The Battle of Simancas (also called Alhandega or al-Khandaq) was a military battle that started on 19 July 939 in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
between the troops of the
King of León
In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons.
Below follows a ...
Ramiro II and Cordovan caliph
Abd al-Rahman III near the walls of the city of
Simancas.
The battle unfolded after the army of
Abd al-Rahman III launched toward the northern Christian territories in 934. Abd al-Rahman III had gathered a large army of
caliphal fighters, with the help of the
Andalusian governor of
Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, Muhammad ibn Yahya
al-Tujibi. The Leonese king Ramiro II led the counterattack with an army constituted of his own troops, those of
Castile under Count
Fernán González, and the Navarrese under
García Sánchez I.
Arab witnesses chronicle a spectacular eclipse of the sun that took place on the first day of the battle:
The battle lasted some days, with the allied Christian troops emerging victorious and routing the Cordovan forces. Furtun ibn Muhammad al-Tawil, wali of Huesca, withheld his troops from the battle. He was hunted down near
Calatayud
Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...
by Salama ibn Ahmad ibn Salama, taken to Córdoba, and crucified in front of
its ''Al-Qasr''.
[de la Granja, p. 528]
References
Bibliography
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Simancas
Simancas
Simancas
10th century in the Kingdom of León
939
Simancas
History of the province of Valladolid
Solar eclipses
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