In the vicinity of the Badajoz plain in the Sagrajas region of Spain, the historic battle of Zalqa took place between the Almoravid army led by Prince Youssef bin Tashfin and the Spaniards led by King Alfonso VI, on October 23, 1086 AD.
"Wars of Payback"
After the fall of the Amiri state in 399 AH / 1009 AD, the Umayyad Caliphate fell in Andalusia, and the state was divided into 20 small states ruled by kings and princes, called "Kings of Taifas", and among the most famous of them were Banu Abbad in Seville, Banu Dhul-Nun in Toledo, and Banu Hood in Zaragoza.
At a time when division prevailed among the Muslim princes of Andalusia, during the era of the cults, the Christians of the West established a federation between the kingdoms of Leon and Castile at the hands of Fernando I, who started the "Wars of Reconquista", that is, the return of Muslim Andalusia to the Western Christian fold.
When Fernando I died, his son Alfonso VI continued the war against the Islamic cities until he captured the city of Toledo in 478 AH / 1085 AD, the most important northern Andalusian city and the largest Muslim stronghold.
The fall of Toledo in the hands of the Spaniards was a bad omen and a bad omen for the Muslims of Andalusia, as King Alfonso explicitly affirmed that "he will not rest until he recovers all of Andalusia and takes Toledo as the capital of his kingdom."
Reasons for the Battle of Zallaqah
When King Alfonso VI of Spain entered the city of Toledo in the year (478 AH / 1085 AD), he broke all covenants and turned mosques into churches, ignoring all the promises he had made with the people of the city.
Alfonso VI mistreated the kings of the cults and began to address them in a sarcastic language, and called himself "the two-multin", meaning the king of Islam and Christianity.
Alfonso VI imposed the tribute on the kings of the cults and sabotaged their crops by launching successive raids, seizing their castles one after the other, which awakened jealousy in the hearts of scholars and jurists who contacted Yusuf bin Tashfin, complaining about the humiliation and minorities they were subjected to, and he promised them aid and assistance and return them to their homelands.
In the face of the Christians waiting for the Muslims of Andalusia, and the increasing military pressure on them under the leadership of King Alfonso VI, Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, King of Seville and Cordoba, realized the outrage and danger of his policy of submission to the King of Leon and Castile.
Ibn Abbad, with the Prince of Badajoz Al-Mutawakkil on God Ibn Al-Aftas, took the initiative to write to the emir of the Almoravids, and the ruler of Morocco at the time, Youssef bin Tashfin (belonging to the Lamtouna tribe, one of the Sanhaja tribes located on Mount Lamtouna, known as Adrar in Mauritania), crying out to him to ward off the grave danger, and soon the Almoravids responded to an invitation approved.
When Ibn Abbad sensed strength and bond, he responded to the owner of Castile and Leon a different response from what he had written from him, and signed for him in his own handwriting on the back of a letter whose content was ridiculous and contemptuous.
And as Ibn Adhari al-Marrakchi quoted in his book “Al-Bayan Al-Maghrib fi Akhbar Al-Andalus and Al-Maghrib,” Ibn Abbad wrote to Alfonso VI saying, “I read your book and understood your arrogance and admiration, and I will see for you fans made of leather in the hands of the Almoravid armies, they will leave you and not you, God willing.”
A historical drawing depicting a scene from the Battle of Zallaqah (Getty Images)
Highlights of the Battle of Zallaqah
The emir of the Muslims, the Almoravid Yusuf bin Tashfin, was at the head of Jarrar's army of more than 20,000 soldiers (including 400 Sudanese) accompanied by 500 camels.
On the banks of the Wadi Beira, the Muslim army lined up in a state of extreme alert, consisting of the front, led by Al-Mu'tamid bin Abbad, and supported by Abu Suleiman Dawood bin Aisha in the ten thousand Almoravid Knights.
The starboard is led by al-Mutawakkil ibn al-Aftas, the emir of Badajoz, and the facilitator is led by the people of eastern Andalusia, and the rest of the people of al-Andalus will lead the way.
As for the reserve army, led by Youssef bin Tashfin, it was composed of an elite of the Almoravids, the people of Morocco, and his own guard, and its mission was to hide behind the nearby hills in anticipation of any surprise attack from the enemy.
Most historians say that before the start of the battle, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, King of Castile and Leon, was given the choice between 3 things, the first of which was to convert to Islam and those with him, or to pay the tribute or war.
In the meantime, Youssef bin Tashfin and Alfonso VI agreed that the meeting would be on Monday, but the latter broke the promise, and on October 23, 1086 corresponding to the year 479 AH, the battle of Zalqa took place between Ben Tashfin's army and the Spaniards near Badajoz Plain. In Spanish Sagrajas.
Before reaching the plain of Zalqa, the site of the battle, Youssef occupied the Green Island, then proceeded to build its walls, restore its towers, dig trenches, ship it with food and weapons, and arranged a soldier from the elite of his men and housed them there.
