The siege of Valencia (1092–1094) or El Cid's conquest of Valencia was fought between 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 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 ...

. The Castilian victory established the

Lordship of Valencia The Lordship or Principality of Valencia was the state established by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar in the city of Valencia and its surroundings and which existed between the years 1094 and 1102. History Conquest Towards the beginning of November ...

Background

While

El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

(Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar) was away from Valencia in October 1092, the Valencians had gathered at the house of Ibn Jahhaf and agreed to appeal to Muhammad ibn Aisa to depose Yahya al-Qadir, sending the troops under Ibn Nasr, but Al-Qadir entrenched himself and sent an urgent message to

. When Ibn Nasr arrived, he was received by Ibn Jahhaf and the Christians of the city fled. Al-Qadir left the palace disguised as a woman and took refuge in a poor house. When he was found, he was sentenced to death. On October 29, 1092, Ibn Jahhaf proclaimed himself governor of Valencia. When El Cid and his troops returned, Ibn Jahhaf expelled Ibn Nasr's contingents and agreed to pay tribute to El Cid, who made him ruler on the condition that he would not hand over the city to 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 ...

, but messages were sent to

Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...

to expel him. The Almoravid army commanded by

Abu Bakr ibn Ibrahim ibn Tashfin Abu or ABU may refer to: Aviation * Airman Battle Uniform, a utility uniform of the United States Air Force * IATA airport code for A. A. Bere Tallo Airport in Atambua, Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia People * Abu (Arabic term), a ku ...

retreated without a fight despite Yusuf's orders leaving the Valencians to their fate.

Siege

besieged the city while its citizens were divided between supporters of defending

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, waiting for the

, and supporters of Ibn Jahhaf, who chose to negotiate with

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...

. Finally, Ibn Jahhaf made a secret agreement with El Cid, but the negotiations were not closed and the siege was prolonged for nineteen months until finally the city fell in May 1094, nominally in favor of the Christians.

Aftermath

, the leader of the

, ordered its recapture and gave the command of a new expedition to capture it to his nephew Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad, because Muhammad ibn Aisa did not have a permanent army and he had to mobilize the troops in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

, send them across the

Strait 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 reinforce the garrisons of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

before marching towards

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. 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 ...

contingents disembarked between August 16 and 18, and in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

they were joined by part of the garrison and the army of the extinct

Zirid The Zirid dynasty (), Banu Ziri (), was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from what is now Algeria which ruled the central Maghreb from 972 to 1014 and Ifriqiya (eastern Maghreb) from 972 to 1148. Descendants of Ziri ibn Manad, a military leader of th ...

Taifa of Granada The Taifa of Granada (, ) or Zirid Kingdom of Granada was a Muslim kingdom that was formed in al-Andalus (in present-day Spain) in 1013 following the deposition of Umayyad Caliph Hisham II in 1009. The kingdom was centered on Granada, its capit ...

that had been integrated into the Almoravid army, and later troops from the Taifas of Lérida,

Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...

, Alpuente and

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Si ...

. The

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

camped in

Quart de Poblet Quart de Poblet (; Spanish and unofficially: ' ),Toponym in Castilian as the Spanish Royal Academy: ''Spelling of Spanish.'' Madrid: Espasa, 1999. ; "Appendix 3, pages 133–155. or simply Quart (; ), is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of ...

, a few kilometers from

, which was well supplied. Seeing the great army, the Muslims of the city believed that liberation was at hand. Abu Abdullah was so sure of victory that he saw no negligence in the troops and took no steps to rectify it.

appealed to Alfonso VI of Leon for help. This became known in the Muslim camp and the morale of the besiegers began to break and there were many desertions.

decided to take advantage of the lack of spirit without waiting for the help of

Alfonso VI 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. ...

and went out at night commanding a group of cavalry. On the morning of October 25, 1094, he attacked the Muslim soldiers, who were not on guard and the alarm spread through the camp, amid shouts and commotion. The Muslim cavalry prepared and pursued the retreating Cid, while hidden Christian soldiers attacked the Muslim camp, causing the

to rout and capture significant booty. The victory strengthened El Cid, who established the

and delayed the

expansion. The

was attacked several times by the Almoravids until it finally fell into their hands in 1102.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
The march of conquest of Yusuf ibn Tashfin: The birth of the Lamtuna-Banu Turjut empire
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia 1092-1094 1090s in Europe 1090s conflicts Sieges involving Castile Sieges of the Reconquista 11th century in al-Andalus Military history of Valencia El Cid Sieges involving the Almoravid Empire 11th century in Castile Battles involving the Taifa of Valencia