The Crusade of Tedelis was a major conflict within the overarching struggle between the
Crown of Aragon and the
Kingdom of Tlemcen
The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijilm ...
in the late 14th century.
Background
In 1398, as a result of the ,
[Martínez Romero, Tomàs. ''La cultura catalana en projecció de futur: homenatge a Josep Massot i Muntaner''. Universitat Jaume I, 2004, p.219. .] in which Tlmeceni pirates captured the consecrated host
[Insa Montava, Josep. ''La Costa Daurada arran de mar''. Cossetània Edicions, 2006, p. 90. .] and 108 prisoners,
[Sanchis, Antonio. ''Historia del Grau''. Carena Editors, 2005, p. 45. .] King
Martin of Aragon
Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...
ordered a retaliatory attack on
Dellys also known as Tedelis, chartering a fleet led by Joan Gascó
[''Jornades sobre el Cisma d'Occident a Catalunya, les Illes i el País Valencià''. Institut d'Estudis Catalans, 1986, p. 67. .] and an army led by Jaume de Pertusa.
The Crusade
The fleet gathered in
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
, amassing a total force of 70 ships and 7,500 crusaders.
The fleet set sail in August 1398, and successfully reached
Dellys, which was sacked, killing around 1,000 villagers.
After attacking the North African Coast, the expedition then headed towards
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
to try to relive
Pope Benedict XIII from a siege led by
Geoffrey Boucicaut
Geoffrey Boucicaut, was the brother of the illustrious marshal of France Jean le Maingre. He and his army occupied Avignon in 1398 and started a five-year siege of the Palais des Papes where the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII was, which ended when Bene ...
who was opposed to the Avignon Pope.
[Waugh, William Templeton. ''A History of Europe From 1378 to 1494''. Methuen & co, 1932, p. 138.] However, the fleet could not cross the
Rhône due to low water levels and directly provide aid, though they did manage to grant a three-month truce for the besieged.
Aftermath
King Martin managed to negotiate the release of the captured Aragonese in exchange for releasing 300 Tlmeceni prisoners captured during the raid on Tedelis.
The following year, Martin ordered a repeat of the campaign, this time,
directed at Bona.
References
14th-century crusades
Western Schism
14th century in Aragon
Zayyanid dynasty
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