"that the blade was made in Moorish Córdoba in the eleventh century and contained amounts of Damascus steel. In 2007, the Autonomous Community of Castile and León bought the sword for 1.6 million Euros, and it is currently on display at the Museum of Burgos. El Cid also had a sword called Colada. El Cid was married in July 1075 to Jimena Díaz, said to have been a kinswoman of King Alfonso. The ""Historia Roderici"" calls her a daughter of a Count Diego Fernández de Oviedo. Tradition states that when El Cid first laid eyes on her, he was enamoured"
"of Alfonso's lands. El Cid chose not to fight because he was hoping that both armies would become weak. That would make it easier for him to carry out his own plan to become ruler of the Kingdom of Valencia. Around this time, El Cid, with a combined Christian and Moorish army, began maneuvering in order to create his own fiefdom in the Moorish Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia. Several obstacles lay in his way. First was Berenguer Ramon II, who ruled nearby Barcelona. In May 1090, El Cid defeated and captured Berenguer in the Battle of Tébar (nowadays Pinar"
"Spanish epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the Spanish hero El Cid, and takes place during the Reconquista, or reconquest of Spain from the Moors. “The protagonist of the poem is the historical Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1045–1099), also known as Cid (a dialectal form of the Arabic word sayyid, 'lord' or 'master') and Campeador ('Battler' or 'Victor'). The poem begins with the departure of Rodrigo from his home in Vivar, the first of two exiles of Rodrigo decreed by Alfonso VI, king of Castile and Leon (1065–1109). In the poem this first exile (1081)"
"first major defeat in 1094, on the plains of Caurte, outside Valencia, and continued resisting them until his death. Although Rodrigo remained undefeated in Valencia, his only son, and heir, Diego Rodríguez died fighting against the Almoravids in the service of Alfonso in 1097. After El Cid's death in 1099, his wife, Jimena Díaz, succeeded him as ruler of Valencia, but she was eventually forced to surrender the principality to the Almoravids in 1102. To this day, El Cid remains a Spanish popular folk-hero and national icon, with his life and deeds remembered in plays, films, folktales, songs, and even"
"El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( 10 July 1099) was a Castilian nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain. The Moors called him El Cid (), which meant ""the Lord"" (probably from the original Arabic al-sayyid, السَّيِّد), and the Christians, El Campeador, which stood for ""Outstanding Warrior"" or ""The one who stands out in the battlefield"". He was born in Vivar, a town near the city of Burgos. After his death, he became Castile's celebrated national hero and the protagonist of the most significant medieval Spanish epic poem, ""El Cantar de Mio Cid"". Born a member of the minor"
"him and his successor, Al-Mustain II. He was given the title ""El Cid"" (""The Master"") and served as a leading figure in a diverse Moorish force consisting of Muladis, Berbers, Arabs and Malians. According to Moorish accounts: Andalusian Knights found El Cid their foe ill, thirsty and exiled from the court of Alfonso, he was presented before the elderly Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud and accepted command of the forces of the Taifa of Zaragoza as their Master. In his ""History of Medieval Spain"" (Cornell University Press, 1975), Joseph F. O'Callaghan writes: That kingdom was divided between al-Mutamin (1081–1085) who ruled"
"an alliance with the end goal of doing battle with the Almoravids. Under this agreement, El Cid departed in December 1096 with the aid of Aragonese troops to bring weapons, ammunition and general supplies to the castle of Sierra de Benicadell. The castle itself had been retaken by ""El Cid"" in October 1091 to control access to Valencia from the south via the interior route. That action had taken place in the course of the operations for the ""reconquista"" of Levante that the Cid had undertaken before the arrival of the North African Almoravids. Muhammad ibn Tasufin, commander of the"
"around Gibraltar began. The Almoravids, Berber residents of present-day North Africa, led by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, were asked to help defend the divided Moors from Alfonso. El Cid commanded a large Moorish force during the Battle of Sagrajas, which took place in 1086, near the Taifa of Badajoz. The Almoravid and Andalusian Taifas, including the armies of Badajoz, Málaga, Granada, Tortosa and Seville, defeated a combined army of León, Aragón and Castile. In 1087, Raymond of Burgundy and his Christian allies attempted to weaken the Taifa of Zaragoza's northernmost stronghold by initiating the Siege of Tudela and Alfonso captured Aledo,"
