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Conquest of Tarifa
| Conquest of Tarifa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Battle of the Strait; Reconquista | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Crown of Castile Crown of Aragon Republic of Genoa Emirate of Granada | Marinid Sultanate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sancho IV of Castile Benedetto Zaccaria Berenguer de Montoliú | Abu Yaqub | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
More than 30 galleys[1] About 8,000 knights[2] | About 3,000 combatants[3][4] | ||||||
The Conquest of Tarifa was a military operation led by the Crown of Castile, with Genoese, Aragonese and Granadan support, through which the city of Tarifa, held by the Marinids, was conquered in 1292.
The conquest was a crucial milestone in the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, since this city, strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar, had been a Muslim stronghold for centuries, and its fall marked a turning point in the struggle between Christians and Muslims.
History
The siege of the city, which had held key strategic importance throughout much of the Middle Ages for the various powers of the area,[5] consisted of a combined attack by land and naval forces.
Since the previous year Tarifa had been subjected to a naval blockade that played a fundamental role in preventing supplies from reaching the city.[6] The naval contingent, led by the Genoese Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria, was made up of a fleet of Genoese, Castilian and Aragonese ships (the latter under the subcommand of Berenguer de Montoliú).[7]
Sancho IV also had logistical help from the Emirate of Granada, who were in conflict with the Marinids of North Africa.[4] From its beginnings the Kingdom of Granada was an allied kingdom of the Crown of Castile, although later it had to become its tributary in order to maintain its independence.[8] The struggles between Christians and Marinids for control of the Strait of Gibraltar were a constant in that period, with a long history of alliances and betrayals, of losses and conquests.[8]
The land siege took shape around July 1292, with the arrival in the area of Sancho IV of Castile, subjecting Tarifa to a prolonged siege and weakening the city's defenses.[9]
According to the chronicles, the entry of the victorious forces of Sancho IV into the city must have taken place around October 14, 1292.[10]
Consequences
The conquest of Tarifa had important consequences in both the short and the long term. On the one hand, the victory at Tarifa opened the way for new Christian conquests in the Iberian Peninsula, and it was a hard blow for the Muslim kingdoms of the south of the Peninsula.
In addition, the conquest consolidated the power of Castile as one of the main Christian powers of the Peninsula, laying the foundations for the later unification of the Iberian Peninsula under the Castilian Crown.
According to Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada, the conquest of the city was the most decisive Christian advance in two centuries of conflicts in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar.[11]
References
- ↑ López Fernández 2013, p. 22.
- ↑ López Fernández 2013, p. 23.
- ↑ Segura González 2006, p. 5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ladero Quesada 1993, p. 19.
- ↑ López Fernández 2013, p. 7.
- ↑ López Fernández 2013, p. 21.
- ↑ Iglesias Rodríguez 2003, p. 44.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 García de Cortázar y Ruiz de Aguirre, Fernando, p. 211
- ↑ Segura González 2006, p. 6.
- ↑ Segura González 2006, p. 4.
- ↑ Ladero Quesada 1993, p. 22.
Bibliography
- Iglesias Rodríguez, Juan José (2003). "Monarquía y nobleza señorial en Andalucía: estudios sobre el señorío de El Puerto (siglos XIII-XVIII)" (in español). University of Seville. ISBN 84-472-0770-6.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) - Ladero Quesada, Miguel Ángel (1993). "Castilla y la batalla del estrecho en torno a 1292: la toma de Tarifa". Almoraima: revista de estudios campogibraltareños (in español) (9). Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Campo de Gibraltar: 15–24. ISSN 1133-5319.
- López Fernández, Manuel (2013). "La conquista de Tarifa y su defensa en tiempos de Sancho IV". Al Qantir (in español). 15: 5–72. ISSN 1989-9815.
- Segura González, Wenceslao (2006). "La fecha de la conquista de Tarifa por Sancho IV el Bravo". Aljaranda (in español). 62. Tarifa: Tarifa City Council: 4–9. ISSN 1130-7986.
