Fall of Toledo

The old Visigothic capital was the first great Muslim city of Spain to be lost for good.

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: 1085
Where: Toledo, Spain
Sides: Castile vs Taifa of Toledo
Commanders: Alfonso VI vs al-Qadir
Result: City surrendered
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

Battle of Guadalete711
Battle of Covadonga722
Battle of Zallaqa (Sagrajas)1086
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (al-Uqab)1212
Fall of Granada1492

All 6 al-andalus battles · Battle explorer

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