The siege of Al-Dāmūs was a battle of 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 Na ...

that occurred in the year 1210. The forces of 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 eu, a ...

, together with auxiliary forces of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

and

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 military order. It was headq ...

, were pitted against the defending forces of 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 f ...

. The

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

forces defeated the Muslim defenders. This battle was significant because in taking the castle at Ademuz, the Christian forces riled their Muslim opponents to initiate a grand offensive that would eventually culminate in the

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab ( ar, معركة العقاب), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the '' Reconquista'' and the medieval history of Spain. The Chr ...

. This offensive, in turn, marked the end of the

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

domination of the region and the beginning of Christian rule in the province.

Context

In 1210, the

Almohad 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 fou ...

Empire, who controlled the Balearic Islands (conquered in 1203), launched a great incursion into 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 ...

coast led by Abubola the Elder.Antoni Rovira i Virgili, Història Nacional de Catalunya, volumen IV, pág. 458-9 The Muslim forces, being the combined forces from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

and

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...

, disembarked and began pillaging the countryside seizing much booty and captives in the process. In March 1210, in response to the Almohad incursion, King Peter II of Aragon, who was at the time in the city of

Monzón Monzón is a small city and municipality in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is in the northeast (specifically the Cinca Medio district of the province of Huesca) and adjoins the rivers Cinca a ...

, gathered an army to attack the Moors of the

Taifa of Valencia The Taifa of Valencia () was a medieval Moorish taifa kingdom which existed, in and around Valencia, Spain during four distinct periods: from 1010 to 1065, from 1075 to 1099, from 1145 to 1147 and last from 1229 to 1238 when it was finally co ...

. Within the objectives of this campaign lay ''Al-Dāmūs'' (Spanish: Ademuz), one of the fortresses that formed the defensive net of the Turia River.

Siege

In the middle of 1210, Al-Dāmūs was conquered by Peter II of Aragon with the help of the

and the

. Among the knights who participated in the campaign were Ramón de Castillazuelo,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

, García de Gúdal, Bishop of Osca, García Frontín I, Bishop of Tarazona, Jimeno Cornel, García Romeo, Artal II de Alagón, Blasco Romeo, Pero Sesé, Ato I de Foces, Guillem I de Cervelló, Guillem de Peralta, Arnaldo Palacín, Arnaldo de Alascó, Adam de Alascó, Don Atorella, Sancho de Antillón, Guillem III de Montcada, Guillem Ramon III de Montcada, Seneschal of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, and Guillem d'Òdena. From the Templars was Pedro de Montagut.

Consequences

The offensive continued until the Christian forces finally took the Castle of Serreilla. Pedro del Pomar was charged by King Peter II of Aragon to repopulate all the lands won by the conquest with Christians from the surrounding kingdoms. The loss of Ademuz and the devastation caused by the campaign, troubled the

so much that they sent a delegation of nobles from Xarq al-Ándalus to

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrak ...

to beg Muhammad al-Nasir for reinforcements. This was one of the motivating factors that led to the launch of the Muslim expedition that would culminate in the

in 1212. This would in turn end the supremacy of

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 ...

. The fortress fell into

hands later in 1210 in an offensive that also recaptured Castielfabib, but failed to reach Moya.

References

* The information and sources of this article were translated from its Spanish equivalent.

Bibliography

* Eslava Blasco, Raúl: ''Ademuz y su patrimonio histórico-artístico''. Ademuz, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Al-Damus 1210 in Europe Dāmūs Damus Damus Al-Damus Damus Damus 13th century in Aragon Damus 13th century in Al-Andalus Dāmūs

Context

Siege

Consequences

See also

References

Bibliography