Battle of Badajoz (1134)
Part of the Reconquista
Date March 1134 Location Badajoz Result Almoravid victory
Belligerents
Almoravid dynasty	Kingdom of Castile
Commanders and leaders
Tashfin ibn Ali	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Thousands
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Few survived

The Battle of Badajoz was a military engagement between the Almoravids and the raiding party from Castile. The Castilians were soundly defeated.

Battle

The nobles of Salamanca, motivated by the victory of Rodrigo González de Lara over the Almoravids at the battle of al-Sharafe, ^[a] made the decision to raid the area around Badajoz. ^[1] They raised a sizable army with thousands of soldiers, including champions from Castile. As soon as they arrived, they started destroying everything, carrying out massacres, and capturing livestock and people. ^{[2] [3] [4]} When Tasfin bin Ali, the governor of Cordoba, learned of the raid, he organized his army to confront them. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

After leaving Seville, Tashfin sent his scouts to find the enemy and pursued them; they eventually met the Castilians east of Badajoz, close to the Sagrajas hills, where Tashfin's grandfather had defeated the Castilians. Tashfin started organizing his troops; he had Zenata berbers in the front, Andalusian forces on the flanks, and Almoravid troops in the center. ^{[8] [9]}

Many of the nobility made the decision to flee the battlefield the night before the fight. The fight started early the following day. Following a fierce battle, the Castilians were soundly defeated. Only a small number of the Castilians survived the massacre. ^[10] The Almoravids took control of the Castilian camp, liberated the prisoners, ^[b] and took the previously taken loot. ^{[11] [12]} March 1134 was the month of the battle. ^[13]

Aftermath

Tashfin returned to Cordoba victorious, then to Granada, where he was well received. ^{[14] [15]} The Castilians attempted to raid Badajoz in October and June 1136, but both were defeated. ^[16]

Notes

• ^[a] al-Sharafe is located to the west of Seville. ^[17]
• ^[b] The Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris claims that all prisoners were executed before the battle happened. ^[18]

References

Sources

• Richard Fletcher and Simon Barton, The World of El Cid, Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest. [1]
• Muhammad Abdullah Enan, The State of Islam in Andalusia, Vol. III: The Era of Almoravids and Almohads, Part 1. [2]
• Ibn 'Idhari, Al-Bayan al-Mughrib, Vol III. [3]