Conquest of Zaragoza (1118)

The Conquest of Zaragoza of 1118 was a military operation led by Alfonso I the Battler, king of Aragón and Pamplona, who It allowed him to take the city of Zaragoza from the Almoravids.

History
The city, which had once been the capital of the Taifa of Zaragoza, had about inhabitants counting its periphery. It had been previously besieged by Alfonso VI of León in 1086, by Sancho Ramírez in 1091, and by Alfonso I of Aragon himself in 1110. Within the attacking contingent there were, in addition to Aragonese, French, Castilian, Navarrese, and Catalan, beginning the siege in May 1118. Together with the Aragonese king, who joined the siege once it had begun, nobles such as Gastón de Béarn fought or Centule II, Count of Bigorre. The monk Pedro de Librana carried the indulgence papal, granted by the pontiff Gelasius II in December 1118.

The small defending Almoravid contingent, which lacked a leader after the death of Governor Ibn Tifilwit in 1116, received external support from troops commanded by the Granada governor Abd Allah. ibn Mazdali, who died on November 16, demoralizing the defending troops. These capitulated on December 11, 1118, and the Christian troops triumphantly entered the city on the 18th of that month. Despite the abundant siege weapons arranged by the army of Alfonso I during the siege, the capitulation of the city must have been more due to the hunger suffered by the besieged. The Christians also suffered from hunger, leaving part of the siege of the Frankish troops.

After the conquest of Zaragoza, Alfonso I proceeded to continue the military campaign, with the conquest of Tudela and Tarazona the following year. Also as a result of the taking of the city, the city of Jaca would lose political importance.