La Reconquista del Cid Campeador es un fascinante documental que nos sumerge en uno de los períodos más importantes de la historia de España. A través de un relato detallado y educativo, este documental explora la vida y las hazañas de Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, conocido como el Cid Campeador, un caballero que se convirtió en símbolo de la lucha cristiana contra los musulmanes en la península ibérica.
La Reconquista fue un proceso histórico que se extendió por varios siglos, y el Cid es una figura clave en este contexto. En el documental, se presentan las batallas, alianzas y conflictos que marcaron esta época, así como el impacto de las acciones del Cid en la formación de la España moderna. A través de entrevistas con historiadores, recreaciones dramatizadas y análisis de fuentes históricas, los espectadores obtendrán una comprensión profunda de cómo la Reconquista del Cid Campeador moldeó la identidad nacional de España.
Además, se aborda la relevancia cultural y literaria del Cid, explorando la famosa obra "El Cantar de mio Cid", que ha perdurado a lo largo de los siglos. Este documental no solo es un viaje a través de la historia, sino también una invitación a reflexionar sobre el legado que el Cid dejó en la cultura española.
**Hashtags:** #Reconquista, #CidCampeador, #HistoriaDeEspaña
Cid Campeador, Reconquista, historia de España, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, documental histórico, cultura española, batallas del Cid, legado del Cid, El Cantar de mio Cid, héroes de la Reconquista.
La Reconquista fue un proceso histórico que se extendió por varios siglos, y el Cid es una figura clave en este contexto. En el documental, se presentan las batallas, alianzas y conflictos que marcaron esta época, así como el impacto de las acciones del Cid en la formación de la España moderna. A través de entrevistas con historiadores, recreaciones dramatizadas y análisis de fuentes históricas, los espectadores obtendrán una comprensión profunda de cómo la Reconquista del Cid Campeador moldeó la identidad nacional de España.
Además, se aborda la relevancia cultural y literaria del Cid, explorando la famosa obra "El Cantar de mio Cid", que ha perdurado a lo largo de los siglos. Este documental no solo es un viaje a través de la historia, sino también una invitación a reflexionar sobre el legado que el Cid dejó en la cultura española.
**Hashtags:** #Reconquista, #CidCampeador, #HistoriaDeEspaña
Cid Campeador, Reconquista, historia de España, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, documental histórico, cultura española, batallas del Cid, legado del Cid, El Cantar de mio Cid, héroes de la Reconquista.
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00:00In 1993, El Cid and his private army of 4,000 soldiers spend Christmas camping in front of the walls of Valencia, on the east coast of Spain.
00:17El Cid claims his claim of independence from the vassalage to which he was subjected.
00:23He had set up his camp in July and the site seemed not to reach its end.
00:30To tear down the walls or let people starve inside them.
00:34This was the usual procedure for the conquerors of Spain in the 11th century.
00:39His army was too small to tear down the walls and enter the city.
00:44But they did have mobility and were very effective.
00:47They cut the supply and tore down the surrounding fields.
00:51Inside the walls, people trembled with the rumors of the atrocities committed.
00:55With luck and time, he would soon be lord and master of Valencia.
00:58He was a man of his time, a free warrior who could get along with the Muslims, but also fight them.
01:06A man who was loyal to his lord, but who could also make his own decisions and embark on actions that the king did not necessarily approve.
01:15El Cid represents values that in many cases coincide with some of the most established American values.
01:23The kind of values that were forged on the border.
01:26I think this is the reason why many Americans consider El Cid such an attractive historical figure.
01:32A man made himself thanks to his intelligence, his perseverance, his personal charisma and his skill in battle.
01:42The taking of the old Spanish city is a fundamental moment in the history of El Cid as a warrior and conqueror.
01:48Centuries later, he will still be celebrated as the great Spanish hero, largely thanks to an epic poem entitled El Cantar del Mio Cid.
01:56The poem of 3,700 verses is universally considered the oldest pillar of Spanish literature.
02:03But by its own nature as an epic poem, it is also a questionable source for historians.
02:09El Cantar del Mio Cid is essentially a fictional work, often in contradiction with well-known historical facts.
02:16How then to determine the true history of El Cid's life?
02:20To achieve it, we must travel to the past, to the time and place of his birth.
02:28It would be extremely difficult to find in the world a land on which he has fought and conquered more than on this.
02:35Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Visigoths, Muslims and Christians fought to dominate Spain at one time or another.
02:42When El Cid rode beneath this Roman hocktail, he was already 5,000 years old.
02:52In the 8th century, a large number of Muslim Arabs and Berber converts arrived in Spain.
