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The siege of Albarracín was a battle fought during the reign of Peter III of Aragon,
King of Aragón This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
from the months of April to September 1284. Albarracín, which had for some time belonged to
Juan Núñez I de Lara Juan Núñez I de Lara y León (died Córdoba, April 1294), also known as "''el Gordo''" or "the Fat", was a Spanish noble. He was the head of the House of Lara, Lord of Lerma, Amaya, Dueñas, Palenzuela, Tordehumos, Torrelobatón, and la M ...
, the head of the
House of Lara The House of Lara (Spanish: ''Casa de Lara'') is a noble family from the medieval Kingdom of Castile. Two of its branches, the Duques de Nájera and the Marquesado de Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain. The Lara family gained num ...
, was besieged by an Aragonese force. The siege resulted in the successful taking of the city by Aragonese forces after which, Peter III handed gifted the city to his illegitimate son, Ferdinand of Aragón.


Context

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sie ...
was a Señorío of Muslim origin that formed part of the Muslim
Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
. The Señorío was formed when a Navarese noble from the
House of Azagra A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
militarily helped the Valencian kingdom. The Señorío de Albarracín was granted to this noble who repopulated the city with people from
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
. After 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 1 ...
, the territory was left in a legal vacuum. The local nobility, taking advantage of the questionable legal status, declared their independence (
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
) from both Valencia and Aragon. After the death of the
infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...
Ferdinand de la Cerda Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, the eldest son of
Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1257, ...
, the forces of the infante Sancho and those of
Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were cand ...
, the began a period of war for succession to the throne of the
Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...
. The contemporary lord or Señor de Albarracín was
Juan I Núñez de Lara ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
. In 1284, he was supporting the claim of the
Infantes de la Cerda House de la Cerda is a noble line of the Crown of Castile descending from the ''Infante'' Ferdinand de la Cerda, eldest son of King Alfonso X. It was one of four noble lineages that arose directly from the Castilian royal family during the thirte ...
(although his allegiance would shift various times) and along with them, he had forged an alliance with the
Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...
and the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
, the alliance stipulated in the Treaty of Ágreda of 1281. In an effort to strike at Juan I Núñez de Lara, Sancho IV made a deal with the Kingdom of Aragon which ceded sovereignty over the Señorío de Albarracín, which had up until then been a part of the
Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...
, to Peter III of Aragon upon its capture by either Castilian or Aragonese forces. Prior to his support of the de la Cerda claims to the throne, Juan I Núñez of Lara was a subject of the Castilian crown. Shortly after the Desafío de Burdeos, Juan Núñez I ambushed Peter III of Aragon with the goal of taking him prisoner back to France to be presented to
Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (french: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returne ...
. In June 1283, Peter III was in the area of
Tarazona Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarazona. ...
conducting attack on Navarre and Aragón in which he conquered and sacked various towns, the
Castillo de Ull Castillo (Spanish for "castle") may refer to: People * Castillo (surname) Places Geography Dominican Republic * Castillo, Dominican Republic, a town in Duarte Province, Dominican Republic Nicaragua * El Castillo (municipality), a municip ...
amongst them.


The battle

In winter of 1283, whilst
Juan Núñez I de Lara Juan Núñez I de Lara y León (died Córdoba, April 1294), also known as "''el Gordo''" or "the Fat", was a Spanish noble. He was the head of the House of Lara, Lord of Lerma, Amaya, Dueñas, Palenzuela, Tordehumos, Torrelobatón, and la M ...
was in
Treviño Treviño (in Basque: Trebiñu) is the capital of the municipality Condado de Treviño, province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The Condado de Treviño and the geographically smaller La Puebla de Arganzó ...
raising Navarese reinforcements to defend his city from the Aragonese who had by then declared war against him, he was besieged by Peter III of Aragon at
Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sie ...
with only around 200 knights. From April until September 1284, the besieging forces built their camp in the streets of the town of
Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sie ...
(literally on ''Calle de los Palacios'') for their soldiers to remain under cover and in comfort with stores and housing for the winter. On 29 September 1284, after many months of siege, the city surrendered and was occupied by troops of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
. The Aragonese king, upon capturing the city, gave it as a gift to his illegitimate child with Inés Zapata, Ferdinand of Aragon.


Consequences

Although Juan Núñez II de Lara, son of the defeated Juan Núñez I attempted various times to retake his ancestral property of Albarracín back from the Aragonese, the city eventually passed to the Aragonese Crown.José Luis Castán Esteban,
Historia del Señorío de Albarracín
'


See also

*
Juan I Núñez de Lara ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
* Peter III of Aragon *
Sancho IV of Castile Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the support of nobles that ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Albarracin (1284) 1284 in Europe Albarracin 1284 Conflicts in 1284 13th century in Aragon