The Almoravid expedition to Catalonia in 1114 was led by Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and Muhammad ibn Aisha, the Almoravid governors of Zaragoza and Valencia respectively, against the Catalan counties. The Almoravid forces ravaged Catalan territory but were surprised in an ambush and defeated.
Background
Following the fall of Valencia in 1102,[1] the Almoravid dynasty began to expand into the Upper March,[2] conquering Zaragoza, the last taifa in the Iberian Peninsula,[3] in 1110.[4]
Three years later, in 1113, the Catalan counties together with the republic of Pisa and the county of Provence began an expedition against the Balearic Islands.[5] The Taifa of Mallorca asked the Almoravids for help, who sent reinforcements to the islands.[6] Taking advantage of the fact that a large part of the armies of the Catalan counties were outside the peninsula, the governors of Zaragoza and Valencia, Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and Muhammad ibn Aisha, began an expedition to Catalan territory.[7][8]
Expedition
The Almoravid forces penetrated through Lleida, the Pla d'Urgell and Segarra.[8] They attacked the Bages and caused great damage to the Monastery of Sant Benet de Bages, which would be restored three years later.[9] An Almoravid army from the Balearic Islands landed at the mouth of the Besòs River and attacked Sant Adrià de Besòs and Sant Andreu de Palomar.[10]
They had captured a large loot. However, while they were returning through the plain of Barcelona,[11] they were ambushed in a ravine near Martorell by the combined armies of the counties of Barcelona, Urgell and Cerdanya,[8] killing Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and most of their army.[11] The remaining Almoravid army was pursued along the coast of Salou.[12] Although Muhammad ibn Aisha managed to escape, he was seriously injured, which caused his death shortly after.[7]
Aftermath
One year later, in 1115, the Almoravids laid siege to Barcelona.[13] However, after 20 days, Catalan reinforcements commanded by Ramon Berenguer III arrived and forced them to lift the siege.[7] That same year, the Christians managed to conquer the Balearic Islands[14] but they were reconquered again by the Almoravids some months later.[7][15]
References
- ^ Findlay & Lundahl 2016, p. 50.
- ^ Lomax 1978, p. 83.
- ^ Catlos 2014, p. 31.
- ^ Guichard 2001, p. 95.
- ^ Ellis 2002, p. 19.
- ^ Doxey 1996, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Manjunath.R 2021, p. 1709.
- ^ a b c Ferrer i Mallol & Riu i Riu 2018, p. 145.
- ^ Pladevall 1970, p. 38.
- ^ Seminario de Investigación 1964, p. 70.
- ^ a b Sanjuán 2022.
- ^ Font i Rius 1983, p. 100.
- ^ Curta 2016, p. 495.
- ^ Steinberg 1986, p. 38.
- ^ Syed, Akhtar & Usmani 2011, p. 119.
Bibliography
- Manjunath.R (3 July 2021). Timelines of Nearly Everything.
- Findlay, Ronald; Lundahl, Mats (16 November 2016). The Economics of the Frontier: Conquest and Settlement. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-60237-4.
- Lomax, Derek W. (1978). The Reconquest of Spain. Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-50209-3.
- Guichard, Pierre (2001). Al-Andalus frente a la conquista cristiana: Los musulmanes de Valencia, siglos XI-XIII (in Spanish). Universitat de València. ISBN 978-84-7030-852-9.
- Catlos, Brian A. (20 March 2014). Muslims of Medieval Latin Christendom, c.1050–1614. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88939-1.
- Ellis, Steven (2002). Empires and States in European Perspective. Edizioni Plus, Università di Pisa. ISBN 978-88-8492-046-1.
- Doxey, Gary B. (1996). Norwegian Crusaders and the Balearic Islands. University of Illinois Press.
- Ferrer i Mallol, M. Teresa; Riu i Riu, Manuel (31 August 2018). Tractats i negociacions diplomàtiques de Catalunya i de la Corona catalanoaragonesa a l'edat mitjana: 1.2. Tractats i negociacions diplomàtiques amb els regnes peninsulars i l'Àndalus (Segle XI-1213) (in Catalan). Institut d'Estudis Catalans. ISBN 978-84-9965-418-8.
- Pladevall, Antoni (1970). eLS monestirs catalans (in Catalan).
- Cuadernos de arqueología e historia de la Ciudad (in Spanish). Seminario de Investigación. 1964.
- Sanjuán, Alejandro García (2022). "Muhammad b. 'A'isa". Real Academia de la Historia (in Spanish).
- Font i Rius, Josep Maria (1983). Cartas de población y franquicia de Cataluña (in Spanish). Editorial CSIC - CSIC Press. ISBN 978-84-00-05316-1.
- Curta, Florin (28 November 2016). Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-61069-566-4.
- Steinberg, S. H. (20 October 1986). Historical Tables: 58 BC–AD 1985. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-08585-9.
- Syed, Muzaffar Husain; Akhtar, Syed Saud; Usmani, B. D. (14 September 2011). Concise History of Islam. Vij Books India Pvt. ISBN 978-93-82573-47-0.
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