02:57The Spaniards called the invaders Moros, as they came from Morocco.
03:02They pushed the Spanish Christian nobility north, towards the mountains,
03:06but allowed many Christian and Jewish residents to stay in the south.
03:13Spain enjoyed a notable cultural boom under the Arab rule.
03:17The Muslim Caliphs built fantastic palaces and mosques.
03:21They also introduced important agricultural and scientific advances.
03:25With its main base in the city of Cordoba, the Muslim dynasty ruled Spain for more than three centuries.
03:31But ten years before the birth of El Cid, the dynasty broke into pieces.
03:35The Muslim chieftains divided the region into numerous districts, the so-called states of Taifa.
03:42The Christian nobility of the north immediately took advantage of the fractured Moriscan states.
03:51They became easy prey for the Christian kings.
03:55There was a lot of money at stake.
03:57There are large tributes that are paid.
04:01El Cid came to this complicated world.
04:04He was born around the year 1040 in the bosom of a Christian family,
04:08who lived under the culture and customs of Islam.
04:11He grew up surrounded by people who spoke Arabic,
04:15people who were either Muslim by birth or understood the Arabic language.
04:21You have to realize that Christians and Jews in the eighteenth, ninth and tenth centuries
04:27articulated their own culture in Arabic.
04:31It was the dominant language.
04:35El Cid grew under the reign of a Christian king, Fernando I of Castile and Leon.
04:40King Fernando ruled under what seemed to be a classic protectionist situation.
04:45He forced the payment of tributes to the Moriscan states of Taifa in southern Spain
04:49and sent assault parties to fight against those who did not pay.
04:55Unlike other parts of Europe,
04:57the kings didn't have very large properties that generated a great deal of income.
05:02Their way in which they get income is by participating in these raids.
05:09Medieval Spain has been described as a society organized for war.
05:13That is to say, all of the western mediation is a society in which there is a great deal of emphasis
05:19on those who have a monopoly of weapons.
05:26In order to maintain control, the king depended on the services of knights and mercenaries.
05:30At the age of more or less fourteen years,
05:32El Cid was taken to the royal court to serve Sancho, the eldest son of King Fernando.
05:37The education of young El Cid was molded to his destiny, vassal and soldier.
05:46It is a society in which there is an extraordinary attitude of combat.
05:51And El Cid belongs to this society.
05:54He is a member of the median nobility,
05:57that is to say, of those people who have not reached the power of the true nobility.
06:04Most of El Cid's youth was spent under intense military training,
06:08particularly in the learning of the art of using the sword.
06:13They say that El Cid's father gave him the sword of a great warrior, Mudar,
06:18when he was a young boy.
06:22Weapons and armor were awards that went from generation to generation.
06:26A sword like this became El Cid's favorite weapon of choice.
06:30Although it was not as heavy as the usual feudal swords,
06:33it was a lethal steel piece that could go through the classic Mayan armor of the time.
06:39Spanish warriors of the 11th century did not care so much about their armor.
06:43All they needed was a weapon with which to destroy the enemy
06:47and with which to attack from their horses.
06:50The armor of that time was exceptionally light.
06:53The goal was to be able to carry them comfortably in the long assault campaigns.
06:59But military success in the Middle Ages needed something more than cold steel.
07:03El Cid, to become the soldier he would later prove to be,
07:07learned to use other tools.
07:09El Cid was an expert in the use of the astrolabe,
07:12an ancient instrument of Greek origin
07:14that was used both for orientation and to measure time.
07:17Muslims introduced its use in Spain
07:20and remained one of the most important instruments used by astronomers
07:24until the end of the 18th century.
07:26El Cid's ability in the use of the astrolabe,
07:29especially as a help for his orientation in his cavalry in Spain,
07:33would be of great use to him for the rest of his life.
07:38Thanks to his skill, El Cid was named Prince Sancho's Weapon Man
07:42in the army of King Fernando.
07:44Together they began to ride in 1063, when El Cid was about 23 years old.
07:49It was his first battle, and it was a bloody battle
07:52between King Fernando and his own brother, King of Aragon.
07:55In medieval Spain, blood was not thicker than water or money.
07:59The two royal brothers fought for the control of the attributes
08:03of a Muslim emir called Al-Muqtadir,
08:05a man who would be decisive in the future of El Cid.
08:09In this battle, El Cid fought bravely to protect the lands of the emir,
08:13distinguishing himself as a brave and intrepid warrior.
08:17At the end of the battle, the army of Fernando was imposed
08:20and his brother, King of Aragon, lost his life.
