Thorgalaeg
Deity
So, after seeing an uncomplete and shallow documental at the history channel about the Navas of Tolosa battle i had to write my own uncomplete and shallow article about this interesting and a bit Hollywoodish historical event. Lets go, and sorry for my mediocre English... 
After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, Muslim Spain was divided in a bunch of independent kingdoms called Taifas. This division weakened Al-Andalus greatly allowing the northern Christian kingdoms to conquer large territories in the central third of the Iberian Peninsula, including Toledo. Alfonso VI, King of Castilla and Leon also obliged to the remaining Taifas to pay a tribute.
Under this heavy pressure, Taifa Kingdoms begged for aid from a new powerful tribal confederation created in Northern Africa, the Almoravids. The Almoravids sent a huge army to the Iberian Peninsula and defeated the Christian kingdoms, seizing again the lands previously conquered by them. The Almoravids not only helped the Taifa kingdoms, in fact they annexed all the Taifas for his new huge empire. However few years after, the Almoravid empire suffered several defeats along all Spain and the Alomoravid state divided and disappeared again into a bunch of small independent Taifas.
This new division allowed new conquest by all the Christian Kings in Iberia, In 1139 Alfonso VII conquered the Tajo valley and the strategic Almoravid Fortress of Colmenar de Oreja. In next years were conquerd the city of Toledo (again), the fortress of Calatrava, Chinchilla, etc. In Aragon Berenguer IV conquered the Valley of the Ebro, Lerida, Fraga and Mequineza And in Portugal, Francisco I conquered Lisboa. In fact Christian Knights were able to waste all the Iberian peninsula along those years, taking cities as Almeria or Murcia, in Spanish southern Mediterranean coast. Razing Seville, Cordoba and other very important muslim capitals.
For the time however, a new Berber confederation, the Almohads had been able to defeat the weakened Almoravids. This new power was in fact built under a rabid fundamentalist and fanatic Islamic ideology with the idea of unifying the entire western Islamic world. Calling a Yihad against the Christians in general and the ones in the Iberian Peninsula particularly, a huge army was send to Gibraltar invading Southern half of the Peninsula in 1150, after receiving a petition of help from the Taifa of Seville, this time however with the opposition of some rulers of other Taifa Kingdoms. After invading and annexing most of the Taifa Kingdoms, the Almohads caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub transferred the capital from Marrakesh to Seville, clearly contrasting with the Almoravids here, whose center of power was always in Africa, Al-Andalus being a zone they had conquered “accidentally”.
The Almohads encountered and defeated the Christian armies of Alfonso VIII of Castille at Alarcos in 1195, just at the north of the Depeñaperros range which separates Andalusian lowlands of the Castillian plateau. The battle was hard and the Castillian army was anihilated by the huge Almohad army. However the charge of the Castillian heavy knights caused huge loses in the muslim side including his leader, the vizir Abu Yahya, so instead of continuing further north and conquer Toledo, the Muslims were only able to take some castles in his way to Toledo and then the Almohad caliph ordered a retreat to Seville to rebuild and reorganize his main army. However, fortunately for the Christians the Caliph died in 1198, so the Almohads were not prepared for a new encounter with the Christians until several years later, until 1211 when the new Caliph, Muhammad an-Nâsir, son of Abu Yusuf, crossed the Gibraltar Straight with a new and even huger army of about 150,000 men.
Facing this immediate and serious menace, Alfonso VIII decided to join a large army and call as much help as possible. He called help first from all his Castillian noblemen and villain knights, from his cousins the kings of Aragon, Leon, Navarra and Portugal, and finally from the pope Inocencio III, who called a new crusade against the moors in Spain.
Many noblemen and knights from all Europe mainly from France and northern Italy crossed the Pyrenees to join the army of Alfonso VIII. The rendez vouz was Toledo. There encountered in the day of Pentecost in May of 1212 a good bunch of European warriors, noblemen and other personalities: The grandmasters of knights of the military and religious orders of Calatrava, the Hospitalaries, Santiago and the Templars, the archbishop of Narbonne, main Abate of the Cister and papal legate, Arnaldo Amaury, the archbishop of Nantes, and finally Pedro II, King of Aragon, and Alfonso VIII himself.
It is important to note that Alfonso did not called the crusade only to attract forces from Europe, but to avoid possible invasions from Navarra and Leon into Castillian northern borders, taking adventage of Alfonso having all his army in the south. In fact Alfonso relations with his cousins in Navarra and Leon were all but good, being his main friend in the peninsule his other cousin Pedro II. To accomplish this, he requested of the pope immediate excommunication.for any Christian King who dared to attack Castille during the crusade.
