The Battle of Badajoz was a military engagement between the Almoravids and the raiding party from Castile. The Castilians were soundly defeated.
Battle
The nobles of Salamanca, motivated by the victory of Rodrigo González de Lara over the Almoravids at the battle of al-Sharafe,[a] made the decision to raid the area around Badajoz.[1] They raised a sizable army with thousands of soldiers, including champions from Castile. As soon as they arrived, they started destroying everything, carrying out massacres, and capturing livestock and people.[2][3][4] When Tasfin bin Ali, the governor of Cordoba, learned of the raid, he organized his army to confront them.[5][6][7]
After leaving Seville, Tashfin sent his scouts to find the enemy and pursued them; they eventually met the Castilians east of Badajoz, close to the Sagrajas hills, where Tashfin's grandfather had defeated the Castilians. Tashfin started organizing his troops; he had Zenata berbers in the front, Andalusian forces on the flanks, and Almoravid troops in the center.[8][9]
Many of the nobility made the decision to flee the battlefield the night before the fight. The fight started early the following day. Following a fierce battle, the Castilians were soundly defeated. Only a small number of the Castilians survived the massacre.[10] The Almoravids took control of the Castilian camp, liberated the prisoners,[b] and took the previously taken loot.[11][12] March 1134 was the month of the battle.[13]
Aftermath
Tashfin returned to Cordoba victorious, then to Granada, where he was well received.[14][15] The Castilians attempted to raid Badajoz in October and June 1136, but both were defeated.[16]
Notes
- ^[a] al-Sharafe is located to the west of Seville.[17]
- ^[b] The Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris claims that all prisoners were executed before the battle happened.[18]
References
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 215–6.
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 216
- ^ Muhammad Abdullah Enan, p. 136
- ^ Ibn 'Idhari, p. 73
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 216
- ^ Muhammad Abdullah Enan, p. 136
- ^ Ibn 'Idhari, p. 73
- ^ Muhammad Abdullah Enan, p. 136
- ^ Ibn 'Idhari, p. 74
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 216-7
- ^ Muhammad Abdullah Enan, p. 138
- ^ Ibn 'Idhari, p. 74
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 217
- ^ Muhammad Abdullah Enan, p. 138
- ^ Ibn 'Idhari, p. 74
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 217
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 215
- ^ Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, p. 216
Sources
- Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, The World of El Cid, Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest.[1]
- Muhammad Abdullah Enan, The State of Islam in Andalusia, Vol. III: The Era of Almoravids and Almohads, Part 1.[2]
- Ibn 'Idhari, Al-Bayan al-Mughrib, Vol III.[3]