08:28Two years later, King Fernando died.
08:31He divided his lands and protectors among his three sons, including Sancho.
08:35For El Cid, now the usual carrier and sergeant of instruction for King Sancho,
08:39the opportunities were unlimited,
08:42but a new generation of fraternal wars was seen on the horizon.
08:53At just over 20 years old, El Cid was the Weapon Man for King Sancho II of Castile.
08:58For a warrior in the court, he was the highest rank.
09:01The cavalry of El Cid was made up of men of the middle nobility, men like him.
09:06They bought their own horses and armors,
09:08and El Cid trained them for combat, including horse combat.
09:14In the 11th century, an important innovation emerged in horse combat,
09:18with the development of what was called the side lance.
09:22Previously, a horse warrior could use the lance in two ways.
09:27On top, to throw it,
09:29or underneath, to nail it to the enemy.
09:33With this new lance, the soldier had a longer and heavier handle,
09:37which could be held with the hand under the armpit,
09:40which gave more extension to his lethal end.
09:47The use of this type of lance on a galloping horse required good training,
09:53but the advantages for man and horse were obvious.
09:57A lethal weapon composed of the strength of the lance, man and horse.
10:03Imagine hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield carrying these lances.
10:08It was the most lethal weapon that had been seen on medieval battlefields.
10:12The cavalry accompanied El Cid to collect the tributes of the kingdoms of Taifa.
10:16As a reward to the soldiers,
10:18a part of the booty obtained in these raids was given to them.
10:21Soon El Cid would have more reasons to fight.
10:24King Fernando had left Castile in inheritance to his eldest son Sancho,
10:28but the best part of this land, León,
10:30was given to his second son, Alfonso VI.
10:34When King Fernando distributes his kingdom,
10:37he makes the big mistake of giving a part to Alfonso and another to Sancho.
10:43In this way, once again, the kingdoms of León and Castile are divided.
10:48In 1068, the fraternal conflicts and envies end in war.
10:53During the next four years, Alfonso and Sancho
10:55meet on several occasions on the battlefield.
10:58The decisive year was 1072.
11:01In January, Sancho takes León and sends his brother to exile.
11:06Alfonso finds refuge in the Morisca city of Toledo,
11:09right on the other side of the border of the small city of Zamora.
11:14But despite not being a big city,
11:16Zamora was a key strategic enclave on the way to León.
11:20Nine months later rumors of insurrection begin to spread in Zamora.
11:24Fearing the worst, Sancho and El Cid ride to the city.
11:28In the 11th century, a king had to rule from his horse, not from his throne.
11:36It has been said of El Cid that he distinguished himself by his bravery
11:39in all the battles in which he participated,
11:41but none as much as in Zamora.
11:43According to what was said, he fought at the same time against 15 knights,
11:46ended the life of one of them, dismounted another and made the others flee.
11:51But while El Cid showers, Sancho loses his life.
11:53The rumors of treason spread rapidly.
11:56The question is, who was responsible?
11:59When Sancho died in Zamora, possibly his brother Alfonso was in Toledo.
12:06He had been exiled to Toledo.
12:09I have the feeling, like many other people during the last 900 years,
12:15that his brother Alfonso was involved in the death of Sancho, although not directly.
12:20Of course, he was the greatest beneficiary of his death.
12:24Immediately, he took charge of the kingdom of Sancho.
12:28Fortunately, the incomparable skill of El Cid in the battlefield
12:31assured him a place in Alfonso's court, if he decided so.
12:36El Cid needed a king in the same way that a vassal needs a lord.
12:41And the king needed El Cid in the same way that a lord needs a vassal.
12:46What I mean is that at that time, that was the basis of the negotiation,
12:50of the commitment to bury the ax and move on.
12:54If they wanted to survive, they were the kings.
12:56And I really think that's what they did.
13:00In the epic poem, this pragmatic reconciliation is given a mythical importance.
13:06He forces the king to swear that it has nothing to do
13:09with the death of his brother, with his betrayal.
13:13And Alfonso VI does it, swears not to be responsible for that betrayal.
13:22Although the poetic history of this oath is mythical,
13:25there is enough evidence to show that El Cid and King Alfonso
13:28negotiated an agreement.
13:31El Cid contracts marriage in the mid-1070s.
13:38The wedding is celebrated by all means.
13:40There are many possibilities that this marriage
13:43was actually arranged by the king,
13:45partly as a reward for the services that El Cid had lent him.
13:50One of the witnesses to the wedding is García Ordóñez,
13:52the favorite soldier and courtesan of King Alfonso.
