| October 23 |  |
Editor says, what if the Almoravids had lost the Battle of az-Zallaqah? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the November 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
| Share this Article on: |  Facebook |  Twitter |
In 1086, on this day the forces of Alfonso VI King of León and Castile won a decisive victory fought in treacherous conditions over the Almoravid army at the Battle of az-Zallaqah ("slippery ground").
Castilian Victory at the Battle of the Slippery GroundAfter the Castilians had captured Toledo and invaded the taifa of Zaragoza, the emirs of the smaller taifa kingdoms of Islamic Iberia found that they could not resist against him without external assistance. Yusuf ibn Tashfin was invited by them to fight against Alfonso VI and he replied to the call of three Andalusian leaders (Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad and others) and crossed the straits to Algeciras and moved to Seville. From there, accompanied by the emirs of Seville, Granada and Taifa of Málaga marched to Badajoz. To do so, he was forced to abandon the siege of Zaragoza, recall his troops from Valencia and appeal to Sancho I of Aragon for help. Finally he set out to meet the enemy northeast of Badajoz. The two armies met each other on 23 October 1086.
Alfonso VI of Castile reached the battleground with some 2,500 men, including 1,500 cavalry, in which 750 were knights, but found himself outnumbered. The two leaders exchanged messages before the battle. Yusuf ibn Tashfin is reputed to have offered three choices to the Castilians: convert to Islam, to pay tribute (jizyah), or battle. Despite some signs of panic in the Castilllian army [1] Alfonso (pictured) managed to control his troops and the result was a decisive victory for the Reconquistadors.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Az-Zallaqah, Slippery Ground, Reconquista, Castile, Almoravid. Editor says, in reality at least half the Castilian army was lost. The battle was a decisive victory for the Almoravids but their losses meant that it was not possible to follow it up although Yusuf had to return prematurely to Africa due to the death of his heir. Castile suffered almost no loss of territory and was able to retain the psychologically important city of Toledo, occupied the previous year. However, the Christian advance was halted for several generations while both sides regrouped. Please note that we have re-purposed significant amounts of content from Wikipedia.
~ Alfonzo would have renewed the siege of Zaragosa, and would likely have taken it by the time the enemy had returned from Morocco. He would also have demanded tribute from the Taifas. It would have been important to keep the pressure on the Taifa allies of the Moors. (By the way, this dynasty was from Senegal, and was the source of the "dark" Moor myth.)
~ Could have hastened the Reconquista. Columbus might've needed to go elsewhere to find a royal willing to donate to his cause.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
