Capture of Aceca

The Capture of Aceca was a military engagement between the Almoravids and the Castilians at the fort of Aceca, northwest of Toledo. The Almoravids were victorious.

Battle of Aceca (1130)
Part of the Reconquista
Date Summer 1130 Location Aceca, northwest of Toledo, Spain Result Almoravid victory
Belligerents
Almoravid dynasty	Kingdom of Castile
Commanders and leaders
Tashfin ibn Ali	Tello Fernandez (POW)
Strength
Unknown	300 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown	180 or 300 killed

Background

Almoravids continued to harass Toledo under the Almoravid prince, Tashfin bin Ali, the son of Ali ibn Yusuf, who governed Al-Andalus from Gradan in the years 1128–1138. The Almoravids took Colmenar de Oreja as their base in the east and Calatrava la Vieja in the south. Almoravid forces raided Tagus and tried to isolate Toleda, however, they did not attempt to hold on forts they captured, instead they destroyed them. One of the chief Christian forts between Toledo and Oreja was the Aceca fort northwest of Toledo.

Battle

In the summer of 1130, during the month of Ramadan, Tashfin left Granada with an army reinforced by forces from Cordoba. Tashfin went to raid Toledo again. The news of the raid arrived the Castilians fortified Toledo. The Almoravids then crossed the Tagus River and headed towards Aceca. Aceca was governed by a Castilian knight from Saldaña, Tello Fernandez, who used the fort to frequently attack the Muslim territory. The Almoravids attacked the fort from midnight until sunset. They successfully stormed the castle and captured it, razing it to the ground. All the Castilian men, numbering 300, were killed while some sources say 180 were killed. Tello Fernandez was captured with other captives. The Almoravids did not attempt to hold it. Tello was taken to Cordoba and then to Morocco where he never returned to his country.

Aftermath

After his victory, the Almoravids assaulted the fort of Bargas where they killed 50 knights, and San Servando where 20 knights were killed. They then returned to Granada where they were well received. Aceca would be later rebuilt by a knight called Gaucelmo de Rivas.

Sources

• Richard Fletcher & Simon Barton (2000), The World of El Cid, Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest.[1]
• Muhammad Abdullah Enan (1963), The State of Islam in Andalusia, Vol. III: The Era of Almoravids and Almohads, Part 1.[2]
• Derek W. Lomax (1978), The Reconquest of Spain.[3]
• Simon Barton (2002), The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century León and Castile.[4]