The main forces joined at Toledo were mainly formed of Castillian heavy knights, lighter villain knights and infantry plus the troops of Aragon. There were also Leonese and Portuguese troops and numerous European crusaders called “ultramontanos” by the Spaniards. There were not troops from Navarra though.
Incidentally, along the days of the preparations at Toledo the fanatic “ultramontanos” whose idea of a crusade was to kill anybody not catholic, sacked the Jew district at Toledo and killed many Jews, fortunately further excesses could be avoided by the presence of Alfonso VIII troops.
Finally the 20 of June, the whole Christian army left Toledo. Four days later the army reached the first fortress under Muslim rule, Malagón. The fortress was quickly assaulted and captured thanks to a pact signed by the defenders and Alfonso, who acceded to respect the life of the Muslims. However right after the rendition, the ultramontanos entered into the castle and killed every Muslim they encountered there.
After Malagón the next Muslim strong point was the important fortress of Calatrava, which gives the name to the knights order. The castle was assaulted along several days and conquered partially. Alfonso made another rendition pact with the defenders, but this time he allowed them to escape during the night to avoid further massacres by the “ultramontanos” who felt betrayed by the Castillian King, and who, imbued with the idea of the savage crusades in orient, were unable to comprehend the way the war with the Muslim was normally made in the Iberian Peninsula. So all the “ultramontanos” (about the 20-30% of the whole army) left the crusade and returned to his countries. Many of them however tried to take the defenseless city of Toledo in his way, to take revenge of Alfonso and specially to massacre the numerous Jews there. However the people of Toledo (mostly women and men too old to be in Alfonso´s army) closed the city doors and crusaders desisted of taking the city, however they sacked every other Jew district (and even some Christian ones) in any town they encountered in his way to home.
However, after such bad news for Alfonso, there was some unexpected goods news. While the exhausted army was resting in the ruins of Calatrava, Alfonso´s former enemy, his uncle Sancho of Navarra, joined personally to the army of the Castillian king with 200 elite heavy knights. While not very important since a practical point of view it was a strong moral injection.
So, Alfonso continued his way to the south with his remaining army (around 50,000 men). The 5 and 6 of July they conquered the castles of Piedrabuena, Benavente, and above all Alarcos where he had been defeated some years before. Then after taking the castle of the Ferral the day 13, the Christian army reached the mountains of Despeñaperros, the last barrier before Andalusia. The Almohads army was stationed there, waiting for the Christians at the mountain passage of La Losa the only known passage to Andalusia in that region. Alfonso knew that he had not a chance of attacking the Muslim army (about 120000 men) awaiting him there. With not more ideas in his mind and with his men almost starving due to the lack of supplies after a so long campaign, Alfonso´s time was almost over. Luck however was this time in his side, and tha same day, his explorers leaded by Don Diego López de Haro encountered, according to the chronicles, a shepherd who informed them about another possible passage through the mountains, currently known as the Puerto de el Rey (passage of the King). Alfonso quickly took all his army through this new way, and the 15 of July both armies were confronted without any natural obstacle between them at a high plain later called La Mesa del Rey at a place lost among mountains known as Las Navas de Tolosa.
The idea of the Almohads was to combat immediately to negate any resting time to the Christian army so they changed quickly his formation and for the next day, the 16 of July, both armies were in formation for the imminent battle royal. In the Crhistian side, the central nucleus was formed by Castillian troops leaded by Alfonso VIII, at his left there were the troops from Aragon leaded by Pedro II, and at his right Castillian, Leonese, and Portuguesse troops leaded by Sancho of Navarra with his knights. The first central line was formed by the best Castillian knights commanded by don Diego Lopez de Haro, supported by the Knights of Calatrava, Santiago, the Hospitalary and the Templars. After them there were the Kings and in the last line after the infantry the Archbishops of Toledo, Nantes and Narbonne (yep they too).
The muslim side was formed in first line for light troops mostly fanatics known as "imesebelen", then, at the center, a group of Andalusi knights and infantry, and after them the much more numerous Almohads, mostly light cavalry, infantry and specially bowmen, many of them the famous Turks Azgaz. Finally on the top of the a hill called “Cerro of los Olivares” Al-Nasir installed his own huge red tent.