"while politically supporting the Banu Hud and other Muslim dynasties opposed to the Almoravids. He gradually increased his control over Valencia; the Islamic ruler, , became his tributary in 1092. When the Almoravids instigated an uprising that resulted in the death of al-Qadir, El Cid responded by laying siege to the city. Valencia finally fell in 1094, and El Cid established an independent principality on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. He ruled over a pluralistic society with the popular support of Christians and Muslims alike. El Cid's final years were spent fighting the Almoravid Berbers. He inflicted upon them their"
"Álvarez, certified only two of Sancho II's; and El Cid's father confirmed only one. As a young man in 1057, Rodrigo fought against the Moorish stronghold of Zaragoza, making its emir al-Muqtadir a vassal of Sancho. In the spring of 1063, Rodrigo fought in the Battle of Graus, where Ferdinand's half-brother, Ramiro I of Aragon, was laying siege to the Moorish town of Cinca, which was in Zaragozan lands. Al-Muqtadir, accompanied by Castilian troops including El Cid, fought against the Aragonese. The party slew Ramiro I, setting the Aragonese army on the run, and emerged victorious. One legend has said"
"to break the siege failed. By the time the siege ended in May 1094, El Cid had carved out his own principality on the coast of the Mediterranean. Officially El Cid ruled in the name of Alfonso; in reality, El Cid was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and both Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators. El Cid and his wife Jimena Díaz lived peacefully in Valencia for five years until the Almoravids besieged the city. El Cid died on June 10, 1099. His death was likely a result of the famine and"
"of the Iberian peninsula and menaced Córdoba. Abd ar-Rahman II organized a large army to defeat the invaders and recapture Cádiz and Seville. According to legend, in 834 Ramiro defeated the Moors in the Battle of Clavijo. The date was later changed to 844 in order to accommodate the contradictions inherent to the story (Ramiro was not ruling in 834). The account of the battle came to the spotlight on a spurious charter forged in Santiago de Compostela in the early 12th century. Neither Asturian nor Arab chronicles of the period make any mention of such a battle. It is"
"because it did not respect the classical unities. Today, ""Le Cid"" is widely regarded as Corneille's finest work, and is considered one of the greatest plays of the seventeenth century. The stories of The Cid are based on the life of the Spanish warrior Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who lived approximately from 1043 until 1099. The real ""Cid"" seems to have fought for both Muslims and Christians at different times and appears to have been a sellsword figure. In the play, however, he is lauded solely as a Christian soldier. The name ""El Cid"" was derived from the Arabic word"
"significance. Hispania descended into civil war in the 8th century as rival Visigothic factions fought for control of the throne. This gave the Moors the opportunity to invade Hispania and pursue a course of dividing-and-conquering the Christian factions. Following a raid in 710, a predominately Berber army under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa in April 711 and landed somewhere in the vicinity of Gibraltar (though most likely not in the bay or at the Rock itself). Although Tariq's expedition was an outstanding success and led to the Islamic conquest of most of the Iberian peninsula,"
"In 1195, after the treaty with the Almohads was broken, he came to the defence of Alarcos on the river Guadiana, then the principal Castilian town in the region. At the subsequent Battle of Alarcos, he was roundly defeated by the caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur. The reoccupation of the surrounding territory by the Almohads was quickly commenced with Calatrava falling first. For the next seventeen years, the frontier between Moor and Castilian was fixed in the hill country just outside Toledo. Finally, in 1212, through the mediation of Pope Innocent III, a crusade was called against the Almohads. Castilians"
"captured by the Moors in the Third Siege, but had been forced to withdraw after two months of siege warfare. Peace was temporarily restored through a four-year truce that expired in 1338. After resuming the conflict in 1339, the Moors suffered major reverses. A Moroccan army under Abd al-Malik Abd al-Wahid was wiped out by the Castilians in 1339 while in 1340 a much bigger army under Yusuf I of Granada and Sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman of Morocco was destroyed in the Battle of Río Salado by a Christian army representing all the Christian Spanish kingdoms and Portugal."
