Siege of Albarracín (1284)

Siege of Albarracín
Part of the War of the Castilian Succession (1284-90)
View of the city of Albarracín.
Date April–September, 1284 Location Albarracín, Spain Result Victory for the Kingdom of Aragon, incorporation of Albarracín into the Kingdom of Aragon.
Belligerents
Kingdom of Aragón	House of Lara
Commanders and leaders
Peter III of Aragon	Juan Núñez I de Lara
Strength
	200 Knights

The Siege of Albarracín was a battle fought during the reign of Peter III of Aragon, King of Aragón from the months of April to September 1284. Albarracín, which had for some time belonged to Juan Núñez I de Lara, the head of the House of Lara, was besieged by an Aragonese force. The siege resulted in the successful taking of the city by Aragonese forces after which, Peter III handed gifted the city to his illegitimate son, Ferdinand of Aragón.

Albarracín was a Señorío of Muslim origin that formed part of the Muslim Kingdom of Valencia. The Señorío was formed when a Navarese noble from the House of Azagra militarily helped the Valencian kingdom. The Señorío de Albarracín was granted to this noble who repopulated the city with people from Navarre. After the conquest of Valencia by James I of Aragon, the territory was left in a legal vacuum. The local nobility, taking advantage of the questionable legal status, declared their independence (de facto) from both Valencia and Aragon.

After the death of the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda, the eldest son of Alfonso X of Castile, the forces of the infante Sancho and those of Alfonso de la Cerda, the began a period of war for succession to the throne of the Kingdom of Castile. The contemporary lord or Señor de Albarracín was Juan I Núñez de Lara. In 1284, he was supporting the claim of the Infantes de la Cerda (although his allegiance would shift various times) and along with them, he had forged an alliance with the Kingdom of Navarre and the Kingdom of France, the alliance stipulated in the Treaty of Ágreda of 1281.

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