Although a rather monolithic and somewhat simplistic image is usually offered of the very long stage of the Reconquest, the truth is that it was a fairly complex process with periods of initiative on both sides and frequent mutual alliances, which is why it lasted for almost eight centuries. Plenty of time to find a multitude of situations and episodes that would surely surprise many readers. One of them is the participation of extra-peninsular armies and I am not only talking about the Muslims (in whose ranks there were Berbers, Arabs, Rif people, Mauritanians and others whose arrival is summarized in the initial and subsequent waves of Almoravids and Almohads); There were also Christian fighters from other parts of Europe and we have a good example in the conquest of Almería by Alfonso VII.
After a difficult childhood in which he had to stay with his mother Urraca I in Galicia, the young sovereign of León claimed his rights over Castile as well, resolved the opposition of some bishops to his marriage to Berengaria of Barcelona, aspired (without success) to the Navarrese-Aragonese throne on the death of his namesake and stepfather El Batallador , and subjected the territories of Zaragoza, La Rioja, Pamplona, Barcelona, Tolosa and the south of France (Gascony, Urgel, Montpellier, Foix...) to vassalage, which allowed him to recover the old imperial idea.
Because Alfonso VII, King of León and Castile, was not known by the nickname of The Emperor because of a whim. The one who was the first Leonese monarch of the Burgundian dynasty (which would later be replaced by the Trastámara) was crowned Imperator totus Hispaniae realizing an old tradition of his predecessors, that of the auctoritas Iberian, to give substance to its predominance over the other peninsular kingdoms (Portugal, Aragon, Navarra, the county of Barcelona and several Muslim taifas paid vassalage to it) and continue the justification of royal legitimacy as a descendant of the Visigothic monarchy.
Solved those questions and under the extra denomination of Rex Hispaniarum , as quoted in the Poema de Almería (also known as Praefatio Almeriae , a later addition to the Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris ), he turned his attention south by initiating a series of plundering raids with Muslim allies such as Ahmad al-Mustansir Sayf al-Dawla (better known as Zafadola ), lord of Rueda de Jalón, or Muhammad ibn Mardanis, alias Wolf King , another Andalusian soldier who, like the previous one, was opposed to the Almoravids. As their dominion was inevitably collapsing, with the help of those mentioned he snatched Coria, Jaén and Córdoba from them. But in the year 1146 an unexpected event occurred that changed the panorama:the appearance of a new and powerful enemy.
They were the Almohads, who with their rigorous vision of Islam landed in Algeciras ready to put an end to the spiritual decadence in which the Almoravids had fallen, originally also severe. These, aware of the danger - the newcomers were advancing unstoppable - agreed to an alliance with Alfonso; the objective was the conquest of Almería, which had been occupied. But it was not an easy task, so special measures were imposed and Pope Eugene III was asked to issue a crusade appeal to all of Christendom. The prelate complied and an important international coalition began to be formed whose ranks included Castilian, Aragonese and Catalan soldiers, but also Genoese, Pisan (the pontiff was) and French.
Almería fell in October 1147, after three months of siege. Traditionally, the chronicles attribute the main merit to the Iberian troops, especially Aragonese and the County of Barcelona. However, it is interesting to see the version given by Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone, a Genoese diplomat, sailor, writer and soldier who took part in the campaign and left an account of the events. In his work Ystoria captionis Almarie et Turtuose he explains how a council was held in the city of Genoa in which the consuls, six notables and four popular, “aware of the will of God and knowing the desire of the people” , heeded the call of the Holy See and began to organize an army. Of course, as can be seen, his point of view was Christian and providential.
The people had to contribute funds with which to finance weapons, stores, flags, siege baggage and provisions, so that in five months a fleet of sixty-three galleys plus a hundred and a half other smaller ships was formed. That force arrived at the port of Barcelona but a squadron of fifteen ships under the command of the consul Balduino continued towards Almería as an advance guard to contact Alfonso VII. Once there it turned out that the Emperor he wasn't there, which left them in an exposed situation, so they sent Otto de Bonvillano in search of him. He found him in Baeza, where he had waged another war with the Muslims of Jaén after which he dismissed his people, keeping only a meager troop of a thousand men and four hundred horsemen that he could contribute little.
Meanwhile, the Almohads, seeing their superiority, tried to drag Baldwin into battle. His requests for the bulk of the fleet to come fell on deaf ears because he was still stocking up. Who did do it was the Count of Barcelona, with whom Baldwin designed a trap:the Genoese would fake an amphibious assault from the sea with part of their troops to encourage the Saracens to leave their walls, at which time a signal would be made the Catalans to leave their hiding place on the other side of the river and fall on them.
Though wary at first, the Muslim scouts were unable to discover any hidden enemies and rushed at the disembarking Genoese. They managed to hold out long enough to give the Count of Barcelona time to arrive and surprise the attackers, immediately being reinforced by the rest of the galleys. The Almohads were trapped between three fronts and the sea, suffering a colossal massacre between those who fell on the beach and those who did so trying to flee by entering the water. Caffaro estimated about five thousand dead.
After that victory, the siege of the city itself began, with towers, catapults, trenches and other paraphernalia. The enemy fleet attempted three sorties but failed in all of them. Also the infantry carried out raids to try to destroy the siege train; however, the Christian army already had too great a numerical superiority and on top of that it was enlarged with the arrival of Alfonso VII and his fourteen hundred troops. Thus, the allies managed to demolish two towers and open a breach of eighteen meters in the wall. The situation became dramatic for the defenders of Almería, who contacted the Emperor, Armengol VI of Urgel and King García Ramírez of Pamplona to reach an agreement.
The offer was one hundred thousand maravedis and other riches in exchange for lifting the siege, leaving the Genoese alone. Learning of this, the consuls decided to make an extra effort by making a frontal assault on Almería the following morning. Caffaro recounts that they organized themselves into twelve companies of about a thousand men each and urged the Emperor and the Count of Barcelona to join them, but that Alfonso "came only reluctantly, and when he did, he found the Genoese companies already armed at the field» . The attack began "quietly, without battle cries" and three hours later the troops managed to enter the city.
The chronicler recounts that "twenty thousand Saracens died that day" and took "ten thousand women and children to Genoa" , it follows that as slaves. The citadel still held out for another four days, after which it had to surrender; In order for the lives of the defenders to be spared, they had to pay thirty million maravedís. Otto de Bonovillano, who was made Count of Castile and León, stayed as governor of Almería with a garrison of a thousand soldiers while the galleys returned to Barcelona taking a third of the booty. Of course, the city would be recovered by the Almohads ten years later and Alfonso, who tried to reconquer it again without success, died immediately afterwards. By then Caffaro had already written his book; he died in Genoa in 1164.