Alfonso knew, as Alarcos battle showed, that his heavy cavalry was almost unstoppable, but also knew that the wings of his army mostly formed by light infantry could be easily defeated by the most numerous and quick muslim soldiers with abundant light cavalry who could then surround the heavy knights, which had already lost his impetu, defeating them, as Alarcos also showed. So the decided to mix heavy professional knight with less prepared light troops.
In fact the battle started as the muslim expected. The Christian first line of heavy knights commaded by Diego Lopez de Haro and the Knights of the religious military orders, charged deeply into the muslim army until the third Almohad defensive line, while the Christian light troops supporting them were defeated and began to retire, leaving the knights in peril of being encircled.
Alfonso, Pedro and Sancho however were observing the battle and were expecting that moment. Seeing the desperate situtation of Don Diego, Alfonso considered that the decisive momet had arrived, it is said that speaking to the Archbishop of Toledo Alfonso said "Arzobispo, vos y yo aquí muramos", and all them, the clerics and the three kings, charged themselves with all the remaining knights through the hole already opened by don Diego in the muslim lines, arriving at time and with all his impetus intact at the last defensive line of the Almohads, breaking it and reaching the tent of the Caliph itself. According to the original sources, Al-Nasir had chained many Christian prisoners around his tent, so they could work as some sort of human-shields. However some knights from Navarra cut the chains capturing the muslim command center. (today you can see a circle of chains in the flag of Navarra).
After that the Muslims disbanded and were persecuted mercilessly by the Christians. It is estimated that about 100,000 Muslim died that day at las Navas against only 3000-5000 Christians. Al –Nasir however managed to escape, although he was so impacted by the defeat that he left the throne to his son the next year. After him the Almohads declined and disappeared quickly.
After the victory the Christian army had the door to the large and rich Andalusia totally opened. However an epidemic of dysentery obliged them to return to Castille, with loads of glory and booty, and the conquest of Andalusia was delayed 10 years more, being realized at 1220-1250, mostly by his nephew Fernando III the Saint. However Alfonso VIII was so happy that made peace with Navarra and Leon and even pardoned them some castles they had eventually taken to Castille, taking adventage of the situation.
After the Navas de Tolosa, the Mulsim rule over Iberia was practically over. In the next years all Spain was finally conquered by the Christian, excepting Granada of course. It is also interesting to note that it was a direct confrontation of the concepts of Yihad versus Crusade.
After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, Muslim Spain was divided in a bunch of independent kingdoms called Taifas. This division weakened Al-Andalus greatly allowing the northern Christian kingdoms to conquer large territories in the central third of the Iberian Peninsula, including Toledo. Alfonso VI, King of Castilla and Leon also obliged to the remaining Taifas to pay a tribute.
Under this heavy pressure, Taifa Kingdoms begged for aid from a new powerful tribal confederation created in Northern Africa, the Almoravids. The Almoravids sent a huge army to the Iberian Peninsula and defeated the Christian kingdoms, seizing again the lands previously conquered by them. The Almoravids not only helped the Taifa kingdoms, in fact they annexed all the Taifas for his new huge empire. However few years after, the Almoravid empire suffered several defeats along all Spain and the Alomoravid state divided and disappeared again into a bunch of small independent Taifas.
This new division allowed new conquest by all the Christian Kings in Iberia, In 1139 Alfonso VII conquered the Tajo valley and the strategic Almoravid Fortress of Colmenar de Oreja. In next years were conquerd the city of Toledo (again), the fortress of Calatrava, Chinchilla, etc. In Aragon Berenguer IV conquered the Valley of the Ebro, Lerida, Fraga and Mequineza And in Portugal, Francisco I conquered Lisboa. In fact Christian Knights were able to waste all the Iberian peninsula along those years, taking cities as Almeria or Murcia, in Spanish southern Mediterranean coast. Razing Seville, Cordoba and other very important muslim capitals.
For the time however, a new Berber confederation, the Almohads had been able to defeat the weakened Almoravids. This new power was in fact built under a rabid fundamentalist and fanatic Islamic ideology with the idea of unifying the entire western Islamic world. Calling a Yihad against the Christians in general and the ones in the Iberian Peninsula particularly, a huge army was send to Gibraltar invading Southern half of the Peninsula in 1150, after receiving a petition of help from the Taifa of Seville, this time however with the opposition of some rulers of other Taifa Kingdoms. After invading and annexing most of the Taifa Kingdoms, the Almohads caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub transferred the capital from Marrakesh to Seville, clearly contrasting with the Almoravids here, whose center of power was always in Africa, Al-Andalus being a zone they had conquered “accidentally”.
