The Battle of Alarcos (1195)
In the 1190s, Alfonso VIII of Castile (1158-1214) undertook a raid into the region around Seville, the Almohad capital of Spain. In retaliation, the Almohad ruler, Ya'qub (1184-99) went on his own campaign against Alfonso, leading to his victory at Alarcos on July 19, 1195. The writer of the following account, Al-Himyari, a 15th century author, had access to much original information from this period.
Al-Arak (Alarcos): an impregnable fortress near Qal'at Rabah (Calatrava), the
first of Alfonso's strongholds in al-Andalus. It is here that the disaster of
Alarcos was suffered by the ruler of Castile and the Christian forces, at the
hands of al-Mansur Ya'qub b. Yusuf b. `Abd al-Mu'min b. 'Ali, ruler of the
Maghreb, in 591 (1195). Al-Mansur Ya'qub had heard that the ruler of Castile had
launched raids on the Muslim territories of al-Andalus, both to the east and
west, on the same day, extending as far as Seville and its surrounding
districts. He was angered by that, and left his capital at Marrakesh for al-Andalus.
He established himself in Seville, where he reviewed the troops and distributed
bonuses. On 11 Jumada II (23 May 1195) he set off, and reached Cordova, where he
rested. The two sides met at the bridge of Alarcos and battle was joined. The
enemy fled and were put to the sword, from early morning to midday on Wednesday
9 Sha`ban (19 July). The camp of the Christians was plundered and about 30,000
of them were killed. Fewer than 500 Muslims found martyrdom. Alfonso escaped and
got through to Toledo with twenty knights, stopping for nothing. The Muslims
besieged the remnants of their army, 5,000
I heard someone relate that this victory happened by
chance, because the Christians had captured some of the standards of the Muslims
and were marching with them held up high. This aroused the zeal of some of the
tribes, when they saw the standards of their brothers raised ahead of the enemy,
as they situation, they rushed to attack them. However it came about, it was a
clear victory and a triumph assisted by God.
Al-Mansur [Ya`qub] then returned in triumph to
Seville and stayed there for a while. Then he launched an expedition to the
north; he besieged Tarjalah (Trujillo) and descended on Balansiyya (Plasencia,
sic.), which he took by storm, capturing its governor along with 150 of its
leading infidels. He sent them to work on the construction of the Friday Mosque
at Sala (Sald) with the prisoners taken at Alarcos. He then turned on Talabira (Talavera)
and Makkada (Maqueda) and destroyed them; then advanced against Toledo, against
which he launched several assaults. Then he fell on Majrit (Madrid) and began
the return home, starting with Jayyan (Jadn) and on to Cordova, Ecija and
Qarmuna (Carmona), arriving in Seville in Ramadan (592)/August 1196.
This text