The siege of Seville (July 1247 – November 1248) was a 16-month successful

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

during the ''

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 ...

'' of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

by forces of

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of ...

. Although perhaps eclipsed in geopolitical importance by the rapid capture of Córdoba in 1236, which sent a shockwave through the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

, the siege of Seville was nonetheless the most complex military operation undertaken by Fernando III. It is also the last major operation of the Early Reconquista. The operation also marked the appearance of indigenous naval forces of Castile-León of military significance. In effect,

Ramón de Bonifaz Ramón de Bonifaz (1196-1252 or 1256) was a medieval Spanish naval leader best known for breaking a river barricade, leading to the capture of Seville from the Almohad Caliphate.Ruiz, p. 177. Bonifaz made his fortune as a merchant in Burgos, a ...

was the first admiral of Castile, although he never held an official title of that kind. In 1246, after the conquest of Jaén, Seville and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

were the only major cities in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

that had not acquiesced to Christian suzerainty. Of the two, Granada would remain semi-independent until 1492. During the summer of 1247, Castilian armies isolated the city to the north and east. This paved the way for the siege, which started when Ramón de Bonifaz sailed with thirteen

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s, accompanied by some smaller ships, up the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gulf ...

and scattered some forty smaller vessels trying to oppose him. On 3 May the Castilian fleet broke the

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

linking Seville and Triana. St Albertus Magnus wrote that the Moorish defenders used artillery which was loaded with rocks in the siege, but this is not certain that is describing the type of firearms. Due to a famine, the city capitulated on 23 November 1248. The terms specified that the Castillian troops would be allowed to enter the

alcázar An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for gover ...

no later than a month later. Ferdinand made his triumphant entry into the city on 22 December 1248. Muslim chronicles record that some 300,000 inhabitants left the city. This number is considered exaggerated by O'Callaghan.

References

* {{coord, 37.3783, N, 5.9958, W, source:wikidata, display=title

History of Seville

13th century in Al-Andalus 1247 in Europe 1248 in Europe

13th century in Castile