The siege of Santarém lasted from June 1184 to July 1184.
Siege
In the spring of 1184,
Abu Yaqub Yusuf
Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...
assembled an army, crossed the
straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa.
The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
and marched 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, ...
. From there he marched towards
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 headed west to besiege
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality located in the district of Santarém District, Santarém. The population of the historic Ribatejo capital in 2021 was 58,671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the munic ...
, which was defended by
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 ...
. Upon hearing of Abu Yusuf's attack,
Ferdinand II of León
Ferdinand II ( 1137 – 22 January 1188), was a member of the Castilian House of Burgundy, Castilian cadet branch of the House of Ivrea and List of Leonese monarchs, King of León and kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1157 until his death.
Life ...
marched his troops to Santarém to support his father-in-law, Afonso I.
Abu Yusuf, believing he had sufficient troops to maintain the siege, sent orders for part of his army to march to
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 lay siege to that city too. The orders were misinterpreted and his army, seeing large contingents of men leaving the battle, became confused and started to retreat. Abu Yusuf, in an attempt to rally his troops, was wounded by a crossbow bolt and died on 29 July 1184.
Papal recognition
The victory at Santarém was a major achievement for Afonso I.
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...
formally recognized him as ''rex Portugalensium''.
[O'Callaghan, 241.]
See also
*
Portugal in the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Portugal was established from the county of Portugal in the 1130s, ruled by the Portuguese House of Burgundy. During most of the 12th and 13th centuries, its history is chiefly that of the gradual reconquest of territory from the ...
*
Portugal in the Reconquista
*
Timeline of Portuguese history (First Dynasty)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Santarem (1184)
Santarém (1184)
Santarém
1184 in Europe
12th century in Portugal
Santarém
Santarém
Santarem 1184
12th century in the Kingdom of León
12th century in al-Andalus
Santarém