Siege of Coimbra (1064)

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The siege of Coimbra in 1064 or the definitive conquest of Coimbra by Christian forces took place in 1064, from January to July; it ended on 9 July 1064,[

Ferdinand I of Leon
, captured the city from the Muslims.

The city of

Saint Isidore of Seville in León.[2]

Before he moved against Coimbra however, he made a pilgrimage to

James of Compostela, for three days and made several donations to the church there, he departed accompanied by his wife Dona Sancha, his sons, the Bishop Crescónio of Santiago, Bishop Vistruário of Lugo, Bishop Suário of Mondonhedo, Bishop Sesnando of Portugal, the abbot Ariano of Cela Nova, abbot Pedro of Guimarães, and a large number of nobles. They advanced through a coastal road that linked Santiago de Compostela to Iria Flavia to Braga, Porto and Coimbra.[2]

They arrived before the walls of the city on 20 January 1064. The Muslim garrison fiercely resisted the Christian attacks. The supply situation of the Christians was not favourable and Ferdinand even pondered lifting the siege.[2] At the end of six months however, his forces managed to open a breach in the walls using battering rams, and the Muslim command sought to surrender in exchange for their lives before the final assault, the Muslim general having in fact delivered himself and his family to Ferdinand.[2] The rest of the population, however, did not accept surrender and continued to resist. With food supplies running low in the city, it was violently taken by storm, with many killed and 5000 Muslims taken captive.[2] King Ferdinand entered the city on 9 July 1064.[2][contradictory]

The city was then delivered to

Sesnando Davides, who ruled it as Count of Coimbra until his death in 1091.[3] The city would become an important settlement place for Mozarabs (Portuguese: moçárabes) arriving from Muslim lands to the south.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Livermore, H. V. (1947). A History of Portugal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 41.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-84-89512-41-2
    .
  3. ^ Reilly, Bernard F. (1988). "The Three Kingdoms: Galicia" and "The Search for a Successor (1092-1096)". The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065–1109. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 14–34, and pp. 231–259.
  4. ISBN 9789899924253
    . p. 246: The military pacification of this territory allowed the city to become an attractor of populations from southern regions, including Mozarab groups.

Further reading

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