Hike to Barbastro

In early 1063, the king of Aragon Ramiro I undertook a campaign against Zaragoza and besieged the fortress of Graus near Barbastro . The tribute to the governor of Zaragoza, Ahmad I al-Muqtadir, who paid tribute to Ferdinand I of Castile, appealed to the King of Castile for help, and with him repulsed Graus . After that, Ferdinand had no choice but to start a war against his own brother, during which Ramiro was killed by an accidental arrow ^[2] .

The death of Ramiro I from the Muslim arrow caused a great resonance outside of Spain. Pope Alexander II urged Christians to help Aragon in the fight against the Muslims of Spain ^[2] .

Papa was actively supported by the Clunyans . It is believed that this campaign was the forerunner of the Crusades, which were organized according to its model ^[1] . Sancho I Ramirez, who continued the war, was supported by military units from southern France and Italy (including the Duke of Aquitaine, Guillaume VIII ). At the beginning of 1064, these detachments were united in Gerona under the command of the Norman pioneer who served in the Pope. At the council in Gerona, it was decided to seize the fortress of Barbastro, which was an important center in the northeast of Typhora Zaragoza and the key to the rich and fertile valley of the Sinki River . Barbastro was intended for Count Urhel Ermengol III ^[3] .

In alliance with this army, Sancho I in 1064 approached the Muslim fortress of Barbastro. Cutting off Barbastro from the water, the Christian army took the city. British Hispanist G.J. Chutor wrote that during the capture 50,000 Muslims were killed ^[1] . According to one version, Count Urhel Ermengol III died during the siege of the fortress, so his son Ermengol IV , who inherited the rights to Barbastro, ordered to destroy the surrendered garrison ^[4] . The fortress brought to its invaders a rich booty, which was divided between the winners. For example, one Guillome de Montreville got “five hundred young Muslim women, mountains of clothing, dishes and furniture” ^[3] .

In April ^{[5] of} 1065, the ruler of Zaragoza, Al-Mutadir , proclaiming jihad and calling for help from Al-Andalus , Barbastro ^[6] . In the Catalan and it is stated that Ermengol III died when Muslims attempted to capture Barbastro ^[7] .

In connection with the march on Barbastro, the alliance between Al-Mutadir of Saragossk and Ferdinand of Castile was broken. Ferdinand won with Paterna, but the aggressive campaign against Valencia was interrupted due to the illness of this king. In June 1065, Ferdinand died, having previously divided his kingdom into five parts ^[8] .

C.J. Bishko in the book “Studies in Medieval Spanish Frontier History” cited the views of authors criticizing the basic version:

• until June 1064, when the Mantuan Cathedral was held, Pope Alexander II was actively involved in the conflict with the antipope Honorius II , and therefore he was not up to Spanish affairs;
• commander of the troops could not be Norman Guillaume de Montreville, but Guillaume VIII Aquitaine.

According to C.J. Bishko, the campaign was directed by clunyans against Ferdinand’s imperial ambitions declared in 1056, but Urhelites were the driving force behind it ^[9] .

• HJ Chaytor. 3 The Reconquest // THE LIBRARY OF IBERIAN RESOURCES ONLINE Aragon and Catalonia.
• Altamira-i-Crevea, Raphael . History of medieval Spain. - Moscow: Foreign Literature, 1951. - T. I. - p. 147, 160, 169. - 519 p.
• Charles Julian Bishko. Fernando I study the Leonese-Castilian Alliance with Cluny // Studies in Medieval Spanish Frontier History .

• Sancho I Ramirez (Rus.) . Reconquista . Archived April 14, 2012.
• Ermengol III d'Urgell (Catalan.) . Gran Enciclopedia Catalana . The appeal date is August 16, 2018.
• Ermengol de Barbastro (ar.) . Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa . The appeal date is August 16, 2018.
• Biografía de Sancho Ramírez, Rey de Aragón y Navarra (Neopr.) . ARTE ROMÁNICO y RUTAS MEDIEVALES EN ESPAÑA . The appeal date is August 15, 2018.