Battle of Alarcos

Part of the Reconquista

Date	July 18, 1195
Location	Alarcos, Ciudad Real province 38°57′10″N 4°0′0″W / 38.95278°N 4.00000°W / 38.95278; -4.00000Coordinates: 38°57′10″N 4°0′0″W / 38.95278°N 4.00000°W / 38.95278; -4.00000
Result	Decisive Almohad victory

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Alfonso VIII of Castile
Diego López de Haro

Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur
Pedro Fernández de Castro

Strength

Order of Évora
Order of Santiago

Marinid volunteers
Zenata Archers
Hintata
Andalusian Forces

Casualties and losses

~30 000 (Al-Himyari)

unknown

Battle of Alarcos (July 18, 1195), was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the defeat of the Castilian forces and their subsequent retreat to Toledo whereas the Almohads conquered back Trujillo, Montánchez and Talavera.

In 1189 the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur returned from Marrakesh to fight the Portuguese who, with the help of a Christian alliance, had taken over Silves. He successfully recaptured the city and went back to his capital.

An armistice between the Almohads on the Christian kings of Castile and León ensued. At the expiration of the truce, and having received news that Yaqub was gravely ill in Marrakesh and that his brother Abu Yahya the governor of Al-Andalus crossed the Mediterranean to declare himself King and take over Marrakesh, Alfonso VIII of Castile decided to attack the region of Seville in 1194. A strong host under the archbishop of Toledo Martín López de Pisuerga), which included the military Order of Calatrava, ransacked the province. Having successfully crushed his brother's ambitions, Yaqub al-Mansur was left with no choice other than to lead an expedition against the Christians, who were now threatening the northern province of his empire.

On the first day of June, 1195, he landed at Tarifa. Passing through the province of Seville, the main Almohad army reached Cordova on June 30, reinforced by the few troops raised by the local governors and by a Christian cavalry contingent under Pedro Fernández de Castro, who held a personal feud against the Castilian king. On July 4 Ya'qub moved out of Cordova; his army crossed the pass of Muradal (Despeñaperros) and advanced through the plain of Salvatierra. A cavalry detachment of the Order of Calatrava, plus some knights from nearby castles, tried to gather news about the Almohad strength and its heading; they were surrounded by Muslim scouts and almost exterminated, but managed to supply information to the Castilian king.

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Wikipedia