Reconquista: Recent Episodes
Sharyn Eastaugh
The history of the rise of Al-Andalus and the gradual re-conquering of Spain by the Spanish Christian kingdoms is an epic tale beginning in the year 712 and concluding with the fall of the Kingdom of Grenada in 1492. Join the History of the Crusades Podcast as we cover this lengthy piece of narrative history.
An ambitious Englishman named John of Gaunt proclaims himself to be the new king of Castile, bringing chaos to the region.
We take a look at the rule of Muhammad V of Grenada who completed the stunning Alhambra palace complex.
King Enrique II of Castile experiences a troubled start to his reign when all the other rulers on the Iberian peninsula unite against him.
The war between Castile and Aragon continues - until it ends abruptly with a surprise assassination.
As the war between Castile and Aragon continues, we welcome another Pedro to the narrative - King Pedro I of Portugal.
The rise to power of Pedro the Cruel in Castile sparks hostilities between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.
An era comes to an end with the death of King Alfonso XI of Castile during the siege of Gibralta in 1350.
We examine one of the most significant conflicts of the Reconquista - the battle of Salado.
Family drama erupts inside the royal courts of Aragon, Castile and Portugal in the 1330s, resulting in conflict between the kingdoms.
King Alfonso XI of Castile launches a crusade against the Muslims of Grenada, while the Kingdom of Navarre manages to shake off French rule.
With the rise to power of King Alfonso IV of Aragon in 1327, most of the kings ruling in the Iberian peninsula were named Alfonso.
Amid changes in leadership, the Muslim Kingdom of Grenada finds itself facing a number of serious challenges.
The mighty Kingdom of Leon and Castile is attacked from all sides as it deals with a succession crisis.
King Frederick III of Sicily attempts to hold on to his crown despite having no allies and some very powerful enemies.
King James II of Aragon and Sicily attempts to hold on to both his crowns in the face of insurmountable difficulties.
Young King Alfonso III of Aragon faces existential threats to his rule as he attempts to hold onto his crown.
King Sancho IV of Leon and Castile finds himself facing a number of domestic and foreign challenges.
King Pedro III of Aragon is proclaimed to be the new King of Sicily - a claim disputed by Charles of Anjou.
We take a look at succession issues confronted by the Kingdom of Navarre and the Kingdom of Aragon.
King Alfonso X returns from his badly timed attempt to become the Holy Roman Emperor, only to see his kingdom plunged into a succession crisis.
While King Alfonso X is absent from the Iberian peninsula, Muhammad of Grenada invades Castile - leaving the kingdom scrambling to defend itself.
King Alfonso X introduces a number of unpopular policies inside his realm, causing a rebellion to break out.
As peace settles over the Iberian peninsula, some of the Christian kings decide to journey to the Holy Land on crusade.
An increasingly frustrated King Alfonso attempts to extend Castilian territory into Navarre, Gascony and northern Africa.
We welcome a new ruler to the kingdoms of Leon and Castile - King Alfonso X. This very ambitious monarch commences his reign by attempting to become the next Holy Roman Emperor.
Following the fall of Seville, many of its Muslim residents relocated to the Kingdom of Grenada. We take a closer look at this Muslim territory.
Two milestone events in the Reconquista occur under the leadership of King Fernando III - the defeat of the cities of Jaen and Seville.
During the busy years of the 1240's King Sancho II of Portugal loses his battle with the church, while ibn al-Ahmar attempts to annex the city of Seville.
During the 1240s, the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdoms of Leon and Castile go on the offensive against al-Andalus, in a campaign known as 'the great game'.
In a major milestone for the Reconquista, King James I of Aragon conquers the city of Valencia in 1238.
King James I of Aragon commences his conquest of Valencia and we welcome a new player to the narrative - King Thibaut I of Navarre.
The Christians succeed in taking one of the most important cities in al-Andalus - the city of Cordoba which surrendered in 1236.
As the Muslims of al-Andalus fight each other, King Fernando of Leon and Castile takes advantage of an opportunity to strike Cordoba.
We follow King James I of Aragon and King Alfonso IX of Leon as they go on the offensive.
As Caliphs come and go at a dizzying rate, Almohad rule in al-Andalus crumbles - giving rise to a new ruler, ibn Hud.
King Fernando III of Castile embarks on his first crusade, while one of the contenders for Caliph forms an unlikely alliance with Castile.
As crusading fever sweeps across Europe, a number of crusades are launched against the Almohads - with mixed results.
We welcome a new King to the throne of Castile and join the Portugese in a crusade to seize a Muslim stronghold to the south of Lisbon.
A bunch of consequential deaths in the years following the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, upend the politics of the Iberian peninsula.
