AD 1106 I capture Saraqusta in January and take as prisonners three daughters of the Emir that I ransom for 138 gold. Unfortunately, an 11 500 men strong Almoravid army is marching my way. That’s more than I can handle. I must abandon the siege of Albarracin, and hire a mercenary company as large as I can afford to hire and then pay regularly. I regroup all my forces (about 12 000 men) in Saraqusta, put in command my best generals, and wait…and the Almoravid army heads back south. An even larger Almoravid army ( 14 000 men) entered Leon, while the king of leon only has about 700 men left.
I leave the mercenaries in Saraqusta and send the rest in Albarracin again. The Almoravid army comes back again. I withdraw again. The Almoravids leave again, presumably to fight the Abbadids. The month of may has come, and it’s clear that the Almoravids won’t let me occupy Albarracin. But if I don’t occupy Albarracin, I won’t be able to end the war against the Huddid Emirate. On June, the city of Alagon, in Saraqusta, falls. A comet appears. Good or bad omen? Caspe falls on October, and the castle of Epila, who had just been built and wasn’t yet properly garrisoned on November. I move all of my troops to Albarracin. Meanwhile, the small recreated Leonese army is crushed again and Porto is taken.
The proacted war in southern Italy ends. The Queen of Sicily is deposed and replaced by the lord of Bari my wife used to support. I assume it’s a good thing. My wife immediatly attack Syracuse for reasons I’m not privy to.
A 9th grandchild, Fernan, was born on September. A 7 yo boy turns up alone at my castle. I realize his father recently died, but why he came to my castle, I can’t tell. Studying his genealogy, I realize he’s the last remaining male of a prestigious lineage, the house of Castille that our own house had overthrown. I entrust him to my Marshall to make of him a proper knight.
My Chancellor found documents regarding Soria. But they look so fake that I would be a laughingstock if I produced them. And they’re sold for such a high price that I can’t buy afford them anyway. I tell me to give up. The improvement of my keep is finished.
The Almoravid army marches north again. Numbers are about equal, so I decide to make a stand this time.
AD 1107 : The battle, the largest I ever fought, begins on January 22. Both armies are equally strong, almost to the man. It begins badly, and I think I’m headed to a defeat. But my troops do surprinsingly well during the second part of the battle, and it becomes a massive victory. I lost only 3 800 men, the Arabs 7 700. I begin to chase down the retreating Arabs. On April, they lose ten times more soldiers during our second battle. On May 12, I’m badly wounded during a skirmish, but the Arab army is definitely anhilated 5 days later. I’ve 7 800 men left, and I finally begin the siege of Albarracin.
The king of Leon has again gathered a new army. There’s nothing he can do against the Almoravid forces in Portucale, but he wins a battle against a smaller Arab army in Galicia. On August, the Almoravids take Porto and their large army heads south. I hope I won’t see them coming for me later.
On October, a small detachment coming from Viscaya as reinforcements is ambushed by about 2 000 rebels in Saraqusta. I have to send troops to deal with them. I disperse them quite easily, but I again took loses. On November, my fears materialize : the 14 000 strong Almoravid army is heading toward me. I’ve only about half of that left, so I decide on a gamble. I order an assault on Albarracin, hoping that a quick success will force an Hudid reddition. The assault is a disaster, and with the Almoravids approaching, I don’t even have time to retreat in an orderly fashion. I disband the army, although I know many men won’t make it to their home.
During the sieges, I spent a lot of boring hours reading greek philosophers. It turns out to be much more interesting than I thought. I might now be able to understand my new chaplain’s discourses. I’m very satisfied with myself and certainly being able to quote Plato will add to my prestige. Antso comes of age and turns out to be a fortune builder.
AD 1108 : On February 14 my second wife, queen of Aragon, duchess of Sicily and Calabria, passes away. My dim-witted son inherits Calabria who happens to be besieged, as a result of the last war my late wife was involded in. He leaves the court with his spouse and his two children. His younger brother Antso inherits the duchy of Sicily. Unfortunately I hadn’t taken the time to find him a bride, and I’m sceptical about the choices a hot blooded 16 year old left to his own devices could make.
I decide that this time, my (third) marriage will be purely political. I’m already 66, and it’s unlikely I will have more children anyway. And I’m very lucky. Simon I of Bourgogne, king of France, wants to marry his young daughter Gisèle. An agreement is quickly concluded and my marriage and prestigious new alliance with France is celebrated on February.
This isn’t the only good new. My exploits against the Mahometans have become famous enough for the pope to send me 200 gold to support my fight. I had mentioned that the king of France’s demesne is very small. In fact, I suspect that some of my mayors might be richer than him. About a quarter of the amount sent by his holiness is enough to decide him to join the fact (or more exactly to tell his vassals to join it). I expect that this might turn the tide, but it does more than that. The mere knowledge of this alliance convinces the Hudid Emir to seek terms.
The agreement is a bit complicated. The county of Zaragoza (formerly Saraqusta) itself will become part of my demesne except for the castle of Epila that the Emir will keep. He will become my vassal, with the title of duke of Zaragoza, and his own sheikhs in Albarracin, Murcia and Almeria will receive the title of count. The sheikdom of Turtusha, in open rebellion, will stay independant.
This goes way beyond all my expectations. I only hoped to seize Zaragoza, and I end up with three other counties joining the crown of Aragon, albeit indirectly and under rather unhappy Arab rulers. Zaragoza and Albarracin are populated with Christians, but in Murcia and Almeria people are Mahometans. This will have to be dealt with in the future.
And as a cherry on the cake, the Almoravids withdraw and head to Portucale. They will defeat the king of Leon once again, but then will go south and although the war with the Sultan will linger on, they won’t be seen again, nor in Aragon, nor in Leon. My late wife death caused a cascad of unexpected events incredibly beneficial for the kingdom and even for Christiandom at large. It seems that the ways of the Lord are truly impenetrable.
It seems, however, that war is my fate. Antso is already facing difficulties, two of his vassals, the counts of Trapani and Girgenti having revolted, with the support of the duke of Benevento. Didn’t I marry my other son to his daughter precisely to avoid such a situation? Though all thing considered, having Ramiro as son-in-law might be a good enough reason to start a war. I propose to support Antso, and he readily accepts.
Gisèle is pretty lovely, but contrarily to my late wife, she’s of no help when it comes to rule the kingdom. Having too much work on my hands, I grant the county of Lleida to my son. He somehow manages to convince the old Walli of Cervera that I had left in charge to convert. I’m impressed.
Some other events of note : my eldest and genial grandson is now 16. My cousin Urraka Gartzez died at 68. I begin the building of a city guild hall in San Sancho. I’m concerned with the fact that the Chancellor of the powerful duke of Aquitaine has fabricated claims on the duchy of Navarra.
Finally, I must mention the Tengris. Those are savage heathens living long away, east of the Roman Empire. I had already heard their name, but it is said that they organized themselves and launched some sort of large invasion of the Byzantine Empire, following their idols and their priests. May God save the Greeks.