"victorious in battle against the Muslim rulers of Lérida and their Christian allies, as well as against a large Christian army under King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. In 1086, an expeditionary army of North African Almoravids inflicted a severe defeat to Castile, compelling Alfonso to overcome the resentments he harboured against El Cid. The terms for the return to the Christian service must have been attractive enough since Rodrigo soon found himself fighting for his former Lord. Over the next several years, however, El Cid set his sights on the kingdom-city of Valencia, operating more or less independently of Alfonso"
"In 1079, the Battle of Cabra took place. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid), with the Castilian troops of Alfonso the VIth, fought on the side of the Sevillian king Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad against Granada. El Cid conquered the ruler of Granada Abdallah and his ally García Ordóñez. El Cid fell out of favour with Alfonso VI. Abdallah of Granada, together with the rulers of Seville and Badajoz, pressed for the end of the parias and requested the aid of the Almoravids. The North Africans entered the Iberian peninsula in 1086, defeating Alfonso VI in the Battle of Sagrajas near"
"the 1962 ""Golden Reel Award"" of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. El Cid (film) El Cid is a 1961 epic historical drama film that romanticizes the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called ""El Cid"" (from the Arabic as-sidi, meaning ""The Lord""), who, in the 11th century, fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain. The film stars Charlton Heston in the title role and Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena. Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in association with Dear Film Produzione and released in the United States by Allied Artists,"
"and sweets, like mantecadas, prepared in the ancient way. Prehistoric remains in the area include cave paintings in Morella la Vella and Bronze Age graves at Hostal Nou. The Greeks established a treasury at Morella, but then the area became the scene of conflict between the Carthaginians and the Roman Empire during the Punic Wars. Eventually the town was Romanized and became part of the province of Tarragona. The Moors took the town in 714, naming it ""Maurela"". El Cid is reputed to have rebuilt the castle which dominates the town and in 1084 he is supposed to have fought"
"the Marinid build-up. Alfonso XI mounted a series of ""chevauchées"" (mounted raids) deep into Marinid territory in 1339, targeting Ronda, Antequera and Archidona. Malik responded by mounting an invasion of Castilian territory, leading a raid against Medina-Sidonia before laying siege to Jerez de la Frontera. His forces also attacked Arcos de la Frontera and Lebrija. Although they failed to take any of the three towns, the Moors amassed a large quantity of booty from the surrounding countryside. They were on their way back to their own territory, laden down with loot, when they were ambushed by Castilian forces. The Moorish"
"the Muslim Emir of Badajoz, Al-Mutawwakkil. Al-Mutawwakkil renounces control of Toledo, and al-Qadir is reinstated. A Leonese garrison is established at Zorita to the east of Toledo. Battle of Cabra The Battle of Cabra took place in 1079 in southern Iberia (now Spain) between two Islamic states, Granada and Seville. Each side was aided by Castilian knights under Alfonso VI. It resulted in a victory for El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz), who routed the invading forces of Emir Abd Allah of Granada and his Christian allies led by Count García Ordóñez. El Cid captured Ordóñez and other Christian knights and held"
"Battle of Cabra The Battle of Cabra took place in 1079 in southern Iberia (now Spain) between two Islamic states, Granada and Seville. Each side was aided by Castilian knights under Alfonso VI. It resulted in a victory for El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz), who routed the invading forces of Emir Abd Allah of Granada and his Christian allies led by Count García Ordóñez. El Cid captured Ordóñez and other Christian knights and held them for three days until releasing them to return to Castile. Following this, in the battle of Coria, Alfonso VI (already king of Castile and León) defeated"
"meaning ""horns"" in Berber). Since then, the Rif has suffered numerous battles between Berber kingdoms, Spain and Portugal. In 1415, Portugal invaded Ceuta (Sebta), and in 1490 Spain invaded Melilla (Mlilt). There was a period of peace afterwards, but war between Spain and Morocco broke out again in 1859 in Tetouan, where Morocco was defeated. The Spanish-Moroccan conflicts continued in the 20th century, under the leadership of Abd el-Krim, the Berber guerrilla leader who proclaimed the Republic of the Rif in 1921. The Riffian Berbers won several victories over the Spanish in the Rif War of the 1920s before being"
"succeeded him. Al-Mundhir of Córdoba Al-Mundhir () (c. 842 – 888) was Emir of Córdoba from 886 to 888. He was a member of the Umayyad dynasty of Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia), the son of Muhamad bin Abd al-Rahman. Born in Córdoba, during the reign of his father he commanded the military operations against the neighbouring Christian kingdoms and the Muladi rebellions. In 865 he led the partially failed campaign against King Ordoño I of Asturias, in the Duero valley. During his way back to Córdoba, he defeated at Burgos Rodrigo, count of Castile, pushing the Cordoban frontier northwards in Iberia."
