Battle of Alarcos

Covadonga - Valdejunquera - Simancas - Grey - Zallaqa - Ucles - Fraga - Ourique - Lisbon - Alarcos - Las Navas de Tolosa - Córdoba - Jerez - Teba - Salado - La Higueruela - Granada

On July 19, 1195 defeated at the Battle of Alarcos the Almohads under Yaqub al - Mansur, together with the Marinids the Christian army of Castile under Alfonso the Noble.

Prehistory

1190 had the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al - Mansur the Christian kings of Castile and Leon imposed a cease-fire, after he had repelled their attacks on Muslim territory in Spain. At the expiration of the armistice in 1194, Alfonso VIII fell again in al -Andalus, while Yaqub stayed just in his North African capital of Marrakech. Yaqub then hurriedly rushed back to Spain, where he along the Guadiana River on a hill near the castle Alarcos (Arabic: al - Arak ) met near the present city of Ciudad Real of the Christian army.

The Battle

The battle began with the attack of the Castilians, who succeeded first to surprise the Muslim vanguard. However, Alfons had apparently underestimated the size of the Muslim army. Yaqubs light cavalry covered the flanks of the Christian army, overwhelmed the rear guard and fell to the Christians in the back. This tactic met the Castilians totally unprepared and led to the complete defeat.

Alfons and the remnants of his army fled to Toledo and Alarcos while Yaqub returned to Seville.

Follow

In the following years, Alfonso VIII presented, although the King of Aragon supported him not to fight against Yaqub al - Mansur, during this plundering through his estates moved.

However, the battle was the last major victory of the Arabs in the Iberian Peninsula, which the Reconquista could not stop. 1212 won Alfonso VIII at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa on the Almohads, after which their empire collapsed.