The siege of Burriana was one of the battles that occurred during the Conquest of Valencia by

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

. Burriana was an important

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 ...

city, being the capital of La Plana, Valencia. It was known as the "Green City". The city was besieged for two months, finally falling to the forces of James I in July 1233.

Context

In 1229, the city of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, known to the Muslims as "Balansiya", had fallen to the forces under the command of

Zayyan ibn Mardanish Zayyan ibn Mardanish or Zayán Ibn Mardanix (b. ?, Onda – d. 1270, Tunisia) also known as ''Zahén'' or ''Çaèn'', was the last king of the Taifa of Valencia before it fell to the Kingdom of Aragon in the Reconquista campaign led by James I of ...

, a local leader who was opposed to the

Almohades The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fo ...

. In capturing that city, he dethroned

Zayd Abu Zayd Zayd Abu Zayd (ابو زيد, 1195 – 1265/1270) was the last Almohad governor of Valencia. He succeeded as governor of Valencia to his uncle Abū `Abd Allāh Muhammad. At the death of the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, he gained complete auto ...

, who subsequently fled to the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...

used this as a

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

to intervene in the Muslim civil war on the side of the Almohades, but in reality with the pretext of expanding his own territory. Two Aragonese knights, Hugo de Follalquer, Grand Master of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, and Blas de Aragón, who had just returned from a period of exile in Valencia, met with Jaime I at

Alcañiz Alcañiz () is a town and municipality of Teruel province in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region. It lies som ...

. They recounted stories of the prosperity of the Muslim kingdom and encouraged the king to conquer it in 1233.

Consequences

After taking Burriana, the castles to the north continued to fall into Aragonese hands one by one including;

Peniscola Peníscola () or Peñíscola (), anglicised as Peniscola, is a municipality in the Province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located on the Costa del Azahar, north of the Serra d'Irta along the Mediterranean coast. It is a p ...

, Castelló de la Plana,

Borriol Borriol is a town and municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. History Numerous archaeological remains, including the rock paintings of l'Albaroc indicate that the Borriol area was populated in antiquity. Th ...

les Coves de Vinromà Les Coves de Vinromà is a municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the f ...

and

Vilafamés Vilafamés is a municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populo ...

. Three years later, the decisive

Battle of the Puig The Battle of the Puig of 1237, also known as the Battle of the Puig de Santa Maria, the Battle of the Puig de Enesa, or the Battle of the Puig de Cepolla was a battle of the Iberian Reconquista and of the Aragonese Conquest of Valencia. The b ...

sealed the conquest in 1236.

References

* The information on this page was translated from its Spanish equivalent.

Bibliography

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Context

Consequences

See also

References

Bibliography