The siege of Tomar was a military engagement that took place in 1190 between the Almohad caliphate who attacked the town of

Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and the Templar Order, who owned the settlement and successfully defended it from the Muslim attack.

Context

The master of the Templars in Portugal was the formidable Dom Gualdim Pais, who had spent five years in the Holy Land and shortly after his return to Portugal, construction began on the castle of Tomar. Tomar was founded by Pais in March 1, 1160, and became the headquarters of the Order in Portugal. Pais brought innovation and particular attention was paid to the layout and construction of Tomar, as it was the first Templar castle designed as the Orders headquarters in Portugal. It featured a number of military design innovations like a keep, an angled wall and was a clear departure from the typical Iberian castle and featured Muslim elements.Diana Jean Muir:
TEMPLARS Who were they? Where did they go?
', vol 2, Lulu Publishing, 2019, pp. 169-170. After king

Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I (born ; Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) also referred to as Sancho the Populator (), was King of Portugal from 1185 until his death in 1211. He was the second king of Portugal. Sancho was the second but only surviving legitimat ...

captured the major city of Silves in south-western

Iberia 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, compri ...

, the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

caliph

Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; d. 23 January 1199), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reig ...

decided to undertake a number of vigorous campaigns against Portugal. Silves was besieged and a truce was signed with king

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarc ...

, leaving al-Mansur free to advance through the Alentejo.

Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1,499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 y ...

Palmela Palmela () is a town and municipality in Portugal. As of 2011, the population was 62,831, covering an area of 465.12 km². The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday ...

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 20 ...

Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the central Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus River, which runs through ...

were captured and moving north beyond the Tagus River,

Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portugal, Portuguese Concelho, municipality in the district of Santarém (district), Santarém, in the Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo of the Oeste e Vale do Tejo region. The population of the municipality was approximately ...

was captured.José Armando Vizela Cardoso:
Templários Em Tomar
', Edições Vieira da Silva, 2020, p. 59. The caliph then split his forces. and attacked both

and Santarém at the same time. Some Almohads marched north and reached the walls of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

, destroying

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

along the way.H. V. Livermore:
A History of Portugal
', Cambridge University Press, 1947, p. 97.

Siege

Tomar was then one of the strongest castles in Portugal. Dom Gualdim Pais conducted a sally with 300

knight 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 ...

s against the Almohad army. The Almohads managed to capture the main city gate, but were ultimately repulsed after such bloody combats that the gate became henceforth known as ''Porta do Sangue'' or "Blood Gate". Some of the Templars conducted a raid on the Almohad camp through a secret underground tunnel. Meanwhile, a number of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and French crusader vessels called at Silves and

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 ...

. Sancho was at Lisbon at the time and with the support of these reinforcements, the king rejected Yaqub's peace proposals, which involved relinquishing Silves, and marched out to relieve Santarém. Facing stronger resistance than expected, the caliph ordered a withdrawal of all his forces. The Muslims were only able to ravage the unfortified outer suburbs of Tomar. Castelo de Tomar 1

Aftermath

The Templars broke the impetus of the Almohad offensive.Michael Haag:
Templars History and Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons
', 2010, p. 315. The successful defense of Tomar confirmed the military prowess of the Templars and established the Order as an indispensable part of the defense of Portugal. The relatively short action was since recounted in Templar annals as a great victory. Afterwards, the Order rejoined the Portuguese efforts at recapturing territory from the Muslims more actively.

References

{{coord missing, Portugal

12th century in Portugal

1190 in Europe

Context

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References