The Battle of Alarcos

The Almohad caliph Yaʿqub al-Mansur crushingly defeated Alfonso VIII, king of Castile, at the fortress of Alarcos south of Toledo — a victory historians counted as the last of the great Islamic triumphs in al-Andalus.

Alfonso VIII exploited the Almohads' preoccupation with Africa and raided the Muslims' lands as far as the outskirts of Seville, sending al-Mansur a famous letter of challenge. So al-Mansur crossed the sea with vast armies from the Maghrib.

The two hosts met at the fortress of Alarcos on 9 Shaʿban 591 AH (July 1195). al-Mansur ordered a precise plan: repel the Castilian vanguard, then close upon it with the centre and the two wings. The Castilian army was shattered, and Alfonso himself barely escaped.

The fortress fell, the Muslims gained incalculable spoils, and al-Mansur freed thousands of captives without ransom. The Muslims recovered many strongholds, and the victory of Alarcos — before the catastrophe of Las Navas de Tolosa two decades later — remained the last of the great days of Islam's glory in al-Andalus.