The siege of Jaén was one of many sieges on the city during the long

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. The siege, which was carried out by the combined allied forces of 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 ...

and the

Taifa of Baeza The Taifa of Baeza () was a medieval taifa Moorish kingdom. It existed only from 1224 to 1226, when it fell to the Christian Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It trace ...

, commanded by

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

and Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Al-Bayyasi of Baeza against the defending Taifa of Jayyān (جيان) whose forces were commanded by the notable Christian knight,

Álvaro Pérez de Castro Álvaro Pérez de Castro "the Castilian" (died at Orgaz in 1240) was a Castilian nobleman. Biography He was the son of Pedro Fernández de Castro and Jimena Gomez, daughter of Gómez González de Manzanedo. He served as Mayordomo mayor and ...

. The battle resulted in a Jayyānese victory as the Castilian forces did not capture the city. Areas around the city were totally devastated as a result of the siege. The siege occurred as a part of Ferdinand III's first campaign which occurred roughly from 1224 to 1230 and was undertaken before the siege of Andújar that same year.

Context

The taking of Jaén was perceived as being fundamental to let

expand into the

Baetic Depression The Baetic Depression ( or ''Depresión del Guadalquivir'') is an alluvial plain in the lower valley of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. It is a large triangular-shaped area in the Guadalquivir basin oriented roughly northeast to southwe ...

. The difficulty in this conquest were the notable Walls of Jaén which had been built by the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, 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). Th ...

. They had been instrumental in repulsing an attack on the city 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 ...

from 1151 to 1152, and another attack by the Almohads in 1162. Taking this into account, in 1224, Ferdinand III of Castile attacked the surrounding lands in what today is the province of Jaén, establishing their base of operations at Baeza with their Muslim ally, Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Al-Bayyasi, the king of the

. This first campaign was essentially a probe to test the defenses of Jaén.

The siege

The strong Castilian army accompanied King

from

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

. On its march to Jaén, it was joined by Ferdinand III's vassal, the King of the

, Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Al-Bayyasi and his forces. Ferdinand III's army approached the city with the intention of probing its defenses to find if it could be captured. During the siege, besieging Castilian camps were established in all the areas around Jaén, encircling the city completely. The soldiers in these camps were instructed to carry out a campaign of attrition on the surrounding countryside which they effectively plundered of all its resources, destroying any buildings. The major action of this siege occurred during one instance of such raids, which provoked defending troops of Jaén to raid the camps. The Castilians responded by assaulting the city walls in a failed attack. The siege was lifted shortly after this was realized, and the Castilian army moved instead on Andújar which they captured later in the same year, 1225.

Consequences

The siege by Castilian forces failed to take over the city, as the Castilian army did not have the siege equipment necessary to mount a prolonged siege. The Crónica de Ávila, a contemporary source, does however recount the use of

trebuchet A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles ...

s at the battle. The defense of Jaén was led by 160 Christian knights who supported the Muslim defenders under the command of the Castilian

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, Álvaro Pérez de Castro el Castellano, head of the

House of Castro The House of Castro is an Iberian noble lineage, beginning mainly in the kingdoms of Castile, Galicia, and Portugal. Though its exact origins are disputed, the House of Castro became one of the most powerful families of the Spanish and Portug ...

and grandson of

, the

king of Castile and León The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessio ...

. According to the Christian chronicles, 3,000 knights and 50,000 foot soldiers defended the city in addition to the 160 Christian knights under Castro.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Jaen (1225) Conflicts in 1225 Jaen (1225) Jaen Jaen 1225 Jaen 1225 1225 in Europe 13th century in al-Andalus Jaén, Spain 13th century in Castile

Context

The siege

Consequences

See also

References

Bibliography