The Battle of Alhandic ( es, Batalla de Alhandic, link=no), also known as Zamora's trench Battle (), was a battle that occurred on 5 August 939 in the city of

Zamora, Spain Zamora () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital of the province of Zamora. The city straddles the Duero river. With its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the ...

. The battle occurred when the troops of

Abd-ar-Rahman III ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil () or ʿAbd al-Rahmān III (890 - 961), was the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba from 912 to 92 ...

assaulted the walls of Zamora. The defending troops were those loyal to Ramiro II, King of León. The fighting was so bloody that the tide of the battle did not turn until the

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

surrounding the city walls was entirely filled with corpses. The troops of Aberraman III won the day and were able to seize the city of Zamora. This battle should not be confused with the

Day of Zamora The Day of Zamora ( es, Día de Zamora), also known as ''Jornada del Foso de Zamora'' ("Zamora's trench oatDay"), was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista that took place at the city of Zamora, Spain The battle was fought between the forces of ...

( or ) which took place a few decades before in the year 901.

History

Once

came to power, he was quick to assert his power and made it his goal to finish the rebels in

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

. He wanted to consolidate his power base and reestablish the internal order of the

Emirate of Córdoba The Emirate of Córdoba ( ar, إمارة قرطبة, ) was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. Its founding in the mid-eighth century would mark the beginning of seven hundred years of Muslim rule in what is now Spain and Port ...

. He decided to go to the border and attack the cities that acted as a protective buffer against the Asturian / Leonese lands to the north. It was on this defensive line that he came upon Zamora. The city was strategically important because it was squarely in the path of march typically used by the Leonese troops. Abderraman attacked the city on 5 August 939. His strategy was to fill the pit, or moat around the city with bodies and debris so that his men could more easily climb the parapets and thus engage the defending soldiers directly. This bloodthirsty strategy lends its name to the battle which is sometimes known as the ''Batalla del Foso de Zamora'' (Zamora's trench

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

Battle). The final result was a victory for the troops of Abderramán III who sacked the city of Zamora. However, the troops of Abderraman were defeated by

Ramiro II of León Ramiro II (c. 900 – 1 January 951), son of Ordoño II and Elvira Menendez, was a King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of the kingdom, he gained the crown of León (and with it, Galicia) after s ...

in the

Battle of Simancas The Battle of Simancas (also called Alhandega or al-Khandaq) was a military battle that started on 19 July 939 in the Iberian Peninsula between the troops of the King of León Ramiro II and Cordovan caliph Abd al-Rahman III near the walls of ...

in July the same year, 939.

References

{{Reflist Alhandic 10th century in the Kingdom of León Alhandic 939 Alhandic Alhandic Alhandic History of the province of Zamora

History

See also

References