The Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr (2 June 1010) was a battle of the Fitna of al-Andalus that took place in the area in and around

Espiel Espiel is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Nacional de Estadístic ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The battle took place between the forces of the

Caliphate of Cordoba A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, whose forces were commanded by

Sulayman ibn al-Hakam Sulayman ibn al-Hakam or Sulayman al-Musta'in bi-llah ( ar, سلیمان المستعین باللہ; died 1016) was the fifth Caliph of Córdoba, ruling from 1009 to 1010, and from 1013 to 1016 in Al-Andalus. In 1009, after Muhammad II ibn Hi ...

, and the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

rebel forces of the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Andalusian Andalusia is a region in Spain. Andalusian may also refer to: Animals *Andalusian chicken, a type of chicken *Andalusian donkey, breed of donkey *Andalusian hemipode, a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds *Andalusian horse, a breed of ho ...

alliance trying to overthrow their Caliph overlords under the command of Muhammad ibn Hisham;

Wadih al-Siqlabi Wāḍiḥ al-Ṣiqlabī (; died November 1011) was a Slavs, Slav general of the late Umayyad dynasty, Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. He served as governor of the Central March, Middle March and as the ''ḥājib'', effectively prime minister, of t ...

, governor of al-Tagr al-Awsat; and several

West Frankish In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

counts and bishops, including

Ermengol I of Urgell Ermengol (or Armengol) I (974–1010), called ''el de Córdoba'', was the Count of Urgell from 992 to his death. He was the second son of Borrell II of Barcelona and his first wife, Letgarda. He was the second of the counts of Urgell and famous ma ...

Hugh I of Empúries Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, and Ramon Borrell of Barcelona. The two armies met at Espiel on 2 June 1010 and the forces of the Caliphate of Cordoba were decisively routed, marking one of the first battles of the war and a significant gain for the rebel

alliance. Although this battle took place in the general time frame of the Spanish

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

, it was not unusual for Christian and Muslim forces to join together to achieve common goals.

References

* The information in this article is translated from its Spanish equivalent. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Aqbat al-Bakr Aqbat al-Bakr Aqbat al-Bakr Aqbat al-Bakr Aqbat al-Bakr 11th century in Al-Andalus 1010 in Europe Aqbat al-Bakr History of the province of Córdoba, Spain