13:55Soon he would become El Cid's nemesis.
13:59The court of a king in Spain in the 11th century
14:04was quite a difficult place, as courts tend to be.
14:10This was the sort of place where hatreds and rivalries
14:15could very rapidly build up.
14:19The first problems arise in 1079 with the collection of tributes.
14:23El Cid was sent to Seville, García Ordóñez to Granada.
14:26Some sources say that the first step was taken by García Ordóñez.
14:30Others suggest that the first attack was a work of El Cid.
14:33Everyone agrees that they met in the battlefield in Cabra.
14:37And it was a bloody encounter,
14:39with El Cid stabbing his imposing sword,
14:41ending the lives of those who crossed his path.
14:44When the battle ended, El Cid emerged victorious.
14:47Not only that, he captured García Ordóñez
14:49and kept him prisoner for three days.
14:52García Ordóñez was very clear that he had been publicly humiliated by El Cid.
14:59And this was the sort of thing that no noble of that era was going to stand for.
15:06El Cid freed García Ordóñez, but he never forgot the humiliation.
15:10In the closed and vicious circle of the royal court,
15:13García Ordóñez was faster to get the king to devote a few minutes of attention.
15:18Rumors began to spread that El Cid was keeping part of the tributes he collected for the king.
15:24García Ordóñez is a kind of resentful loser, an envious person,
15:28and he is not willing to accept the presence in the court of who he considers an artist.
15:32He calls El Cid the son of the miller,
15:34which is possibly the worst insult that can be given to someone in the Middle Ages,
15:38since the millers were considered cheaters and thieves,
15:41who always kept part of the flour from which they used their services.
15:45We have independent evidence, in particular from Muslim sources,
15:50that Count García Ordóñez was known as the Twisted Mouth.
15:54And although it is possible that this nickname has its origin in some kind of physical deformation,
16:01such as a lip or something like that,
16:04it could also indicate that his shortcomings were more moral than physical.
16:12In short, he was a man with a tendency to lie, to create problems.
16:22In 1081, El Cid leads a huge army to the assault of the settlements near Toledo,
16:27another protectorate of King Alfonso.
16:30His pretext was to take revenge against the bandits who operated in that area.
16:35El Cid and his knights besiege the countryside and make 7,000 prisoners.
16:40A manifesto of power.
16:43For King Alfonso, the suspicion, fueled by the insidious campaign of rumors of García Ordóñez against El Cid,
16:49becomes paranoia.
16:51The king fears that El Cid is trying to usurp his position.
16:56He sends him to exile and confiscates all his properties.
17:01For El Cid, a whole life of service is erased from a pen.
17:05A dark future awaits him.
17:11Exile
17:16Exiled from his home, lost his possessions,
17:19El Cid begins a journey to restore his reputation.
17:26It is true that it was an important blow, but perhaps not as important as we can think today.
17:32The experience of exile was actually quite common for the nobles of the time.
17:38There was always hope that exile would end soon and that the lands could be recovered.
17:47El Cid approached the neighboring caudillos.
17:50The competition was fierce and he knew that his sword would have good demand.
17:54He also knew that the rewards could be generous.
17:58El Cid was a soldier from start to finish.
18:01An excellent soldier.
18:04So actually it was the only way to make a living.
18:07He had to find someone to pay him to fight.
18:10He had to become, in a word, a mercenary.
18:13And that's what he did during his exile.
18:19In Zaragoza he meets again with the emir Al-Muqtadir,
18:22the same one he fought against in 1063.
18:26Since those years, Al-Muqtadir had added a good part of the Spanish Mediterranean coast to his kingdom.
18:33A successful diplomat, he was also known as a poet, philosopher and master of astrology and geometry.
18:42El Cid went to the court of the Muslim emir of Zaragoza and only asked one thing.
18:46Hire me. And so it was.
18:48And the emir never regretted it because El Cid served him extremely well.
18:52In addition, El Cid earned a lot of money working for him.
18:58Al-Muqtadir had followed the trajectory of El Cid carefully.
19:01From a young and novice soldier to a member of the royal court,
19:04with enough power to make King Alfonso VI feel threatened.
19:09He hired him in a blink of an eye and it is said that El Muqtadir himself gave him the nickname El Cid.
19:15The name itself is actually of Arab origin.
19:18Someone who, in a sense, not only has Muslim friends,
19:22but who respects them and who shows respect for the Muslim culture.
19:29Something that was not unusual for anyone who was related to this world,
19:33at a time when the Muslim culture was deeply rooted in Spain.
19:42But Al-Muqtadir died only a year after hiring El Cid.
