The siege of Calatayud in 1120 was led by

Alfonso I of Aragon Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I. With his marriage to U ...

, with the help of

William IX of Aquitaine William IX ( or , ; 22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 and his death. He was also one of the leaders of the Crusade of 1101. Thoug ...

, against the city of

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 ...

, then controlled by 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 ...

. The siege was successful and resulted in the conquest of the city by the Aragonese troops.

Background

In 1118,

, accompanied by Gaston IV of Béarn and Centule II of Bigorre, began a campaign with the objective of conquering

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 ...

. The city fell on 18 December, after 8 months of siege. Shortly after this, in 1119, he conquered Tudela and

Tarazona Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dio ...

and repopulated the city of

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...

. At the beginning of 1120, Alfonso began to prepare the conquest of

, the second largest city of the former

Taifa of Zaragoza The taifa of Zaragoza () was an independent Arab Muslim state in the east of Al-Andalus (present-day Spain) with its capital in Saraqusta (Zaragoza) city. It was established in the early 11th century as one of the many Taifa kingdoms that foll ...

Siege

Alfonso I arrived at the gates of the city with the

Duke of Aquitaine The duke of Aquitaine (, , ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom ( ...

, William IX, in May 1120. With the possibility of a battle looming, some Aragonese

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

began to make their testaments, including , who donated his assets to the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

and the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

. At the beginning of June, Alfonso received the news that an

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 ...

army was heading to relieve the siege, so he decided to confront them and leave a small part of his army besieging the city. After defeating the

Muslim 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 ...

army at , the city surrendered along with

Daroca Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district. It is located in the basin of Calatayud, in the valley of the Jiloca river. N ...

, which was also under siege.

Aftermath

The city surrendered without resistance from the local Muslims. After the capture of the city, Alfonso I appointed Jimeno Sanz as lord of the city, although he was replaced two years later by . Alfonso I granted the city a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

, which he ratified and extended in December 1131. Alfonso I conquered Borja in 1122 and

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. Built on a hilltop at about 1210 metres above sea level, the town oversees the Jalón valley. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba ...

in 1124. During the next two years, he launched a campaign against the lands of

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 ...

and

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 ...

and, despite not obtaining any territorial changes, he took with him many

Mozarabs The Mozarabs (from ), or more precisely Andalusi Christians, were the Christians of al-Andalus, or the territories of Iberia under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, the Christian ...

who would repopulate cities conquered by him previously, including Calatayud.

Legacy

Every weekend closest to 24 June, the inhabitants of Calatayud celebrate a festival called ', which commemorate the capture of the city by the Aragonese forces.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Calatayud Conflicts in 1120 Sieges involving the Almoravid Empire Sieges involving Aragon History of Aquitaine 12th century in al-Andalus 12th century in Aragon Sieges involving Al-Andalus Military history of Aragon 1120 in Europe