Siege of Faro (1249)

Last updated
Siege of Faro
Part of the Portuguese Reconquista
12-09-2017 Albarrana tower of Faro castle, Faro old town (2).JPG
Medieval gateway of the castle of Faro.
DateMarch 1249
Location
Result Portuguese victory
Belligerents
PortugueseFlag1248.svg Portugal
Cross of Saint James.svg Order of Santiago
Ordem Avis.svg Order of Aviz
Taifa of Niebla
Commanders and leaders
Afonso III of Portugal
Paio Peres Correia
Unknown

The siege of Faro occurred when Portuguese forces, under the command of King Afonso III of Portugal, captured the city of Faro in 1249 from the Taifa of Niebla. The event marked the end of Portuguese Reconquista efforts in the Iberian peninsula.

The conquest took place in the context of the gradual conquest of the cities of the Guadiana valley and the eastern part of the Algarve from Ibn-Mahfuz, lord of the taifa of Niebla and the last representative of Muslim power in western Al-Andalus. The fall of Mértola, Tavira, Ayamonte, Cacela and the fall of Seville in 1248, left Ibn-Mahfuz completely isolated, and with no no other choice but to come to terms with Ferdinand III of Castile. [1]

The city of Faro, isolated and without hope of relief from forces of the Muslim world, capitulated before a fierce and well disciplined force, even though such a force was probably composed of a small number of men. This explains why contemporary Muslim sources refer to the event as the city having been "delivered" to the King of Portugal. [1]

The city was taken in March 1249, as evidenced by the deed of donation by the King of some houses in Santarém to lord João Peres de Aboim, signed in Faro that month, when in February of that year the king is documented to have been in Ourém. [2] The capture of the nearby villages of Albufeira, Porches and a few other small settlements quickly followed still in that same year. [2]

It is likely that King Afonso III himself took part in the campaign against the city, albeit discreetly, as did the Master of the Order of Santiago, lord Paio Peres Correia. In the event, just as in the conquest of the rest of the Algarve, the absence of members of the main families of Portugal can be observed according to some authors, with those who partook in the capture in Faro being mostly second-borns and bastard children of the nobility, reflecting the importance of military acts for those who could expect little from their inheritance. Some of them were handsomely rewarded, giving rise to families that would mark Portugal in the late 13th century and in the following century.

The knights of the military orders, above all those of the Order of Santiago and the Order of Aviz played an important role, and among the main nobles who participated were Avigas Loure, his brother-in-law the castellan of Santarém Martim Dade, the chancellor Estevão Anes, and Mem Soares de Melo. [2]

Portuguese ownership of the Algarve was disputed by Castille, and it was only recognized when the Treaty of Alcanizes was signed in 1297, with Papal mediation. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afonso II of Portugal</span> King of Portugal from 1211 to 1223

Afonso II, nicknamed the Fat or the Leper, was the third king of Portugal and the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon. Afonso succeeded his father on 27 March 1211.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afonso III of Portugal</span> King of Portugal

Afonso III, or Affonso, Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Boulonnais, King of Portugal was the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal, who died on 4 January 1248.

<i>Reconquista</i> Medieval Christian military campaign

The Reconquista or the fall of al-Andalus is a term used to describe the military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Muslim kingdoms following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The beginning of the Reconquista is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga, in which an Asturian army achieved the first Christian victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the military invasion. Its culmination came in 1492 with the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faro, Portugal</span> Municipality in Algarve, Portugal

Faro is a municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 60,995 inhabitants in 2019, the municipality covers an area of about 202.57 km2 (78.21 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silves, Portugal</span> Municipality in Algarve, Portugal

Silves is a city and municipality in the Portuguese region of Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the entire municipality of Silves in 2011 was 37,126, in an area of 680.06 km2. The urbanized area of the city proper has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Silves is the former capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve (1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal (1139-1910), and is of great historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of the Algarve</span> 1249–1910 nominal kingdom in southern Portugal

The Kingdom of the Algarve, after 1471, Kingdom of the Algarves, was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal, located in the southernmost region of continental Portugal, until the end of the monarchy in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loulé</span> Municipality in Algarve, Portugal

Loulé is a city and municipality in the region of Algarve, district of Faro, Portugal. In 2011, the population of the entire municipality was 70,622 inhabitants, in an area of approximately 763.67 square kilometres (294.85 sq mi). The municipality has two principal cities: Loulé and Quarteira.