The Almohads encountered and defeated the Christian armies of Alfonso VIII of Castille at Alarcos in 1195, just at the north of the Depeñaperros range which separates Andalusian lowlands of the Castillian plateau. The battle was hard and the Castillian army was anihilated by the huge Almohad army. However the charge of the Castillian heavy knights caused huge loses in the muslim side including his leader, the vizir Abu Yahya, so instead of continuing further north and conquer Toledo, the Muslims were only able to take some castles in his way to Toledo and then the Almohad caliph ordered a retreat to Seville to rebuild and reorganize his main army. However, fortunately for the Christians the Caliph died in 1198, so the Almohads were not prepared for a new encounter with the Christians until several years later, until 1211 when the new Caliph, Muhammad an-Nâsir, son of Abu Yusuf, crossed the Gibraltar Straight with a new and even huger army of about 150,000 men.
Facing this immediate and serious menace, Alfonso VIII decided to join a large army and call as much help as possible. He called help first from all his Castillian noblemen and villain knights, from his cousins the kings of Aragon, Leon, Navarra and Portugal, and finally from the pope Inocencio III, who called a new crusade against the moors in Spain.
Many noblemen and knights from all Europe mainly from France and northern Italy crossed the Pyrenees to join the army of Alfonso VIII. The rendez vouz was Toledo. There encountered in the day of Pentecost in May of 1212 a good bunch of European warriors, noblemen and other personalities: The grandmasters of knights of the military and religious orders of Calatrava, the Hospitalaries, Santiago and the Templars, the archbishop of Narbonne, main Abate of the Cister and papal legate, Arnaldo Amaury, the archbishop of Nantes, and finally Pedro II, King of Aragon, and Alfonso VIII himself.
It is important to note that Alfonso did not called the crusade only to attract forces from Europe, but to avoid possible invasions from Navarra and Leon into Castillian northern borders, taking adventage of Alfonso having all his army in the south. In fact Alfonso relations with his cousins in Navarra and Leon were all but good, being his main friend in the peninsule his other cousin Pedro II. To accomplish this, he requested of the pope immediate excommunication.for any Christian King who dared to attack Castille during the crusade.
The main forces joined at Toledo were mainly formed of Castillian heavy knights, lighter villain knights and infantry plus the troops of Aragon. There were also Leonese and Portuguese troops and numerous European crusaders called “ultramontanos” by the Spaniards. There were not troops from Navarra though.
Incidentally, along the days of the preparations at Toledo the fanatic “ultramontanos” whose idea of a crusade was to kill anybody not catholic, sacked the Jew district at Toledo and killed many Jews, fortunately further excesses could be avoided by the presence of Alfonso VIII troops.
Finally the 20 of June, the whole Christian army left Toledo. Four days later the army reached the first fortress under Muslim rule, Malagón. The fortress was quickly assaulted and captured thanks to a pact signed by the defenders and Alfonso, who acceded to respect the life of the Muslims. However right after the rendition, the ultramontanos entered into the castle and killed every Muslim they encountered there.
After Malagón the next Muslim strong point was the important fortress of Calatrava, which gives the name to the knights order. The castle was assaulted along several days and conquered partially. Alfonso made another rendition pact with the defenders, but this time he allowed them to escape during the night to avoid further massacres by the “ultramontanos” who felt betrayed by the Castillian King, and who, imbued with the idea of the savage crusades in orient, were unable to comprehend the way the war with the Muslim was normally made in the Iberian Peninsula. So all the “ultramontanos” (about the 20-30% of the whole army) left the crusade and returned to his countries. Many of them however tried to take the defenseless city of Toledo in his way, to take revenge of Alfonso and specially to massacre the numerous Jews there. However the people of Toledo (mostly women and men too old to be in Alfonso´s army) closed the city doors and crusaders desisted of taking the city, however they sacked every other Jew district (and even some Christian ones) in any town they encountered in his way to home.
However, after such bad news for Alfonso, there was some unexpected goods news. While the exhausted army was resting in the ruins of Calatrava, Alfonso´s former enemy, his uncle Sancho of Navarra, joined personally to the army of the Castillian king with 200 elite heavy knights. While not very important since a practical point of view it was a strong moral injection.