19:46And he divided his kingdom among his male heirs.
19:49One of his sons received lands to the east and south.
19:52Another of his sons received the city of Zaragoza.
19:55El Cid stayed in Zaragoza at the service of his new emir.
20:01In fact, we do not know what was the situation of El Cid in the court of the emir.
20:06If their relationship was cordial, if they dined or joked together,
20:11or if El Cid was treated as a subordinate or as a kind of military technician.
20:17We simply do not know.
20:21The rivalry between the two Muslim brothers was on the rise.
20:25For El Cid, this was an exact reproduction of what he had already lived.
20:29The wars between Sancho and Alfonso.
20:32And he had learned from these experiences.
20:35In Zaragoza, and while reinforcing the defenses of its periphery,
20:39he concentrated on training his troops until they became an effective military force.
20:45One of the places he chose to fortify was the old Almenar castle.
20:50After centuries of battles, the Spanish landscape was populated with ruins.
20:54According to certain estimates, there was a fortification of one type or another,
20:58approximately every 17 square kilometers.
21:01In a land besieged by bandits authorized by the state or dissidents,
21:05it was important to have a refuge,
21:07which also guaranteed the security of communications and supply lines.
21:14The battle between the two Arab brothers began in the summer of 1082.
21:18Under the site of Almenar, El Cid faced an army of mercenaries,
21:22precipitously formed.
21:24Although he faced a much superior force in number,
21:27the random alliance was not a rival for his troops,
21:30excellently trained.
21:32His men captured a large number of enemies
21:35and took hostages among which was the Count of Barcelona
21:38and a good number of his knights.
21:40Reasonably, I think we can assume that El Cid was a good commander,
21:44a successful commander,
21:46mainly for the work he did before entering into combat.
21:51I think we can also assume,
21:53just by looking at his record of victories,
21:56that his men had excellent training.
21:59And I'm also sure that El Cid was very aware
22:02of the importance of the old military maxim
22:04that time used to recognize the terrain is never wasted.
22:09His campaigns were meticulously prepared
22:12in relation to the terrain and specific natural characteristics
22:15where they were going to develop.
22:20Significantly, El Cid's services to the Muslim Emir of Zaragoza
22:24are omitted from the cantar of El Mio Cid,
22:26the epic Christian poem that narrates his life.
22:29This episode has been completely ignored.
22:32In the poem, El Cid is never mentioned in his battles
22:35at the service of the Muslim emirs,
22:37but in his campaigns against them.
22:43While El Cid remained in exile,
22:45fighting for the Muslims,
22:47the problems of King Alfonso were increasing.
22:49The inhabitants of Toledo, his protectorate,
22:51were calling for a new leadership.
22:53Alfonso had long depended on the collection of tributes from the city,
22:57fearing the insurrection in the autumn of 1084,
23:00located in Toledo.
23:04Winter was brutal,
23:06and the city of Toledo resisted with courage.
23:08But Alfonso's army waited.
23:10The occupation of the city lasted 10 months.
23:13In May 1085,
23:15overwhelmed by famine and disease,
23:17the city had to surrender.
23:19It was the first major conquest of a Christian army in 300 years.
23:26The news made the alarm sound.
23:29Muslim leaders feared that this would be the first of many invasions.
23:35It was a call for attention for all of them,
23:39because it meant that the Castilians
23:41began to have other ideas,
23:43beyond simply collecting tributes from the citizens.
23:48To avoid the Christian reconquest of southern Spain,
23:51the Muslims directed their gaze through the strait to Africa.
23:55There arose a new power,
23:57a strict and militaristic sect of Islam,
23:59the Almoravids.
24:02You are caught between a rock and a hard place.
24:05In the north, the Christians,
24:07sometimes they are friends, but sometimes they assault your land.
24:10This is the sword, and it is in the north,
24:12about to fall on your head.
24:16And then in the south,
24:18the north of Africa,
24:20the Almoravids,
24:22a more strict group of Muslims,
24:26with a very different vision
24:28of what Islam should be,
24:31more austere,
24:34and far more demanding of their subjects.
24:39That is their hard place.
24:44The Muslims who lived in Spain
24:46built a world of enormous beauty, luxury and leisure.
24:49They were devout Muslims,
24:51but they appreciated wine and astrology.
24:53The rulers of the kingdoms of Taifa
24:55knew that they would lose their cities,
24:57but they still had time to choose
24:59who would become their conquerors.
25:02With whom do you have more in common?
25:04With someone like El Cid?
25:06With someone like Alfonso VI,
25:08who has lived among your people?
