| Almoravid expedition to Catalonia (1114) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theReconquista | |||||||
 Map of theIberian Peninsula in 1115 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| County of Barcelona County of Urgell County of Cerdaña | Almoravid dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona Ermengol IV of Urgell Bernard I of Cerdanya | Muhammad ibn al-Hajj † Muhammad ibn Aisha (DOW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| High | High | ||||||
TheAlmoravid expedition to Catalonia in 1114 was led by Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and Muhammad ibn Aisha, the Almoravid governors ofZaragoza andValencia respectively, against theCatalan counties. The Almoravid forces ravaged Catalan territory but weresurprised in an ambush and defeated.
Following thefall of Valencia in 1102,[1] theAlmoravid dynasty began to expand into theUpper March,[2] conqueringZaragoza, the lasttaifa in the Iberian Peninsula,[3] in 1110.[4]
Three years later, in 1113, theCatalan counties together with therepublic of Pisa and thecounty of Provence began anexpedition against theBalearic Islands.[5] TheTaifa of Mallorca asked the Almoravids for help, who sent reinforcements to the islands.[6] Taking advantage of the fact that a large part of the armies of the Catalan counties were outside the peninsula, the governors of Zaragoza andValencia,Muhammad ibn al-Hajj [ca;ar] andMuhammad ibn Aisha [ca;ar], began anexpedition to Catalan territory.[7][8]
The Almoravid forces penetrated throughLleida, thePla d'Urgell andSegarra.[8] They attacked theBages and caused great damage to theMonastery of Sant Benet de Bages, which would be restored three years later.[9] An Almoravid army from theBalearic Islands landed at the mouth of theBesòs River and attackedSant Adrià de Besòs andSant Andreu de Palomar.[10]
They had captured a large loot. However, while they were returning through theplain of Barcelona,[11] they wereambushed in a ravine nearMartorell by the combined armies of thecounties ofBarcelona,Urgell andCerdanya,[8] killing Muhammad ibn al-Hajj and most of their army.[11] The remaining Almoravid army was pursued along the coast ofSalou.[12] Although Muhammad ibn Aisha managed to escape, he was seriouslyinjured, which caused his death shortly after.[7]
One year later, in 1115, the Almoravidslaid siege toBarcelona.[13] However, after 20 days, Catalan reinforcements commanded byRamon Berenguer III arrived and forced them to lift the siege.[7] That same year, theChristians managed toconquer the Balearic Islands[14] but they were reconquered again by the Almoravids some months later.[7][15]