So, Alfonso continued his way to the south with his remaining army (around 50,000 men). The 5 and 6 of July they conquered the castles of Piedrabuena, Benavente, and above all Alarcos where he had been defeated some years before. Then after taking the castle of the Ferral the day 13, the Christian army reached the mountains of Despeñaperros, the last barrier before Andalusia. The Almohads army was stationed there, waiting for the Christians at the mountain passage of La Losa the only known passage to Andalusia in that region. Alfonso knew that he had not a chance of attacking the Muslim army (about 120000 men) awaiting him there. With not more ideas in his mind and with his men almost starving due to the lack of supplies after a so long campaign, Alfonso´s time was almost over. Luck however was this time in his side, and tha same day, his explorers leaded by Don Diego López de Haro encountered, according to the chronicles, a shepherd who informed them about another possible passage through the mountains, currently known as the Puerto de el Rey (passage of the King). Alfonso quickly took all his army through this new way, and the 15 of July both armies were confronted without any natural obstacle between them at a high plain later called La Mesa del Rey at a place lost among mountains known as Las Navas de Tolosa.
The idea of the Almohads was to combat immediately to negate any resting time to the Christian army so they changed quickly his formation and for the next day, the 16 of July, both armies were in formation for the imminent battle royal. In the Crhistian side, the central nucleus was formed by Castillian troops leaded by Alfonso VIII, at his left there were the troops from Aragon leaded by Pedro II, and at his right Castillian, Leonese, and Portuguesse troops leaded by Sancho of Navarra with his knights. The first central line was formed by the best Castillian knights commanded by don Diego Lopez de Haro, supported by the Knights of Calatrava, Santiago, the Hospitalary and the Templars. After them there were the Kings and in the last line after the infantry the Archbishops of Toledo, Nantes and Narbonne (yep they too).
The muslim side was formed in first line for light troops mostly fanatics known as "imesebelen", then, at the center, a group of Andalusi knights and infantry, and after them the much more numerous Almohads, mostly light cavalry, infantry and specially bowmen, many of them the famous Turks Azgaz. Finally on the top of the a hill called “Cerro of los Olivares” Al-Nasir installed his own huge red tent.
Alfonso knew, as Alarcos battle showed, that his heavy cavalry was almost unstoppable, but also knew that the wings of his army mostly formed by light infantry could be easily defeated by the most numerous and quick muslim soldiers with abundant light cavalry who could then surround the heavy knights, which had already lost his impetu, defeating them, as Alarcos also showed. So the decided to mix heavy professional knight with less prepared light troops.
In fact the battle started as the muslim expected. The Christian first line of heavy knights commaded by Diego Lopez de Haro and the Knights of the religious military orders, charged deeply into the muslim army until the third Almohad defensive line, while the Christian light troops supporting them were defeated and began to retire, leaving the knights in peril of being encircled.
Alfonso, Pedro and Sancho however were observing the battle and were expecting that moment. Seeing the desperate situtation of Don Diego, Alfonso considered that the decisive momet had arrived, it is said that speaking to the Archbishop of Toledo Alfonso said "Arzobispo, vos y yo aquí muramos", and all them, the clerics and the three kings, charged themselves with all the remaining knights through the hole already opened by don Diego in the muslim lines, arriving at time and with all his impetus intact at the last defensive line of the Almohads, breaking it and reaching the tent of the Caliph itself. According to the original sources, Al-Nasir had chained many Christian prisoners around his tent, so they could work as some sort of human-shields. However some knights from Navarra cut the chains capturing the muslim command center. (today you can see a circle of chains in the flag of Navarra).
After that the Muslims disbanded and were persecuted mercilessly by the Christians. It is estimated that about 100,000 Muslim died that day at las Navas against only 3000-5000 Christians. Al –Nasir however managed to escape, although he was so impacted by the defeat that he left the throne to his son the next year. After him the Almohads declined and disappeared quickly.
After the victory the Christian army had the door to the large and rich Andalusia totally opened. However an epidemic of dysentery obliged them to return to Castille, with loads of glory and booty, and the conquest of Andalusia was delayed 10 years more, being realized at 1220-1250, mostly by his nephew Fernando III the Saint. However Alfonso VIII was so happy that made peace with Navarra and Leon and even pardoned them some castles they had eventually taken to Castille, taking adventage of the situation.
After the Navas de Tolosa, the Mulsim rule over Iberia was practically over. In the next years all Spain was finally conquered by the Christian, excepting Granada of course. It is also interesting to note that it was a direct confrontation of the concepts of Yihad versus Crusade.
