Reconquista

We continue to follow the Caliph on his less than optimal military campaign against the Christians in 1172.

In 1172 the Caliph embarks on an ambitious campaign to conquer Christian Spain.

The Almohads finally achieve their goal, becoming the uncontested rulers of al-Andalus.  Their next move will be to focus on defeating the Christians.

When the new Caliph turns his attention to al-Andalus, he concentrates on two threats - the Portugese freelancer Geraldo the Fearless and the Almohad's traditional foe the Wolf King.

Ambitious plans by the Almohads to dominate al-Andalus are interrupted by the death of the Caliph.

Some unexpected deaths among the leaders of Christian Spain, result in two kingdoms being ruled by children named Alfonso.  Meanwhile, over in the Almohad camp, things aren't going much better with the Caliph and his armies preoccupied in northern Africa.

Following the fateful decision by the late King Alfonso VII to split his kingdom in two, we meet his sons - King Sancho III of Castile and King Fernando II of Leon.

King Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile becomes seriously ill just as the Almohads begin to go on the offensive.

King Alfonso VII's attempts to conquer al-Andalus falter, causing him to search far and wide for extra troops.

At the same time as the King of Portugal is besieging Lisbon, King Alfonso VII and the Count of Barcelona are embarking on conquests of their own.

We bring the siege of Lisbon to its conclusion.

The siege of Lisbon commences, with the crusaders attacking the suburbs outside the city walls.  Construction then begins on some impressive siege equipment. 

The fleet of crusaders makes its way southwards to discuss its participation in the siege of Lisbon with King Alfonso I of Portugal.

King Alfonso I of Portugal decides to take advantage of the crusading movement for his campaign to attack Lisbon.

As Almoravid rule collapses, the Almohads arrive on the Iberian peninsula. 

We switch our focus to the southern portion of the Iberian peninsula, where Almoravid influence is waning.

The succession drama following the death of Alfonso of Aragon finally comes to an end with the Christian parts of the Iberian peninsula forming themselves into four separate kingdoms - the Kingdom of Leon & Castile, the Kingdom of Aragon/Catalonia, the Kingdom of Navarre and the Kingdom of Portugal.   

As the succession drama following the death of Alfonso of Aragon continues, the Kingdom of Aragon struggles to survive.

Fall out from the death of Alfonso of Aragon leaves leaders from across the region scrambling to take advantage of the situation. 

After an action-packed life, Alfonso of Aragon dies in 1134.  However, the terms of his will leave the Kingdom of Aragon facing an uncertain future. 

In an unexpected turn of events, King Alfonso of Aragon finds himself bogged down by events in France.

Following the death of Queen Urraca in 1127, a scramble for power takes place in the north -  resulting in the coronation of King Alfonso VII.

Fresh from his conquest of Zaragoza, Alfonso of Aragon embarks on an ambitious campaign pushing deep into Almoravid territory in 1125.

We check in on Alfonso of Aragon who is attempting to secure the taifa of Zaragoza.

Queen Urraca finds herself in conflict with Rome following her imprisonment of Archbishop Gelmirez of Santiago de Compostela in 1120.

While King Alfonso of Aragon is occupied in Zaragoza, Queen Uracca embarks on a misson to defeat her enemies in the north of the peninsula. 

King Alfonso of Aragon embarks on an ambitious campaign to conquer Zaragoza in 1118.

The Kingdom of Portugal emerges while Queen Urraca endures one of the worst experiences of her reign in the town of Santiago de Compostela.

The warring monarchs in the Christian north finally decide to set their differences aside.

After the breakdown of the marrage between Queen Urraca and Alfonso of Aragon, events threaten to spiral out of control.

The marriage of King Alfonso I of Aragon to Urraca of Leon and Castile gets off to a rocky, gravelly and croaky start - just like my voice in this episode unfortunately. 

Just when King Alfonso VI believes he has his succession issues all sorted, an unexpected event throws everything up in the air.

While a looming succession crisis emerges for both king Alfonso VI and the Almoravids, a shift in popular consciousness begins to take place following the death of El Cid.

The Kingdom of Leon and Castile and the Christian territory of Valencia both grapple with succession issues.

Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (aka El Cid) scores a memorable victory against the Almoravids at the battle of Cuarte in 1094.

El Cid manages to conquer the wealthy taifa of Valencia.

The Almoravids invade al-Andalus in 1090 and begin to conquer the taifas.

Between the departure of the Almoravids in 1088 and their return in 1090, a number of significant events take place. 

In the period of interlude between the departure of the Almoravids and their return to al-Andalus, some significant events take place.

The Almoravids of northern Africa arrive in al-Andalus and clash with King Alfonso VI at the battle of Sagrajas in October 1086.

As King Alfonso VI and Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar prepare to face off in Zaragoza, a new threat emerges to the south.

As King Alfonso's attentions turn to the east, different factions inside Toledo struggle for supremacy.

In the first major victory of the Reconquesta, Toledo falls to King Alfonso VI.

The taifa of Toledo hits a rocky patch which King Alfonso VI swings to his advantage.  Meanwhile, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (later known as El Cid) makes a couple of bad choices and ends up in exile.

During the 1070s, two assassinations - one in al-Andalus and one in the Christian north - send shockwaves across the Iberian peninsula.

Christian armies from France and beyond, hit some speed humps in their attempts to conquer parts of the taifa of Zaragoza.

We turn our attentions to the Christian Kingdoms in the Pyrenees where the King of Aragon has been attempting to conquer territory in Muslim Zaragoza.

Following the death of King Fernando I of Leon and Castile, his heirs embark on a messy succession journey.

We follow the exploits of King Fernando I until the end of his reign in 1065.

Taking advantage of conflict between the Taifas, King Fernando begins his policy of raiding into and extracting tribute from, regions across al-Andalus.