In 1191, the Almohads besieged the city of Alcácer do Sal which the Portuguese held. The siege was part of the Almohad campaign against Portugal in 1191. The Almohads succeeded in capturing the city.

Background

In April 1158,

Afonso I of Portugal Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on th ...

launched a campaign against the Muslims in

Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1,499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 y ...

. His attack on the city was the fourth. After a siege of four months and hard fighting, the city was captured by the Portuguese on 24 June. In 1190, the Almohad Caliph,

Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; d. 23 January 1199), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reig ...

, returned 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, ...

after a failed campaign against Silves. The Caliph made preparations to resume his campaign, recruited many, and gathered many siege weapons.

Siege

The Caliph decided to resume his campaign against Portugal and on 28 April 1191, he left Seville and crossed the

Guadiana The Guadiana River ( , , , ) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the e ...

River. The Caliph's first target was Alcácer do Sal, located east-south of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and close to

Sado River The Sado () is a river in southern Portugal; it is one of the major rivers in the country. It flows in a northerly direction (the only major Portuguese river to do so) through from its springs in the hills of Ourique before entering the Atlanti ...

. It was chosen as the access from the sea that could reinforce the Almohads with necessary supplies. When the Almohads reached there, the Caliph began dividing his forces, and the servants and slaves began filling the city's trenches from four sides. After this, the Almohads launched an assault against the walls, however, the Portuguese garrison bombarded the Almohads with a heavy barrage of stones and arrows, wounding many Almohad soldiers. When the Caliph saw this, he ordered the fighting to stop for three days and resume the attack with another strong attack. During the siege, a part of the Almohad navy entered the river next to the city, carrying strong siege weapons. For instance, the Almohads erected fourteen trebuchets around the city. On June 10, the order was given to the troops to assault the walls. The Muslims assaulted the walls from every section while the trebuchets were heavily bombarding the walls. The attack peaked, and when things worsened, the Portuguese garrison quickly called to surrender. The garrison was allowed safe departure through the sea. The Caliph began repairing the city, garrisoned with strong men, and supplied them.S. Lay, p. 159

References

Sources

*Muhammad Abdullah Enan (1964), The State of Islam in Andalusia, Vol. III: The Era of Almoravids and Almohads, Part

*Hugh Kennedy (2014), Muslim Spain and Portugal, A Political History of Al-Andalus

*S. Lay (2008), The Reconquest Kings of Portugal, Political and Cultural Reorientation on the Medieval Frontier

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