The siege of Córdoba in May 1146 was led by

Alfonso VII of León and Castile Alfonso VII (1 March 110521 August 1157), called the Emperor (''el Emperador''), became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso, born Alfonso Raimúndez, first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside h ...

against the city of Córdoba, then held by the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

. The siege was successful and Córdoba was conquered by the Christians, who forced Yahya ibn Ghaniya, the Almoravid governor of

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, to become a vassal of Alfonso.

Background

Taking advantage of the fact that the Almoravids were fighting against the Almohads in North Africa, many Muslim territories of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

began to rebel and become independent from the

Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

power, marking the beginning of the Second Taifas period. The rebellion was led in

Gharb al-Andalus Gharb al-Andalus (, trans. ''gharb al-ʼandalus''; "west of al-Andalus"), or just al-Gharb (, trans. ''al-gharb''; "the west"), was the name given by the Muslims of Iberia to the region of southern modern-day Portugal and part of West-central ...

by Abu al-Qasim ibn Qasi and in Córdoba by , while in Sharq al-Andalus it was headed by

Sayf al-Dawla ibn Hud al-Mustansir Aḥmad III Abū Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Mustanṣir (; died 5 February 1146), called Sayf al-Dawla ("Sword of the Dynasty"), Latinised as Zafadola, was the last ruler of the Hudid dynasty. He ruled the rump of the ''taifa'' kingdom of Z ...

, more known as Zafadola, son of the last Hudid emir of Zaragoza (who entered the service of King Alfonso VII of Castile). Despite being ruled by Christians, he enjoyed prestige among the

Andalusians The Andalusians () are the people of Andalusia, an autonomous community in southern Spain. Andalusia's statute of autonomy defines Andalusians as the Spanish citizens who reside in any of the municipalities of Andalusia, as well as those Spani ...

, as he was the heir of the

Banu Hud The Banu Hud ( ', the Hudid dynasty) were an Arab dynasty that ruled the ' of Zaragoza from 1039 until 1110. The Hudid dynasty descends from Hud ibn Abd Allah ibn Musa ibn Salem al-Judhami (d. ca. 960). In 1039, under the leadership of Al-Mus ...

. When the revolution broke out, Yahya ibn Ghaniya commanded the Almoravid troops. In February 1146, Ahmad ibn Hamdin, the ruler of Córdoba, was expelled from his city by Ibn Ghaniya. He first fled to

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

and later to

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� ...

, where he was besieged by the Almoravid governor. He asked for help from

Alfonso VII of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. ...

, who accepted his request and marched towards

in April or May of the same year. Alfonso sent an army to Andújar, where Ibn Hamdin was trapped and forced Ibn Ghaniya to lift the siege. Although Ibn Hamdin was freed from the siege, Alfonso decided to start a campaign to take Córdoba.

Siege

Ibn Ghaniya took refuge in Córdoba and in May 1146, Alfonso reached the city and started the siege. He managed to enter the city on May 24 but Ibn Ghaniya and his army were still trapped in the

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

and Alfonso had to start another siege on it. Eventually, Alfonso came to terms with Ibn Ghaniya, probably after receiving news that an

Almohad 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 ...

army had landed in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

and he did not have a garrison large enough to protect the city from an attack. He decided that he would lift the siege in exchange for Ibn Ghaniya becoming a vassal, which he accepted. Despite the terms, he occupied the city for 1 week before leaving it. During that time, Alfonso converted the mosque of Córdoba into a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, ordered a

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

to be placed on top of it and, accompanied by the

bishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

, held a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

on it.

Aftermath

Although Ibn Ghaniya declared himself a vassal of Alfonso VII, he ceased to be so after a while and returned to being loyal to his dynasty, the Almoravids. The

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 ...

took Niebla,

Mértola Mértola (), officially the Town of Mértola (), is a town and municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately : it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portu ...

, Silves and the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

in what remained of 1146. The Almoravid Empire collapsed and fell into the hands of the Almohads in 1147, although they would still have to conquer other

Taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...

s, including the

Taifa of Murcia The Taifa of Murcia () was an Arab ''taifa'' of medieval Al-Andalus, in what is now southern Spain. It became independent as a ''taifa'' centered on the Moorish city of Murcia after the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (11th century). ...

and the

Taifa of Valencia The Taifa of Valencia () was a medieval Muslim kingdom which existed in and around Valencia, Spain. It gained independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba circa 1010 and became its own small kingdom, or ''Taifa'', for most of the 11th century. It ...

which fell in 1172.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Córdoba 1146 Conflicts in 1146 Sieges of the Reconquista Sieges involving the Almoravid Empire Battles involving the Kingdom of León 12th century in Spain 12th century in al-Andalus Sieges involving Castile Military history of Córdoba, Spain 1146 in Europe Attacks on military installations in Spain