# Siege of Santarém (1171)

The siege of Santarém in 1171 was a military confrontation during the Reconquista, in which the city of Santarém was besieged by an army from the Almohad Caliphate, but they were unable to conquer the city. It was the first time that Santarém was attacked since its conquest by King Afonso I of Portugal, 24 years earlier.

## History

Located at the top of a steep slope next to the Tagus river, Santarém was considered one of the most difficult cities to conquer in western Iberia. However, it was captured by Afonso I in 1147, through a surprise attack. Its walls were surreptitiously scaled at dawn and the city conquered before its garrison could organise an effective defence. Since then, the city has remained in Portuguese hands.
In 1169, Gerald the Fearless and Afonso I besieged Badajoz, the largest and most important city in the west of the peninsula. Alarmed by this news, the Almohad Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf sent an army of 20.000 men commanded by Abu Hafs to the Iberian peninsula, hoping that the city had not yet fallen to Christian hands. When Abu Hafs arrived in Seville, however, the Portuguese had already withdrawn. He then left for Córdoba and from this city he sent a detachment commanded by Ibrahim Ben Hamushk to Badajoz, who invaded Portugal in 1170.
The following year, the Caliph himself came to the Iberian peninsula with a large army of 10.000 Almohads and 10.000 Arabs. They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the summer and reached Seville on 8 June. From Seville, a Muslim army invaded Portugal through the Alentejo and, without encountering much resistance, advanced to Santarém, which was besieged. Afonso I of Portugal, also known as "The Conqueror" was in the city.
The Almohads expected the king of León to refrain from helping Afonso I due to past grievances between the two, but upon learning of the siege of Santarém, Fernando II of León set out to help him with an army. When he learned of the approach of the Leonese, Afonso I was unaware of their intentions and believed that King Fernando II wanted to help the Muslims, so he sent messengers to ask for peace.
The news that the Leonese were coming to help the Portuguese spread among the Muslims as well, who lifted the siege and retreated to Seville, conquering Alcântara from the Leonese along the way.

## Aftermath

Due to the failure of the Muslims in Santarém, in 1173 the King of Portugal signed a truce with the Almohads for five years.
Following the siege of Santarém, the Templars carried out an extensive program of construction or renovation of the Order's castles that defended the Tagus line, which lasted through the 1170s. In 1171, the Castle of Almourol and Pombal began to be built or remodeled, the Castle of Penas Róias in 1172 and the Castle of Longroiva in 1174, but also Soure, Monsanto and Cardiga, being equipped with modern keep towers, alambors and hoardings, introduced for the first time in Portugal. These innovations then spread throughout the country, and were therefore considered essential to the defence of the territory. The introduction of the keep towers, the alambor and the hoarding "mirror the excellence of the military architecture of the Portuguese Templars, largely due to the actions of their most emblematic and influential master, Gualdim Pais, who was at the forefront of the order's destinies throughout of almost forty years (1156-1195)."
The siege of 1171 was only the first of three that would be imposed on Santarém by the Muslims. The Almohads besieged the city again in 1184 and 1190.