Alarcos

Alarcos, called al-Arak in the Arabic sources, is a small citadel in the district of Calatrava la Vieja, about seven miles south-west of Ciudad Real. It stands on the summit of a mountain whose spurs descend to the Guadiana. ¹

The battle was fought in the undulating plain at the foot of the mountain, between Poblete and the Guadiana. The Castilians first launched a surprise attack on the Almohad advance guard, commanded by the vizier Abu Yahya, and won only a partial success. Ya'qub al-Mansur then attacked the flank of the Christian army. Exhausted by heat and thirst, the Castilians took refuge in the castle or fled with their king towards Toledo. Pedro Fernandez de Castro, a personal enemy of Alfonso VIII, brought his squadron of cavalry to the Almohad side and advised the Almohad ruler. Diego Lopez de Haro, the great alferez of Castile, took refuge with the royal standard in the castle. ¹

The Muslim chroniclers greatly exaggerated the numbers of troops, the Christian dead and the prisoners taken in the castle. The Christian sources are more objective, though briefer. The Castilian army suffered heavy losses, and although the king of Aragon gave it help, it did not dare to fight again when Ya'qub entered its territory. The Almohads had the advantage: Alfonso VIII was at war with León and Navarre, and had underestimated the Almohad forces and the strategy of Ya'qub al-Mansur. ¹