Siege of Lleida (1122–1123) | |||||||
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Part of Reconquista | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Almoravids County of Barcelona Duke of Aquitaine | Kingdom of Aragon | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abu-Hilal Ramon Berenguer III William IX of Poitiers | Alfonso the Battler | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Siege of Lleida took place between 1122 and 1123 in a Christian effort to recapture territories from Muslim control in the Iberian Peninsula. This siege was led by Alfonso the Battler, against the Almoravid controlled city of Lleida.
By 1120, tensions between the Almoravids and Christian forces increased when the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, captured the nearby Castle of Corbins through an agreement with the Almoravid governor. This agreement was intended to prevent Lleida from falling into the hands of Alfonso the Battler, who had already conquered Zaragoza in 1118 and was seeking further expansion. [1]
In May 1122, Alfonso the Battler commenced the siege of Lleida, with the objective of capturing the city as part of his broader campaign to gain control of the Ebro Valley. To support the siege operations, Alfonso's forces constructed the Castle of Gardeny in March 1123 [2] . Despite repeated assaults and attempts to breach the city's fortifications, the Almoravid garrison, led by Abu-Hilal, mounted a determined defense. The garrison was also supported by Christian allies, including Ramon Berenguer III and William IX of Poitiers, who were engaged in the siege against Alfonso. [3]
By June 1123, the siege was lifted due to logistical challenges and the strong defense by the Almoravid forces with their Christian allies. [3] [4] [5]
Although the siege was unsuccessful, Ramon Berenguer III revolted against the Almoravids in 1126, leading to the battle of Corbins. After the defeat of Ramon Berenguer III against the Almoravids at this battle, he made an alliance against them with Alfonso the battler and failed at the siege of Fraga in 1133. [6] [7]
Alfonso I, called the Battler or the Warrior, was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I. With his marriage to Urraca, queen regnant of Castile, León and Galicia, in 1109, he began to use, with some justification, the grandiose title Emperor of Spain, formerly employed by his father-in-law, Alfonso VI. Alfonso the Battler earned his sobriquet in the Reconquista. He won his greatest military successes in the middle Ebro, where he conquered Zaragoza in 1118 and took Ejea, Tudela, Calatayud, Borja, Tarazona, Daroca, and Monreal del Campo. He died in September 1134 after an unsuccessful battle with the Muslims at the Battle of Fraga.
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