| Siege of Santarém | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the PortugueseReconquista andAlmohad wars in the Iberian Peninsula | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of León |  Almohad Caliphate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Afonso I of Portugal Ferdinand II of León | Abu Yaqub Yusuf † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Thesiege of Santarém lasted from June 1184 to July 1184.
In the spring of 1184,Abu Yaqub Yusuf assembled an army, crossed thestraits of Gibraltar and marched toSeville. From there he marched towardsBadajoz and headed west to besiegeSantarém, Portugal, which was defended byAfonso I of Portugal.[1] Upon hearing of Abu Yusuf's attack,Ferdinand II of León marched his troops to Santarém to support his father-in-law, Afonso I.
Abu Yusuf, believing he had sufficient troops to maintain the siege, sent orders for part of his army to march toLisbon and lay siege to that city too. The orders were misinterpreted and his army, seeing large contingents of men leaving the battle, became confused and started to retreat. Abu Yusuf, in an attempt to rally his troops, was wounded by a crossbow bolt[2] and died on 29 July 1184.[3]
The victory at Santarém was a major achievement for Afonso I.Pope Alexander III formally recognized him asrex Portugalensium.[4]