Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Part of the Reconquista and Spanish Christian–Muslim War of 1172–1212

Portrayal of the battle by
Francisco de Paula Van Halen (1864)
Date16 July 1212
Location
Near Santa Elena, Jaén, Andalusia, 38°17′04″N 3°34′58″W / 38.28443°N 3.58286°W / 38.28443; -3.58286[1]
Result Spanish-Christian Coalition victory[2]
Belligerents
 Almohad Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
  • Centre:

Vanguard:

Right wing:

Left wing:

Muhammad al-Nasir
Strength
12,000–14,000[4] 22,000–30,000[4][5]
Casualties and losses
~2,000[6]
~20,000[8]

The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (Arabic: معركة العقاب), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and the medieval history of Spain.[9] The Christian forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile, were joined by the armies of his rivals, Sancho VII of Navarre and Peter II of Aragon, in battle[10] against the Almohad Muslim rulers of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. The caliph al-Nasir (Miramamolín in the Spanish chronicles) led the Almohad army, made up of people from all over the Almohad Caliphate.

  1. ^ Smith, Colin (1989). Christians and Moors in Spain. Vol 2 Latin documents and vernacular documents AD 1195–1614. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1800857742 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Gitlitz, David Martin and Linda Kay Davidson, The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, (St.Martin's Press, 2000), 60.
  3. ^ Setton, Kenneth Meyer, A History of the Crusades, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1975), 423.
  4. ^ a b c Martín Alvira Cabrer: Las Navas de Tolosa, 1212: idea, liturgia y memoria de la batalla. Madrid 2012, p. 332
  5. ^ Martín Alvira Cabrer: Guerra e ideología en la España medieval: cultura y actitudes históricas ante el giro de principios del siglo XIII: batallas de las Navas de Tolosa (1212) y Muret (1213). Universidad Complutense, Madrid 2000/2003. p. 196
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gomez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Nafziger, 87.
  8. ^ Prof. Nick, National Museum of Las Navas de Tolosa, Spain. (2015). Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa Museum, Andalusia. https://www.visit-andalucia.com/battle-of-navas-tolosa-museum-jaen
  9. ^ Lynn Hunt describes the battle as a "major turning point in the reconquista..." See Lynn Hunt, R. Po-chia Hsia, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie Smith, The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: A Concise History: Volume I: To 1740, Second Edition (New York: Bedford/St. Martin's 2007), 391.
  10. ^ Guggenberger, Anthony, A General History of the Christian Era: The Papacy and the Empire, Vol.1, (B. Herder, 1913), 372.