25:10Or with Yusuf,
25:12leader of the Almoravids?
25:16There is talk of a Muslim ruler
25:18who left his ideas very clear
25:20with the famous phrase,
25:22I prefer to be a chameleon in Morocco
25:24than a piara of pigs in Castile.
25:26A new wave of invaders was on the way.
25:32El Cid spent five years
25:34at the service of the Muslim emirs of Zaragoza.
25:37With each victory,
25:39his reputation was restored,
25:41his coffers were filled,
25:43the loyalty of his soldiers became stronger.
25:45But his former boss,
25:47King Alfonso VI of Castile,
25:49also accumulated victories and amassed fortune.
25:52In an attempt to extend his influence
25:54and collect greater tributes,
25:56Alfonso decided to lead his army
25:58against the city of Zaragoza
26:00and decided to do it in person.
26:02There, he would have met face to face
26:04with his former subject
26:06and confidant, El Cid.
26:08Fate prevented him.
26:10Before Alfonso could reach Zaragoza,
26:12the Moorish kings decided
26:14to play a card.
26:16They appealed to their Muslim co-religionaries
26:18from Morocco, the Almoravids.
26:23The best description I can give
26:25is that of a fundamentalist sect
26:27within Islam.
26:29Who were dedicated
26:31to upholding Islamic law
26:33and traditions
26:35in their starkest form.
26:45They were very displeased
26:47at what they saw.
26:49Muslim rulers who were
26:51forced to pay tribute
26:53to Christian leaders
26:55who were forced
26:57to raise the money for the tribute
26:59to impose taxes
27:01not sanctioned by the authority
27:03of the Koran.
27:05The new invading force of Morocco
27:07was led by a warrior named Yusuf.
27:09He crossed the strait of Gibraltar
27:11with an army of 7,000 men
27:13between knights and infantry.
27:15They were coming to Spain
27:17to defend a territory
27:19that they had already conquered
27:21hundreds of years ago.
27:23Yusuf's army also included
27:25shields of bamboo, leather shields
27:27and drums of war.
27:29They crossed Spain
27:31heading north
27:33recruiting mercenaries
27:35and taking slaves.
27:37When they arrived in Sagrajas
27:39they formed an army
27:41of 20,000 men.
27:43And in Sagrajas
27:45the battle began.
27:47King Alfonso with his army
27:49of approximately 40,000 soldiers
27:51and allies unleashed
27:53and the Christian army
27:55was quickly overcome and massacred.
27:57Many of Alfonso's allies deserted
27:59some terrified by the bad omen
28:01that the drums caused
28:03and the strange armament
28:05of the African warriors
28:07who followed Yusuf.
28:09The roads were covered with corpses.
28:11It was a crushing defeat
28:13but King Alfonso escaped.
28:15The battle of Sagrajas
28:17in the year 1086
28:19was for King Alfonso
28:21a king who had been
28:23successfully ruling for 20 years.
28:25But the Almoravids
28:27had not come to occupy Spain.
28:29Once defeated
28:31Alfonso's army returned to Morocco
28:33and the king took advantage of the moment.
28:35He got in touch with Sid
28:37put an end to his exile
28:39and asked him to return to his court.
28:41So in the wake
28:43of that terrible battle
28:45we find that King Alfonso
28:47returns his favors
28:49and reaches an agreement with Sid.
28:51He needed people
28:53people capable of helping him
28:55to regain the reins.
28:57That was, we could say,
28:59a market of vassals.
29:05Sid had trained his army
29:07until it became what seemed
29:09an invincible war machine.
29:11He agreed to defend the lands
29:13of King Alfonso in the face of any threat.
29:15In return, Sid would have the right
29:17to the property of the lands
29:19that he took from the Muslims.
29:21Properties that would pass to his descendants.
29:23He could ultimately establish
29:25his own dynasty.
29:27He is, in many respects,
29:29what we would call a freelancer today.
29:31Someone who allies with the Muslims
29:33against the Christians
29:35who allies with the Christians
29:37against other Christians.
29:39Someone who is trying to build his own
29:41kingdom or state,
29:43improve his economic position.
29:45The Almoravids return three years later.
29:49To sum up the story,
29:51during the following years,
29:53Yusuf and the Almoravids
29:55conquered the Islamic principalities of Spain,
29:57thus unifying Spanish Islam
29:59under a single authority
30:01which, of course,
30:03was more than a threat
30:05to Christian authorities,
30:07including Alfonso VI in the north.
30:09So the king went from being
30:11on the aggressive side
30:13in the 1980s
30:15to being on the defensive side.
