The siege of Jaén was the final siege on the city during the

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, was carried out from 1245 through 28 February 1246 by forces of the

Crown of Castile 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 Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

and the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

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 the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago,

Pelayo Pérez Correa D. Paio Peres Correia (1205 – January 1275) was a Portuguese warrior who played an important role in the thirteenth-century Reconquista.López Fernández, Manuel (2003)"Sobre la muerte y enterramientos de un Maestre santiaguista"in ''Revista de ...

, against a combined defending force of the local Taifa of Jaén (جيان) and the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

under Muhammad I. The battle resulted in a Castilian victory with the city of Jaén being handed over to the Crown of Castile and Leon after the signing of the Treaty of Jaén.

Context

After two previous attempts to capture Jaén, first in 1225 and another in 1230,

decided on another attempt to besiege the city having consolidated his power over the thrones of Castile and León and not having been decisively beaten in either of his previous attempts on the city. He was supported in this new campaign by

, the Grand Master of the

. Throughout the winter of 1245, the forces of Castile launched raids on the areas surrounding the city in preparation for an eventual siege, capturing strategic points in the surrounding areas.

Siege

At the start of the siege, the Castilian forces began launching attacks on the various city gates, all of which were ineffective in terms of capturing any points on the main wall, however they did in many instances manage to drive the defenders off the bulwarks of the outer defenses. Contemporary chronicles also recount ambushes and sallies out of the city by Granadan and Jayyānese forces. One such sally by a group of seven Moorish knights managed to capture a Castilian resupply caravan, obliging the Castilian forces to pursue the raiders. A force led by Don Alvar Gil de Villalobos was obliged to give chase in an attempt to rescue their captured supply train; however the Moorish knights fled, leading the Castilian rescue party into an ambush by some 50 more knights and around 100 infantry soldiers.

Consequences

On 28 February 1246, in an attempt to consolidate power over his dominions, Muhammad I, King of Granada, ordered the surrender of Jaén to Castilian forces in accordance with his signing of the Treaty of Jaén which effectively turned the

into a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of the

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Jaen (1245-46) 1245 in Europe Conflicts in 1245 Conflicts in 1246 13th century in al-Andalus Jaen 1245 Jaen (1245) Jaen 1245 Jaén, Spain 1246 in Europe Jaen 1245 13th century in Castile

Context

Siege

Consequences

See also

References

Bibliography