The Battle of Kyros ( Spanish: batalla del río Quirós ) - a battle held in 795 on the banks of the river Kyros (near the modern village of Kyros ), in which the army of the Moors under the command of defeated the army of the Asturians under the command of Gadaksara . One of the episodes of the military company of the Cordoba Emirate against the Kingdom of Asturias.
| Battle of Kyros | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Conflict: Reconquista | |||
 Iberian Peninsula at the end of the VIII century | |||
| date | 795 | ||
| A place | Kyros River, Kingdom of Asturias | ||
| Cause | the invasion of the Moors in the Kingdom of Asturias | ||
| Total | victory of the moors | ||
| Opponents | |||
| |||
| Commanders | |||
| |||
| Forces of the parties | |||
| |||
| Losses | |||
| |||
Content
Background
Starting from the Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 710s, the Moors and Christians, who maintained their independence in the mountains of Asturias, waged numerous wars with each other [1] .
In response to the defeat of the Moors in the battle of Lutos in 794 [2] [3] [4] [5] , the Emir of Cordoba Hisham I organized a new campaign in the Kingdom of Asturias. Two armies simultaneously invaded the possessions of the Asturian king Alfonso II : one of them raided Galicia , the other, led by Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit, moved to the central regions of the lands of Spanish Christians. Initially, Alfonso II intended to engage in battle with the Moors in the Puerto de la Mesa pass near Astorga , but retreated, seeing a significant numerical superiority of the Muslim troops. However, the rearguard of the Asturian army was attacked by the Cordobian cavalry and suffered heavy losses in the battle of Babias [2] [3] [6] .
Battle
From the Puerto de la Mesa pass, the army of Christians retreated towards the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias, the city of Oviedo . Following him moved the army of the Moors. Realizing that in a clash with the main forces of the Muslims, victory would most likely be on the side of the Cordoba, King Alfonso II separated from his army a detachment of 3,000 horsemen, led by his close associate Gadaxara, ordering him to detain the Moors at any cost until the Asturians retreat to positions more convenient for fighting the Muslim cavalry [3] [6] .
According to , a fierce battle between the soldiers of Gadaxar and the army of Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit occurred on the banks of the river Kyros, near its confluence with . Due to numerical superiority, the Moors won in it: almost all Asturians fell on the battlefield, and Gadaxar himself was captured [2] [3] [6] .
Implications
Despite the defeat, the Asturian warriors, led by Gadaxara, complied with the order of their master: the army of Alfonso II managed to break away from the Moors, get out of the uncomfortable terrain of Monte Olbo and retreat to Oviedo. Although then the Muslims inflicted another defeat on the Christians, defeating them in a battle on the Nalon River , and even captured the Asturian capital, they could neither capture the king nor completely destroy the Christian army [3] [6] .
Notes
- ↑ Reconquista / G.N. Popov // Motherwort - Rumcherod. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2015. - ( Great Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 28). - ISBN 978-5-85270-365-1 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Suárez Fernández L. Historia de Espana antigua y media . - Madrid: Ediciones Rialp, 1976. - P. 170-171. - ISBN 978-84-321-1882-1 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 José Javier Esparza. La gran aventura del reino de Asturias: Así comenzó la Reconquista . - Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros, 2009 .-- P. 149-159. - ISBN 978-8-4997-0404-3 .
- ↑ Collins R. Caliphs and Kings: Spain, 796-1031 . - Blackwell Publishing, 2012 .-- P. 65. - ISBN 978-1-1182-7399-9 .
- ↑ Batalla de Lutos (794) (Spanish) . Historia militar de España. The date of circulation is July 16, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Batalla del rio Quirós (795) (Spanish) . Historia militar de España. The date of circulation is July 16, 2017.
Literature
- Cabal C., Benito Ruano E. Alfonso II El Casto, fundador de Ovied. - Grupo Editorial Asturiano, 1991 .-- ISBN 84-404-8512-3 .
- David Levering Lewis. El Crisol de Dios. El Islam y el nacimiento de Europa (570-1215). - Barcelona: Editorial Paidós, 2009 .-- ISBN 978-84-493-2233-4 .
Links
- Abd al-Karim (Spanish) . Enciclopedia de Oviedo. Date of treatment July 16, 2017.
- Historia del Condado de Castilla. Capítulo II. Las primeras repoblaciones (791-850). El reinado de Alfonso II (791-842). Primera parte (791-822) (Spanish) . Bardulia. Date of treatment July 16, 2017. Archived April 9, 2012.