Battle of Los Alporchones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Los Alporchones |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish Reconquista | |||||||
 The Church of St. Patrick in Lorca, named thus because of the date the battle was fought on |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Castile Kingdom of Murcia |
.svg){kind=small} Emirate of Granada |
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John II of Castile Alonso Fajardo el Bravo |
Muhammad IX of Granada  Malik Anes (POW)  |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 400–700 knights 1,700–2,000 foot soldiers |
Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 40 killed 200 injured |
High 400 captured |
||||||
The Battle of Los Alporchones was an important fight during the Reconquista in Spain. It happened on March 17, 1452. This battle was fought between the soldiers of the Emirate of Granada and the combined armies of the Kingdom of Castile and its ally, the Kingdom of Murcia.
The army from Granada was led by Malik ibn al-Abbas. The Castilian troops were commanded by Alonso Fajardo el Bravo. He was a powerful leader from the House of Fajardo and the governor of Lorca Castle. The battle took place near the city of Lorca. The Kingdom of Castile won this battle.
Why the Battle Happened
After taking back control of the Emirate of Granada in 1447, Sultan Muhammed IX continued to attack the Kingdom of Castile. His uncle, the previous Sultan, had already captured some border towns. He did this through regular raids, which are quick attacks to steal goods and cause fear. These attacks often happened when the Christian leaders in Murcia were arguing among themselves. For example, in 1448, Muslim forces captured and robbed the town of Cieza. They also defeated Christian forces at the Battle of Hellín.
The constant attacks by Muslim forces in Murcia made the Castilian king, John II of Castile, ask for a truce in 1450. A truce is a temporary stop to fighting. King John II wanted to focus his army on another war he was having. However, Sultan Muhammad IX refused the truce. He wanted to take advantage of the disagreements among the Castilian nobles.
In 1451, the Sultan's forces raided Murcia again and took a lot of valuable items. Muhammad IX then planned a very large raid, called an Algara, on the area of Campo de Cartagena. This raid captured 40,000 cattle and about 40 people, mostly herders.
This huge raid forced the Christian leaders in Castile to stop their own arguments. They decided to work together against the Kingdom of Granada. Alonso Fajardo, the governor of Lorca Castle, who was known as el Bravo (meaning The Brave), sent messengers to different towns in the Kingdom of Murcia. An army of about 300 knights and 2,000 foot soldiers gathered from Aledo, Caravaca de la Cruz, and Murcia. They set up camp outside Lorca, in a field called Los Alporchones. They knew the Muslim raiders would have to pass through this area on their way back.
The Battle Itself
On March 17, 1452, the Moorish army finally reached Los Alporchones. The Castilian forces attacked by surprise, which gave them an early advantage. The Castilian army was almost immediately victorious. However, the Granadan commander, Malik ibn al-Abbas, was known for his bravery. He managed to reorganize his soldiers twice during the fight.
Stories from that time say that Alonso Fajardo, realizing the battle could go either way, decided to fight the enemy captain one-on-one. They fought until Fajardo managed to knock al-Abbas off his horse and capture him.
When their leader was captured, the Muslim army lost their courage and ran away from the battlefield. The Castilian forces chased them all the way to Vera. It is said that only 300 Muslim soldiers managed to escape. The Granadan army had many losses, with about 400 soldiers captured. The Castilian army had about 40 soldiers killed and 200 wounded.
What Happened After
The Battle of Los Alporchones had many important results. Attacks into the Kingdom of Murcia stopped completely. The Kingdom of Granada asked for a five-year truce. Future conflicts between the two kingdoms would then take place only on Granadan land, until the Granada War much later.
The battle greatly increased the fame of Lorca and especially the House of Fajardo. One branch of this noble family later became the powerful House of los Vélez.
To honor St Patrick of Ireland, whose special day is celebrated on March 17 (the same day as the battle), he was named the patron saint of the city of Murcia. A church was built in Lorca, which later became the Colegiata de San Patricio.
Malik ibn al-Abbas was executed by his captors shortly after the battle. The winner, Alonso Fajardo el Bravo, was later killed in a battle in Caravaca de la Cruz. He was fighting against soldiers led by his cousin, Pedro Fajardo.
Legacy
Like many battles of the Reconquista, this battle was written about in poems. Here is a small part from the beginning of a Spanish language poem that describes the battle. In the poem, the Arabic names are changed to their Spanish versions, which is how their Spanish enemies would have known them. For example, Malik ibn al-Abbas was called Alabez de Vera.
Allá en Granada la rica (Over there, in Granada, the rich one)
instrumentos oí tocar (I heard instruments being played)
en la calle Gomeles (at the street of Gomeles)
a la puerta de Abidvar (at Abdivar Gate)
el cual es moro valiente (who is a valiant Moorish)
y muy fuerte capitán (and a very strong Captain)
Manda juntar muchos moros (he orders to bring together many Moors)
bien diestros en pelear (well versed in fighting)
porque en el Campo de Lorca (because at the Lorca field)
se determinan de entrar (they are decided to invade)
con él salen tres alcaides (with him depart three Mayors)
aquí los quiero nombrar: (here I want to give their names:)
Almoradí de Guadix (Almoradi of Guadix)
éste es de sangre real (he is from royal blood)
Abenaciz es el otro (Abenaciz is the other one)
y de Baza natural (born in Baza)
y de Vera es Alabez (and from Vera is Alabez)
de esfuerzo muy singular (who is a singularly hard fighter)
y en cualquier guerra su gente (and in any war his people)
bien la sabe acaudillar (he knows well how to lead)
|Ginés Pérez de Hita
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Los Alporchones para niños
- Emirate of Granada
- Kingdom of Castile
- House of Fajardo
