The Battle of Faḥṣ al-Jullāb was fought on Thursday 15 October 1165 between the invading

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

and the king of Murcia, Ibn Mardanīsh. An Almohad army under ''

sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

''s Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar and Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān, the brothers of the Caliph Abū Yaʿḳūb Yūsuf, went on the offensive against Ibn Mardanīsh in the summer of 1165. They captured

Andújar Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 35,619 people (2024) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de And� ...

in September, harried Galera,

Caravaca Caravaca de la Cruz (), often shortened to Caravaca, is a town and municipality of southeastern Spain in the region of Murcia, near the left bank of the River Argos, a tributary of the Segura. It is the capital of the northwest Region of Murcia ...

, Baza and

Sierra de Segura Sierra de Segura is a mountain range of the Prebaetic System in the province of Jaén in Spain. It is named after the ancient town of Segura de la Sierra and it gives its name to the Segura river. Its highest point is the 1,993 m high Las Ban ...

, then captured

Cúllar Cúllar is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the town had a population of 4,898 inhabitants. A square is named after the linguist Gregorio Salvador Caja, one of the most famous personal ...

and Vélez on their approach to

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

. Ibn Mardanīsh called a general levy and sought the assistance of his Christian allies from the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Ca ...

to augment his standing army of salaried troops. The Almohad armies were composed of

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and slaves. The core was composed of Berbers from Tinmal. Others came from Harga and Hintāta tribes. Arab reinforcements, mostly from the Riyāḥ, Athbaj and Zughba clans of the Banū Hilāl, had been brought over from

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

in July. Ibn Mardanīsh went out to defend Lorca and was met by an Almohad force advancing from the castle of Vélez. Battle was met south of Murcia, near Alhama (''al-Ḥamma'') at a place called the "merchant's field", ''Faḥṣ al-Jullāb'', in the valley of the

Guadalentín Guadalentín is a river in Spain. It is a tributary of the Segura. The Guadalentín River flows in the southeastern region of Spain. The Guadalentín River Basin is one of the largest in Spain. The Guadalentín Basin is a flat valley, and comp ...

. Ibn Mardanīsh and his men were routed. The king took refuge in the city while the victors plundered the countryside. The Almohads were incapable of seriously threatening the walled city. Letters announcing the victory were sent to

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and Marrakesh, the latter arriving on 31 October. In the letters, the battle was compared to the Battle of Dhū Ḳār, when the Arabs routed the Persians in the time before Islam. After the battle, Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān went to

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

while Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar took most of the army to Marrakesh, where the caliph rewarded each soldier with a turban, a cloak and a bolt of linen, each cavalryman with 20 gold ''dīnār''s and each leader of the Almohad and Arab troops with 100 gold ''dīnār''s. The names of all were recorded. Although some Christians participated on the side of Murcia, the battle is known only from Muslim sources. Among those histories that describe the battle are Ibn ʿIdhārī's ''Bayān'', Ibn Ṣāḥib al-Ṣalāt's ''Mann'',

Ibn al-Abbār Ibn al-Abbār (), he was Hāfiẓ Abū Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abū Bakr al-Qudā'ī al-Balansī () (1199–1260) a secretary to Hafsid dynasty princes, well-known poet, diplomat, jurist and hadith scholar from al ...

's ''Takmila'',

Ṣafwān ibn Idrīs Ṣafwān ibn Idrīs or Abū Baḥr al-Tujībī (1164/6–1202), full name Abū Baḥr Ṣafwān ibn Idrīs ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿĪsā ibn Idrīs al-Tujībī al-Mursī al-Kātib, was a Muslim Hadith scholar, traditionist and ' ...

's ''Zād'', al-Marrākushī's ''Muʿjib'', al-Ṣafadī's ''Wāfī'', Ibn Abī Zarʿ's ''Anīs'', Ibn al-Athīr's ''Kāmil'',

Ibn al-Khaṭīb Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib (; 16 November 1313 – 1374) was an Arab Andalusi polymath, poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Being one of the most notable poets from Granada, his poems decorate ...

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