Battle of Fraga

Coordinates: 41°31′00″N 0°20′00″E / 41.5167°N 0.3333°E / 41.5167; 0.3333
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Battle of Fraga
Part of the Reconquista

Alfonso I of Aragon the Battler.
Date17 July 1134
Location
Fraga, Spain
Result Almoravid victory.
Belligerents
Kingdom of Aragon Almoravid dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Alfonso I of Aragon †[1]
 Ibn ‘Iyad
Yahya ben Ghaniya
Strength
12,000(exaggerated)[2] 2,700 knights[a]
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The Battle of Fraga was a battle of the Spanish

Almoravid
forces that had come to the aid of the town of Fraga which was being besieged by King Alfonso I. The battle resulted in an Almoravid victory. The Aragonese monarch Alfonso I died shortly after the battle.

Context

Since the second half of the 11th century, the kings of

Cinca Rivers all the way to the mouth of the Ebro, an active and prosperous region with direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. The most important towns in this region were Lleida, Mequinenza, Fraga, and Tortosa
.

The battle

In July 1134, King

Cordoba, son of the caliph, equipped a force of 2,000 knights, the Emir of Murcia and Valencia put together 500 knights, and the governor of Lleida
another 200. Once these forces combined, they marched to the relief of Fraga.

The day of 17 July 1134 brought the arrival of an Almohad relief force,

Arab origin, exited the city and fell upon the Aragonese camp pillaging and killing a majority of the soldiers there. They made off with all of the Aragonese army's provisions and took them back into the city of Fraga. At this moment, the emir of Cordoba launched a final attack with his cavalry and broke the Christian troops once again. Having lost a majority of his soldiers, Alfonso I the Battler was obliged to flee and made for Zaragoza. He died 7 September 1134.[3]

Casualties and aftermath

The Aragonese toll at Fraga was significant. Amongst the dead or captured were many notable members of Aragonese society. Guy of Lescar fought with the Christian forces, was captured by the Almoravid forces, and imprisoned at Balensiyya.

Aside from the king, the following notable Aragonese knights were killed at Fraga:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Powers states both sides numbered several thousand men[2]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0801465543
    .
  2. ^ a b Powers 2010, p. 63.
  3. ^ a b c d e Reilly 1995, p. 173.
  4. ^ Cheyette 2001, p. 16.

Sources

  • Cheyette, Fredric L. (2001). Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours. Cornell University Press.
  • Powers, James F. (2010). "Fraga, Siege and Battle of". In Rogers, Clifford J. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–63.
  • Reilly, Bernard F. (1995). The Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain, 1031-1157. Blackwell Publishing.
  • Sénac, Philippe (2000). La frontière et les hommes (VIIIe - XIIIe siècle) : le peuplement musulman au nord de l'Ebre et les débuts de la reconquête aragonaise. Maisonneuve et Larose.
    ISBN 2-7068-1421-7
    .

41°31′00″N 0°20′00″E / 41.5167°N 0.3333°E / 41.5167; 0.3333

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