This is a timeline of notable events during the period of Muslim presence in Iberia, starting with the Umayyad conquest in the 8th century.

This is a historical timeline of Portugal.

This is a historical timeline of Portugal.

This is a historical timeline of Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gharb al-Andalus</span> 711–1249 region of southern Portugal under Muslim rule

Gharb al-Andalus, or just al-Gharb, was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal and part of West-central modern day Spain during their rule of the territory, from 711 to 1249. This period started with the fall of the Visigothic kingdom after Tariq ibn-Ziyad's invasion of Iberia and the establishment of the Umayyad control in the territory. The present day Algarve derives its name from this Arabic name. The region had a population of about 500,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvão</span> Municipality in Alentejo, Portugal

Marvão is a municipality in Portalegre District in Portugal. The population in 2020 was 2,972, in an area of 154.90 km2. The present Mayor is Luís Vitorino, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is September 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paio Peres Correia</span> Portuguese warrior

D. Paio Peres Correia was a Portuguese warrior who played an important role in the thirteenth-century Reconquista. He was born c. 1205, in Monte de Fralães, a civil parish in the municipality of Barcelos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald the Fearless</span> Portuguese warrior

Geraldo Geraldes or Gerald the Fearless, known in Portuguese as Geraldo Sem Pavor, was a Portuguese warrior and folk hero of the Reconquista whose theatre of operations was in the barren Alentejo and Extremadura regions of the lower Guadiana river. The city of Évora was the most lasting of his conquests and was never retaken. His success and independence have suggested parallels with the Castilian hero El Cid and Gerald has been called "the Cid of Portugal".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conquest of Santarém</span> 1147 event of the Portuguese Reconquista

The conquest of Santarém took place on 15 March 1147, when the troops of the Kingdom of Portugal under the leadership of Afonso I of Portugal captured the Taifa of Badajoz city of Santarém.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Alcácer do Sal</span> Part of the Fifth Crusade and the Reconquista (1217)

The siege of Alcácer do Sal lasted from 30 July to 18 October 1217. The well fortified city of Alcácer do Sal was a frontier outpost of the Almohad Caliphate facing Portugal. It was besieged by forces from Portugal, León, the military orders and the Fifth Crusade. The latter were led by Count William I of Holland. The expedition was the brainchild of Bishop Soeiro II of Lisbon, whose diocese was threatened by regular raids from Alcácer. King Afonso II of Portugal did not take part in person, but the city was incorporated into his kingdom after its capitulation. The crusaders who took part in the siege, mainly from the Rhineland and the Low Countries, did so without papal authorization and were afterwards ordered to continue on to the Holy Land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Coimbra (1117)</span>

The Siege of Coimbra of 1117 was a military engagement between the forces of the Almoravid dynasty and those of the County of Portugal in the city of Coimbra. In 1117, the Almoravids launched a campaign into the County of Portugal to attack the city of Coimbra and withdrew after failing to capture it.

The Portuguese conquest of the Algarve, the southern-most region in modern-day Portugal, occurred between 1238, when the castle of Estômbar was captured by the Order of Santiago, and 1249, when king Afonso III of Portugal captured Faro, Loulé, Aljezur, Porches and Albufeira.

Portugal in the <i>Reconquista</i>

Portuguese participation in the Reconquista occurred from the moment the County of Portugal was founded in 868 and continued for 381 years until the last cities still in Muslims control in the Algarve were captured in 1249.

References

  1. 1 2 Henrique David and José Augusto de Sotto Mayor Pizarro: A Conquista de Faro: O Reavivar de uma Questão in Revista de História issue 9, by Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica, p. 65.
  2. 1 2 3 Herculano, Alexandre (April 24, 1858). "Historia de Portugal". En casa de viuva Bertrand e filhos via Google Books.
  3. A. R. Disney: A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Volume 1, 2009, Cambridge University Press, p. 79.