"Cid, Valencia proved to be an obstacle for the Almoravid military, despite their untouchable reputation. Abu Bakr ibn Ibrahim ibn Tashfin and Yusef's nephew Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad both failed to defeat El Cid. Yusef then sent Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali al-Hajj, but he was not successful either. In 1097, on his fourth trip to al-Andalus, Yusef sought to personally dig down and fight the armies of Alfonso VI, making his way towards the all but abandoned, yet historically important, Toledo. Such a concerted effort was meant to draw the Christian forces, including those laying siege to Valencia, into the center of Iberia."
"nobility, El Cid was brought up at the court of King Ferdinand the Great and served Ferdinand's son, Sancho II of León and Castile. He rose to become the commander and royal standard-bearer (""armiger regis"") of Castile upon Sancho's ascension in 1065. Rodrigo went on to lead the Castilian military campaigns against Sancho's brothers, Alfonso VI of León and García II of Galicia, as well as in the Muslim kingdoms in Al-Andalus. He became renowned for his military prowess in these campaigns, which helped expand Castilian territory at the expense of the Muslims and Sancho's brothers' kingdoms. When conspirators murdered"
"towards El Cid and an accusation of pocketing some of the tribute from Seville. At first he went to Barcelona, where Ramon Berenguer II (1076–1082) and Berenguer Ramon II (1076–1097) refused his offer of service. The exile was not the end of El Cid, either physically or as an important figure. After being rejected by Ramon Berenguer II, El Cid journeyed to the Taifa of Zaragoza where he received a warmer welcome. In 1081, El Cid went on to offer his services to the Moorish king of the northeast Al-Andalus city of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, and served both"
"beginning with the Cantar del Mio Cid, an epic poem from the 12th century which gives a partly-fictionalized account of his life. This poem, along with similar later works such as the Mocedades de Rodrigo, contributed to portray El Cid as a chivalric hero of the Reconquista, making him a legendary figure in Spain. In the early 17th century the Spanish writer Guillén de Castro wrote a play called ""Las Mocedades del Cid"", on which French playwright Pierre Corneille based one of his most famous tragicomedies, Le Cid. He was also a popular source of inspiration for Spanish writers of"
"El Cid (film) El Cid is a 1961 epic historical drama film that romanticizes the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called ""El Cid"" (from the Arabic as-sidi, meaning ""The Lord""), who, in the 11th century, fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain. The film stars Charlton Heston in the title role and Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena. Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in association with Dear Film Produzione and released in the United States by Allied Artists, the film was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel"
"Zaragoza proper, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa. El Cid entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza against the assaults of al-Mundhir, Sancho I of Aragón, and Ramon Berenguer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082. In 1084, The Army of the Taifa of Zaragoza under El Cid defeated the Aragonese at the Battle of Morella near Tortosa, but in autumn the Castilians started a loose siege of Toledo and later the next year the Christians captured Salamanca, a stronghold of the Taifa of Toledo. In 1086, the Almoravid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula through and"
"throne. His brother's children, Isabella and Peter (who married María Rodríguez, daughter of El Cid), died in 1103 and 1104 respectively. A passionate fighting-man (he fought twenty-nine battles against Christian or Moor), he was married (when well over 30 years and a habitual bachelor) in 1109 to the ambitious Queen Urraca of León, widow of Raymond of Burgundy, a passionate woman unsuited for a subordinate role. The marriage had been arranged by her father Alfonso VI of León in 1106 to unite the two chief Christian states against the Almoravids, and to supply them with a capable military leader. But"
"al-Hakam II. The Muslims, who were initially Arabs and Berbers, included some local converts, the so-called Muladi. The Muslims were referred to by the generic name, ""Moors"" The Reconquista gained momentum on c. 718, when the Christian Asturians opposed the Moors. Many of the ousted Gothic nobles took refuge in the unconquered north Kingdom of Asturias. From there, they aimed to reconquer their lands from the Moors; this war of reconquest is known as the Reconquista. Christian and Muslim kingdoms fought and allied among themselves. The fighting was characterised by raids into Islamic territory with the intent of destroying crops,"