30:17Aware of his problems,
30:19in 1089,
30:21Alfonso VI summons Al-Zid
30:23to request his help
30:25in his fight against the Almoravid invaders.
30:27It was the most important test
30:29of his reconciliation,
30:31but it did not last long.
30:33Al-Zid did not attend
30:35an important meeting
30:37on a battlefield
30:39and Alfonso suffered
30:41Al-Zid did not look for a new boss.
30:43He led his well-armed men
30:45on horseback to the north,
30:47along the Mediterranean coast,
30:49collecting tributes
30:51for his own war chest.
30:53The rulers of the most important cities,
30:55both Christian and Muslim,
30:57joined forces to face
30:59the venerable warrior.
31:01Thanks to an information
31:03from his old friend,
31:05the emir of Zaragoza,
31:07Al-Zid was able to retreat
31:09to the mountains,
31:11where he formed a well-fortified
31:13defensive position.
31:15The persecution of Al-Zid
31:17was led by the Count of Barcelona,
31:19who camped under the fortification
31:21in plain land.
31:23During the night,
31:25he sent a group of soldiers
31:27to the top of the mountain.
31:29Very soon,
31:31Al-Zid's position was surrounded.
31:33At dawn,
31:35the two armies met.
31:37But once again,
31:39luck was on his side.
31:41In a virtual replay
31:43of the Battle of Almenar,
31:45Al-Zid ended up leading
31:47his men to victory.
31:49The Count of Barcelona
31:51was captured
31:53along with his best men.
31:55Their hasty attack
31:57cost them dearly
31:59in lives and rewards.
32:01It's been shown
32:03that Al-Zid was
32:05a man of integrity,
32:07but I suspect
32:09that this had to do
32:11with his morale.
32:13During the following years,
32:15Al-Zid strengthened his bastion
32:17on the coast, establishing
32:19his center of power
32:21near Valencia,
32:23a city where he collected
32:25tributes.
32:27His greatest challenge
32:29when it came to
32:31dominating the city
32:33was in Castilla.
32:37Al-Zid personally
32:39led a brutal attack
32:41on this rich region.
32:43He went in the lands
32:45of García Ordóñez,
32:47in La Rioja,
32:49and apparently made a waste.
32:51Very violently and ruthlessly
32:53as well as looking back
32:55at his enemies.
32:57This ruthless
32:59incursion of Al-Zid
33:01destroyed Valencia.
33:03But for Al-Zid,
33:05a new threat
33:07began to form in the south.
33:09The Almoravids
33:11had directed their gaze
33:13to the land of Al-Zid,
33:15Valencia.
33:19In 1092,
33:21the Almoravids
33:23marched to Valencia.
33:25They were met by a Muslim judge
33:27who led an attempt
33:29to force Alfonso to leave Valencia.
33:31He was more than determined
33:33to maintain the city
33:35and its rich tributes.
33:37For him, it was the dream
33:39of his own kingdom.
33:41But Valencia
33:43is obviously
33:45a very special place,
33:47an incredible prize,
33:49because the city
33:51is also surrounded
33:53by an incredibly fertile land,
33:55the garden of Valencia,
33:57an agricultural area
33:59that produces a huge amount
34:01of agricultural goods
34:03and which has
34:05a tremendous system
34:07of irrigation.
34:13Al-Zid led
34:15constant assaults
34:17on the settlements
34:19on the outskirts of the city,
34:21but allowed the residents
34:23who surrendered
34:25to leave the city.
34:27Al-Zid knew very well
34:29that he would need the farms
34:31to feed his troops
34:33during a possible
34:35long-term assault.
34:37In July,
34:39the city was already
34:41totally blocked.
34:43Today, the gates
34:45of the walled city
34:47of Valencia
34:49are located
34:51in the middle of the town
34:53For Al-Zid,
34:55Valencia was,
34:57no doubt,
34:59a very important prize,
35:01and it could have been,
35:03although this is
35:05sheer speculation,
35:07the germ
35:09and the beginning
35:11of a kind of
35:13independent state
35:15in his hands.
35:17In May 1994,
35:19before the Almoravid army
35:21took the city,
35:23Al-Zid surrendered.
35:25After 10 months,
35:27the site of Valencia
35:29had come to an end,
35:31but very soon
35:33Al-Zid would find himself
35:35in trouble again.
35:37He had just imprisoned
35:39the Muslim judge
35:41when the Almoravids
35:43arrived in the city.
35:45He immediately asked
35:47his allies for reinforcements,
35:49and for 10 days and 10 nights
35:51they used psychological warfare techniques.
