Al-Andalus · 1086

Battle of Zallaqa (Sagrajas)

After Toledo fell, the kings of al-Andalus called in the Almoravids from Morocco. Their victory bought Muslim Spain more than a century.

The site of the battle on the 1190 map. Shaded: Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, Ayyubid Sultanate, 1192, Crusader territory left in 1192.

Key facts

When: 1086
Where: Near Badajoz, Spain
Sides: Almoravids and Andalusian kings vs Castile
Commanders: Yusuf ibn Tashfin vs Alfonso VI
Result: Muslim victory
Type: Al-Andalus
Chapter: 4. Al-Andalus and the Subcontinent

The wider picture: The Crusades and Salahuddin

The Seljuk win at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to the Turks, and Byzantium asked Europe for help. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099. Zengi, his son Nur al-Din and then Salahuddin rebuilt Muslim unity, and Salahuddin won back Jerusalem in October 1187, three months after Hattin.

See the 1190 map Read chapter 4

More al-andalus battles

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