Crusade of Barbastro

Crusade of Barbastro
Part of the Reconquista
Barbastro The location of Barbastro in today's Spain
Date August 1064 Location Al-Barbitanya, Emirate of Lārida; today's Barbastro, Spain Result Frankish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Aragon County of Urgell Duchy of Aquitaine Papal states	Emirate of Lārida
Commanders and leaders
Arnau Mir de Tost William VIII of Aquitaine Williame fitz Williame	Amir Yusuf al-Muzzaffar

The Crusade of Barbastro (also known as the Siege of Barbastro or War of Barbastro) was an international expedition, sanctioned by Pope Alexander II, to take the Spanish city of Barbastro, then part of the Hudid Emirate of Lārida. A large army composed of elements from all over Western Europe took part in the siege and conquest of the city (1064). The nature of the expedition, famously described by Ramón Menéndez Pidal as "a crusade before the crusades", is discussed in historiography, and the crusading element of the campaign is still a moot point.

Pope Alexander II first preached the Reconquista in 1063 as a "Christian emergency." It was also preached in Burgundy, probably with the permission or participation of Hugh of Cluny, where the abbot's brother, Thomas de Chalon, led the army. Certainly zeal for the crusade spread elsewhere in France, for Amatus of Montecassino notes that the "grand chivalry of the French and Burgundians and other peoples" (grant chevalerie de Francoiz et de Borguegnons et d'autre gent) was present at the siege. Thus, a large army was present at the siege when it began in 1064 primarily of Frenchmen and Burgundians, along with a papal contingent, made up mostly of Italo-Normans, as well as a local Spanish army made up of Catalans and Aragonese. Later, these Catalan and Aragonese]] soldiers would be disgusted by the infamous crimes committed by those Normans after the capture of the city. The leader of the papal contingent was a Norman by the name of William of Montreuil. The leader of the Spaniards was Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragón and Navarre, whose realm was greatly threatened by the Moors to the south. The largest component, the Aquitainian, was led by Duke William VIII of Aquitaine (known as Guy-Geoffrey), whom one historian calls the "Christian generalissimo". Though the makeup of this grand army has been subject to much dispute, that it contained a large force of Frankish knights is generally agreed upon.