We conclude our look at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, which ends in a decisive victory for the crusaders.
It's crusade time! A major crusading expedition leaves Toledo in June 1212 under the command of King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It heads directly southwards, intending to confront the Caliph's forces.
After a decade-long period of peace, the Christians and Muslims of the Iberian peninsula clash once again, with the Caliph targetting the Christian stronghold of Salvatierra.
A decade long period of peace between the Almohads and the Christians commences, leaving the Christian kings free to do what they do best - fight each other.
Following its loss at the Battle of Alarcos, the Kingdom of Castile faces an existential threat in 1196 as it is attacked simultaneously by Leon, Navarre and the Almohads.
The truces between the Christian rulers and the Caliph expire and both sides clash at the Battle of Alarcos in 1195.
During the years 1190 and 1191, the Caliph launches a number of military campaigns against the Kingdom of Portugal, intent on reclaiming the town of Silves.
Following the bunch of deaths which occurred in the last episode, we have a bunch of new Christian kings - most of whom are named Alfonso.
As the Third Crusade is launched, we see the new king of Portugal, King Sancho I, join with a fleet of crusaders to attack the Muslim town of Silves.
We cover the Caliph's campaign against the Christians in 1184 and wave goodbye to three major players from our narrative.
We track the progress of the two new kids on the block in Christian Spain - King Alfonso VIII of Castile and King Alfonso II of Aragon.
We continue to follow the Caliph on his less than optimal military campaign against the Christians in 1172.
The Almohads finally achieve their goal, becoming the uncontested rulers of al-Andalus. Their next move will be to focus on defeating the Christians.
When the new Caliph turns his attention to al-Andalus, he concentrates on two threats - the Portugese freelancer Geraldo the Fearless and the Almohad's traditional foe the Wolf King.
Ambitious plans by the Almohads to dominate al-Andalus are interrupted by the death of the Caliph.
Some unexpected deaths among the leaders of Christian Spain, result in two kingdoms being ruled by children named Alfonso. Meanwhile, over in the Almohad camp, things aren't going much better with the Caliph and his armies preoccupied in northern Africa.
Following the fateful decision by the late King Alfonso VII to split his kingdom in two, we meet his sons - King Sancho III of Castile and King Fernando II of Leon.
King Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile becomes seriously ill just as the Almohads begin to go on the offensive.
King Alfonso VII's attempts to conquer al-Andalus falter, causing him to search far and wide for extra troops.
At the same time as the King of Portugal is besieging Lisbon, King Alfonso VII and the Count of Barcelona are embarking on conquests of their own.
The siege of Lisbon commences, with the crusaders attacking the suburbs outside the city walls. Construction then begins on some impressive siege equipment.
The fleet of crusaders makes its way southwards to discuss its participation in the siege of Lisbon with King Alfonso I of Portugal.
King Alfonso I of Portugal decides to take advantage of the crusading movement for his campaign to attack Lisbon.
We switch our focus to the southern portion of the Iberian peninsula, where Almoravid influence is waning.
The succession drama following the death of Alfonso of Aragon finally comes to an end with the Christian parts of the Iberian peninsula forming themselves into four separate kingdoms - the Kingdom of Leon & Castile, the Kingdom of Aragon/Catalonia, the Kingdom of Navarre and the Kingdom of Portugal.
As the succession drama following the death of Alfonso of Aragon continues, the Kingdom of Aragon struggles to survive.
Fall out from the death of Alfonso of Aragon leaves leaders from across the region scrambling to take advantage of the situation.
After an action-packed life, Alfonso of Aragon dies in 1134. However, the terms of his will leave the Kingdom of Aragon facing an uncertain future.
In an unexpected turn of events, King Alfonso of Aragon finds himself bogged down by events in France.
Following the death of Queen Urraca in 1127, a scramble for power takes place in the north - resulting in the coronation of King Alfonso VII.
Fresh from his conquest of Zaragoza, Alfonso of Aragon embarks on an ambitious campaign pushing deep into Almoravid territory in 1125.
Queen Urraca finds herself in conflict with Rome following her imprisonment of Archbishop Gelmirez of Santiago de Compostela in 1120.
While King Alfonso of Aragon is occupied in Zaragoza, Queen Uracca embarks on a misson to defeat her enemies in the north of the peninsula.
The Kingdom of Portugal emerges while Queen Urraca endures one of the worst experiences of her reign in the town of Santiago de Compostela.
The warring monarchs in the Christian north finally decide to set their differences aside.
After the breakdown of the marrage between Queen Urraca and Alfonso of Aragon, events threaten to spiral out of control.