35:53Surrounding the city's walls,
35:55they filled the air with howls
35:57and the deafening rumbling
35:59of their war drums.
36:01A second siege attempt had begun.
36:03The Almoravids
36:05began the siege operation
36:07attacking the city's supply lines.
36:09The passage of time
36:11was of vital importance,
36:13so Al-Zid attacked immediately.
36:15He intelligently designed
36:17a cavalry formation,
36:19sending out a group of knights
36:21through one of the city's five gates.
36:23When the Almoravids
36:25attacked Al-Zid's knights,
36:27he sent another unit
36:29through another of the city's gates
36:31with the aim of attacking
36:33the Muslim invaders' rearguard.
36:35The surprise was total.
36:37The maneuver was brilliant.
36:39In the short space of a day,
36:41Al-Zid had defeated the enemy.
36:43The dead lay all over the city.
36:45It was the first time
36:47that the Almoravids had been defeated.
36:49This defeat of the Almoravids
36:51had a tremendous resonance
36:53not only in Spain.
36:55For Christians from all over the West,
36:57the fact that these terrifying,
36:59unknown Muslims
37:01who came from Africa
37:03could be defeated
37:05was really something impressive.
37:07For Al-Zid,
37:09it was time to ensure his reign
37:11over the city of Valencia.
37:13As a witness, he executed the Muslim judge
37:15by burning him alive.
37:17Later, he imprisoned
37:19the city's aristocracy
37:21and asked astronomical amounts
37:23as a reward.
37:25He continued his assaults
37:27on the settlements near the city.
37:31Of course, he has been described
37:33as a hard master.
37:35In a sense, in the Middle Ages,
37:37in the Valencia of Al-Zid,
37:39it is a matter of governing
37:41and punishing.
37:43But at the same time,
37:45as the successful rulers always knew,
37:47he had the ability to provide
37:49riches and gifts
37:51to all who were loyal to him.
37:53It is about punishing the wicked
37:55and rewarding the good,
37:57which essentially means
37:59punishing your enemies
38:01and rewarding your friends,
38:03whoever they are.
38:05The ability that Al-Zid demonstrated
38:07to defeat the then invincible
38:09Al-Moravides is really remarkable.
38:11And I think it could also be said
38:13that in a way,
38:15it is also inexplicable.
38:17But he had the reputation
38:19of being invincible.
38:21And I really think that when you fight
38:23against someone who everyone
38:25considers invincible,
38:27it is quite scary.
38:29The next conquest was
38:31the rock of Murbiedro,
38:33to the north of the city.
38:35Al-Zid left historical traces.
38:37He had fought for this same position.
38:39As long as it was in Muslim hands,
38:41Al-Zid's rights over Valencia
38:43were in danger.
38:45It is possibly the strongest
38:47natural defensive position
38:49within the whole of that
38:51central sector of the Mediterranean
38:53coast of Spain.
38:55Messages, merchandise,
38:57military supplies,
38:59all of that could be threatened
39:01if the hostile forces
39:03controlled the rock of Murbiedro.
39:05In Murbiedro,
39:07Al-Zid used his own
39:09psychological tactics.
39:11He threatened to burn alive
39:13or torture and execute
39:15all those who were inside the city
39:17and did not surrender.
39:19And when they surrendered,
39:21he made them march in chains
39:23to Valencia.
39:25He was already the indisputable
39:27owner of the city.
39:31Al-Zid ruled Valencia
39:33but his hopes of establishing
39:35a dynasty failed.
39:37His son Diego died in combat.
39:39Details have not come to our days
39:41but a fact is known.
39:43Diego died fighting for King
39:45Alfonso VI against the Almoravids.
39:47When Al-Zid died,
39:49he did not leave his successor.
39:51Valencia fell shortly after
39:53in the hands of the Almoravids.
39:55Yusuf calls again to the city gates
39:57and she is not able to defend
39:59without Al-Zid's leadership.
40:01Maybe this was one of his mistakes
40:03as a leader.
40:05He did not leave anyone
40:07who could follow his steps,
40:09who could defend Valencia
40:11beyond his death.
40:13Some see in the death of Al-Zid
40:15the end of an era
40:17in the history of Spain.
40:19He was not someone strange,
40:21he was someone typical of that time.
40:23Someone like Al-Zid could grow up
40:25in the service of a Christian king,
40:27be sent to exile by that same king,
40:29return later to the service
40:31of the same Christian king
40:33and eventually end up
40:35as his own master and lord,
40:37ruler of his own independent principality.
40:59To be continued...