The attack on Alfonso and his forces intensified in front of the forces of Ibn Tashfin, who threw his 4,000 private guards into battle, and one of them managed to reach Alfonso VI, and stabbed him in the thigh with a powerful stab that made him limp for the rest of his life.
Weapons of the Almoravids in the Battle of Zalqa
Since its inception, the Almoravid state was characterized by a military character, as the Almoravid kings were imitating the positions of ministry, state and judiciary to military leaders from members of the ruling house, such as Ibn Abi Bakr Al-Lamtouni, Omar bin Tamim Al-Kadali, and Daoud bin Aisha, who was at the head of the cavalry.
The Almoravids used curved daggers in their wars, a new weapon that the Spaniards did not know before, to the extent that the King of Castile and Leon, thought it a scythe when he was stabbed in the thigh by a soldier of Yusuf ibn Tashfin at the battle of Zallaqa.
Among the weapons used by the Almoravids were also chasers, short spears, catapults and gears, long iron-headed bats, lattice shields made of antelope skins, short daggers and long-throwing bows.
The Almoravid Army in the Battle of Zalqa
Almost all historians agree that the Almoravid army was composed of the Almoravid tribes, then the Hashem, which consisted of elements other than the Almoravid element, and they are from Jazoula, Lamta, Masmouda and Zenata.
As for the special guard, it was formed by the Almoravids from the Romans and the Sudanese to protect their emirate, as Yusuf bin Tashfin collected through traders in the region of Ghana a large number of slaves and negroes and provided them with weapons and horses and trained them in the arts and deception of war, along with a group of Andalusian Christian boys.
With regard to the Arabs, the Arab elements coming from Andalusia to Morocco participated in the Almoravid wars in Andalusia, as did the Saqalaba, that is, the Spaniards who were thrown by the Almoravids in their war against the Almohads after them under the leadership of the Al-Ghaz division and the Turks.
The Almoravid fleet was anchored in the port of Almeria and Cadiz in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, estimated at 100 naval barges, and about 1,700 Almoravid knights were in Andalusian castles such as Seville and Cordoba.
The Spanish Army at the Battle of Zallaqah
The forces of Alfonso VI assembled on the plain of Badajoz, consisted, along with the forces of Castile, of cavalry volunteers who came from southern France and Italy, knights and European churches, in addition to forces from Aragon, Galicia and Asturias. He is led by Count Garcia and Count Zoderic, to attack the forces of Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad.
The second section was composed of two wings led by the two commanders, Mancho Ramirez, King of Aragon, and Count Raimondo. The third section, the heart, was led by Alfonso VI, while the front was led by the famous Castilian leader Albarhans and included the soldiers of the Principality of Aragon.
The results of the battle of Zallaqa
Subsequently, the Spaniards fled in front of the Sudanese soldiers who were advancing the army, and the Almoravid army pounced upon them and defeated them with a heavy defeat.
With this incident, the Muslims recovered the city of Valencia and returned to them sovereignty over the Green Island, and when they were Ibn Tashfin returning to Morocco, he left 3 thousand soldiers to protect the island under the leadership of the Almoravid leader Sir bin Abi Bakr.
After the victory of the Muslims in Zallaqah, Yusuf ibn Tachfin appointed Daoud ibn Aisha as governor of the province of Murcia and confronted the attacks of Rodrigo Díaz de Pipar, also known in Spanish sources as "Cid Campeador", a Castilian military leader who managed to conquer Valencia, and established an independent entity In this city from June 17, 1094 AD until his death and inherited by his wife Khamitha Diath, until the city returned to the fold of Islamic rule in 1102 at the hands of the Almoravids.
In the year (481 AH / 1088 AD) Ibn Tashfin crossed the Strait of Gibraltar towards the other enemy for the second time, capturing Malaga and Granada.
In the year (496 AH / 1103 AD) he crossed the sea for the third time and seized the entire country of Andalusia.
Al-Mu’tamid bin Abbad sought help from Yusuf bin Tashfin several times after the battle of Zallaqa, until the latter decided to annex Andalusia to his state. He is released.
Reasons for the victory of the Muslims in the Battle of Zallaqa
The reasons for the victory of the Muslims in this battle were identified by the Moroccan historian Ibrahim Harkat in 5:
The Almoravids chose to lead the army their greatest leaders, such as Sir bin Abi Bakr and Daoud bin Aisha.
Keeping most of the army as a reserve force.
The Christians were fighting wearing armor and it prevented them from moving quickly.
Christians did not think to protect the rear of their armies.
The surprise plan used by the Almoravids to destroy the enemy's strength.
Moreover, the reasons for the victory can be traced back to the unification of the ranks of the kings of the sects by Youssef bin Tashfin in the face of the Christian threat, as well as the surprise of the Spanish army with the noise caused by the sound of drums.