A Decisive Century in the Struggle against Islam in Iberia, ca. 1031–1157

My intention in this paper is to identify the grand strategic principles planned and utilized by the Christian polities in Iberia in order to vanquish their Muslim adversaries during the period between the final disintegration of the Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba in 1031 and the death of Alfonso VII, Emperor of León-Castile, in 1157. This choice of dates is not arbitrary. ¹ Although internal difficulties had troubled the Caliphate for at least two decades, its final disintegration in 1031 marked the beginning of a radical change for the whole of peninsular geopolitics, not only for the politico-military relations that had prevailed until then within the Christian and Muslim spheres, but also consequently for the balance of power within Iberia. The end of the fitna that fragmented the Caliphate of Córdoba meant that the Christian polities started to take the strategic initiative which, until then, had been monopolized by the Muslims. ²