The marriage of King Alfonso I of Aragon to Urraca of Leon and Castile gets off to a rocky, gravelly and croaky start - just like my voice in this episode unfortunately.
Just when King Alfonso VI believes he has his succession issues all sorted, an unexpected event throws everything up in the air.
While a looming succession crisis emerges for both king Alfonso VI and the Almoravids, a shift in popular consciousness begins to take place following the death of El Cid.
The Kingdom of Leon and Castile and the Christian territory of Valencia both grapple with succession issues.
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (aka El Cid) scores a memorable victory against the Almoravids at the battle of Cuarte in 1094.
Between the departure of the Almoravids in 1088 and their return in 1090, a number of significant events take place.
In the period of interlude between the departure of the Almoravids and their return to al-Andalus, some significant events take place.
The Almoravids of northern Africa arrive in al-Andalus and clash with King Alfonso VI at the battle of Sagrajas in October 1086.
As King Alfonso VI and Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar prepare to face off in Zaragoza, a new threat emerges to the south.
As King Alfonso's attentions turn to the east, different factions inside Toledo struggle for supremacy.
The taifa of Toledo hits a rocky patch which King Alfonso VI swings to his advantage. Meanwhile, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (later known as El Cid) makes a couple of bad choices and ends up in exile.
During the 1070s, two assassinations - one in al-Andalus and one in the Christian north - send shockwaves across the Iberian peninsula.
Christian armies from France and beyond, hit some speed humps in their attempts to conquer parts of the taifa of Zaragoza.
We turn our attentions to the Christian Kingdoms in the Pyrenees where the King of Aragon has been attempting to conquer territory in Muslim Zaragoza.
Following the death of King Fernando I of Leon and Castile, his heirs embark on a messy succession journey.
Taking advantage of conflict between the Taifas, King Fernando begins his policy of raiding into and extracting tribute from, regions across al-Andalus.
Following the collapse of the Caliphate, a number of regional kingdoms called Taifas, emerge across al-Andalus.
We continue our focus on the Christian states by taking a look at the establishment of Catalonia and the rise of the Kingdom of Aragon.
We track developments in the Kingdom of Navarre, up to the end of the Caliphate in the 1030s.
The chaos in al-Andalus continues, with the Caliphate eventually stumbling and coming to an end.
We look back on al-Mansur's legacy following his unexpected death in the year 1002. Then we examine the rule of his son and successor, Abd al-Malik.
Al-Mansur reaches the pinnacle of his power and celebrates by launching an audacious attack on Santiago de Compostela.
Having assumed control of the administration of al-Andalus, al-Mansur turns his attention to the Caliphate's military forces.
When a child is invested as the new Calpih of al-Andalus, al-Mansur manipulates events to his advantage.
After al-Hakam II suffers a health setback, a palace official moves to take advantage of the situation.
We take a look at the rule of Abd al-Rahman's successor, al-Hakam II. We also explore the impact of one of the most prominent Jewish residents of al-Andalus, Hasdai ibn Shaprut.
Having catapulted himself onto the world stage, Abd al-Rahman III builds a palace to match his new status.
Al-Andalus has had a solid run of competent, energetic Emirs...until now. We examine the disastrous rule of Abd-Allah.
While King Alfonso III continues his campaign of expansion in the north of the Iberian peninsula, Emir Muhammad faces a new threat to his reign.
While the Emir of al-Andalus Muhammad I is trying to stamp out rebellions within his territory, a new threat emerges, in the form of King Alphonso III of Asturias.
We examine the beginning of the period of rule of the new Emir of al-Andalus, Muhammad I.
We examine how Christians who left al-Andalus during the reign of Abd al-Rahman II for the northern parts of the Iberian peninsula, left their influence on the Christian states.
We also zoom in for a closer look at the Basque region.
We take a look at the effect of the colourful reign of Abd al-Rahman II on the Christians of al-Andalus.
We return to the narrative in 822 and welcome a new Emir to al-Andalus - Abd al-Rahman II.
We take a look at the establishment and rise of the rebel Christian Kingdom of Asturias.
We take a look at the lengthy reign of al-Hakam then travel to the northern coastline of the Iberian peninsula where some independent Christian states are beginning to emerge.
The last surviving member of the Umayyad dynasty makes his way to the Iberian peninsula, a move which will have long-reaching consequences.
The Muslim rulers of Al-Andalus face a Berber revolt and the arrival of some troublesome newcomers.
Within a few years following the Battle of 711, the Muslim invaders had consolidated their rule over the Iberian peninsula. How did they manage to do this? Listen in to find out.
We take a look at the Iberian peninsular from Roman rule to the establishment of the Visigoths.