Spain
Spain in the Thirty Years’ War
The Surrender of Breda by Velázquez, painted by order of King Philip IV of Spain, 1635, five years after the loyal Ambrosio SpĂnola died as Governor of Milan. Spinola magnanimously raises the surrendering governor of Breda. Museum of Prado, Madrid, Spain. As the Twelve Years’ Truce approached its end, it became obvious that the Spanish empire needed a new strategy.…
Most Recent
THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE AND WAR WITH SPAIN, 1718-1720 Part II
Siege of St Sebastian, 1719PLAN De la VILLE et du Chateau / et PORT du St: SEBASTIAN / AtaquĂ© par les Anglois dan les du Moy MaĂż / l’AnnĂ© 1719 Milazzo, 1718PLAN / de la ville & chateau de / MELAZZO / avec le Camp des Imperiaux, les ouvrages /…
ALARCOS, 19 July 1195
Lying between Christian Toledo and Muslim Cordoba, the plains around Calatrava were strategically crucial during the decades on either side of 1200. That is why the Knights of Calatrava had fortified the site and constructed other castles in the region. In 1195, caliph al-Mansur won a victory at Alarcos, and…
Warfare in the Spanish Reconquista Era I
During the age of the crusades the organization and operations of Christian armies engaged in the reconquest developed significantly. Not only was the formation of armies improved, but there were frequent opportunities to consider strategic issues of defense and offense, including the relative wisdom of undertaking raids, sieges, or pitched…
Warfare in the Spanish Reconquista Era II
Military Standards and Leadership The military standard was a sign whereby kings, magnates, Military Orders, and town militias identified themselves; it also acted as a rallying point. Guillem de Montcada, who led the van in the battle of PortopĂ, commanded his men: “let no one separate himself from my standard”…
Warfare in the Spanish Reconquista Era III
A century later Alfonso VIII chanced the future of his kingdom on a pitched battle at Alarcos on 19 July 1195. There, a few miles south of Toledo, a castle, still unfinished, was situated on a small hill adjacent to the Guadiana River and overlooked a broad plain. Thinking that…
PARTY KINGDOMS, IBERIANÂ PENINSULA
The taifa kingdoms in 1031 immediately after the fracturing of the caliphate. The Party Kingdoms, or Taifa Kingdoms, emerged out of the anarchy that followed the collapse of the Umayyad caliphate of CĂłrdoba in 1009 CE and the ensuing period of civil war (fitna) that lasted until 1031. The Arabic…