Fourth Lateran Council, meeting in November 2015, proclaimed a new crusade to the Holy Land. [111] The Council also standardised the crusade indulgence, granting to crusaders full remission of all sins which they had sincerely confessed with a penitent heart. To finance the enterprise, a twentieth of clerical income was levied for three years. [112] In July 1217, about 300 ships carrying Frisian and German crusaders arrived at Lisbon. Although Portuguese prelates, including Bishop Soeiro of Lisbon, urged them to assist in recapturing Alcácer do Sal—taken by the Almohads in 1191—the Frisians continued to the Holy Land. The Germans, under William I of Holland and George of Wied, remained with some 180 vessels. In alliance with the Portuguese, they besieged and captured Alcácer do Sal on 18 October after defeating a Muslim relief force. The Portuguese subsequently petitioned Pope Honorius III, Innocent's successor, to allow the crusaders to fulfil their vows in Portugal, but he refused, granting absolution only to those unable to proceed to the Holy Land. [113]

Archbishop Rodrigo of Toledo began organising his own crusade. At his request, Pope Honorius appointed him papal legate, authorising him to lead the campaign. [114] The child king Henry I of Castile had died in an accident, and his sister Berengaria—whose marriage to Alfonso IX of León had been annulled on grounds of consanguinity—secured the throne for her son by Alfonso, Ferdinand III, although Alfonso IX claimed Castile for himself. [115] With papal support, Archbishop Rodrigo mediated a reconciliation between father and son: Alfonso IX recognised Ferdinand's right to rule in Castile, [116] though he disinherited him in León in favour of his daughters by a previous, likewise annulled, marriage. [117] Alfonso IX had already taken the cross, and in November 1218 the warrior monks of several military orders attacked Cáceres along with crusaders from many parts of Europe, including Savari de Mauléon, but flooding following heavy rains forced them to withdraw from the siege before the end of the year. [118]

Pope Honorius granted crusade indulgence to those joining Archbishop Rodrigo's campaign and allowed half of the clerical tax from the sees of Toledo and Segovia to be devoted to it. Rodrigo invaded the province of Valencia in June 1219, seizing several fortresses but failing to capture Requena. Pope Honorius subsequently authorised the use of the entire clerical tax from Toledo for the enterprise, but later revoked this permission following renewed conflicts among the Iberian Christian rulers. [119] The pope also extended a crusading indulgence to participants in Alfonso IX's assault on Cáceres, yet the king failed to capture the town in 1221 and 1222. [120]

Disintegration of the Almohad Empire

The Almohad caliph al-Mustansir died young in January 1224, and the ensuing struggle for power enabled the Moorish rulers of al-Andalus to throw off caliphal authority. By contrast, the Christian kings of Iberia remained at peace. [121] [122] Though no source states it explicitly, references to his vows suggest that Ferdinand III of Castile took the cross soon after John of Brienne—former king of Jerusalem and leader of the Fifth Crusade—married his sister Berenguela in April 1224. The brothers Abu Zayd and Abu Mohammad, Almohad governors of Valencia and Baeza respectively, did homage to him, but Abu Zayd soon renounced his allegiance. Crusading privileges were likewise granted for local enterprises: a papal grant assigned a third of the tithes from the ecclesiastical ecclesiastical province of Toledo to the aristocrat Alfonso Téllez de Meneses for the defence of Alburquerque; his brother Tello, bishop of Palencia, was authorised to fortify the castle of Aliaguilla near Cuenca with indulgences for its builders and permission to use the tercias (tithes reserved for church maintenance). [123]

Pope Honorius III appointed Archbishop Rodrigo of Toledo and Bishop Mauricio of Burgos as the crusaders' protectors in Iberia, instructing them to publish the crusade indulgences. After the Moors of Córdoba assassinated Abu Mohammad in 1225, Ferdinand captured Baeza and Capilla but soon abandoned the campaign. [124] In 1228, Ibn Hud, a descendant of the taifa rulers of Zaragoza, seized power in Murcia and transferred his allegiance from the Almohads to the Abbasids. In consequence, much of al-Andalus rose in revolt and recognised his authority. [125] [126] Ferdinand's father, Alfonso IX of León, resumed the campaign against the Moors, taking Mérida in the spring of 1230. Despite the enemy's superiority, he defeated Ibn Hud at the Battle of Alange and captured Badajoz in May. He was preparing to attack Seville when he died unexpectedly on 24 September. [127] Ibn Hud's defeat eroded his support, and he was driven from Murcia. [128]

Notes

  1. ↑ In 1154 Louis VII of France, a leader of the Second Crusade, made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but Alfonso VII was unable to persuade him to join a campaign against the Moors. [77]

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Bibliography

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