Battle of Albesa The Battle of Albesa was a follow - up to the Battle of Torà that took place 25 February 1003 at Albesa , near Balaguer , between the united Christian forces of Catalonia and the Islamic forces of the Caliphate of Córdoba . It was one of the border skirmishes associated with the interminable " razzia s " of the Reconquista , described as " a simple encounter between local forces " and " a local action without overarching importance " , though both these views are called into question by the assemblage of important Catalan leaders at the battle and the Muslim reprisal which followed . Berengar , the Bishop of Elne , was killed in the battle . His death is recorded in the " Chronicon Rivipullense " . The brief notice in the " Chronicon Rotense " reads : " 1003 . Factum est proelium Albesae cum sarracenis " ( " the battle of Albesa is made with the Saracens " ) . In the " Alterum chronicon Rotense " , more detail is given : " Anno MIII . Factum est proelium in Albesa cum sarracenis ubi Berengarius Episcopus Elensis perimitur " ( " Year 1003 . battle is made in Albesa with the Saracens , where Berengar , Bishop of Elne , was killed " ) . The date of 25 February 1003 comes from the only Arabic source to mention the battle , Ibn al - Faraḍī , who records that Sa ‘ īd bin Mūsā of Elvira " died in the battle of " al - Māša " near " Balagué " the Thursday ten days before the end of the month of Rabī ’ al - Thānī in the year 393 " , that is of the Islamic calendar , being 25 February 1003 in the " Anno Domini " system . Évariste Lévi - Provençal , the French Orientalist , believed it took place on 27 February , since the Islamic day ( 20 Rabī ’ ) began at sunset , though 27 February 1003 was not a Thursday . Félix Hernández Jiménez dated the battle of Albesa to the summer of 1003 because he connected it with the seizure of the castle of Castellolí — mentioned only in one Christian source — by Abd al - Malik al - Muzaffar , the Córdoban " hajib " . The " Bayān al - Mugrib " of Ibn Iḍārī records how Abd al - Malik was marching through lightly populated country toward Barcelona on first of Shawwal ( 3 August ) , and that sometime after this date he camped at " al - Baṭḥā " ( possibly Albesa ) . Abd al - Malik proceeded to invade Urgell and raze the castles of Montmagastre and Meià . He may also have ravaged the territory of Manresa . At the end of this campaign , when he sent his vassals home , Abd al - Malik had captured 5 , 570 Christians and six of their castles . He had also destroyed 85 fortified places . In this expedition , according to Ibn Khaldūn ( in a part of his chronicle based on Ibn Ḥayyān ) , Ermengol I of Urgell , who had initially rebelled , surrendered and was taken captive : His capture is connected sometimes with the battle of Albesa , and sometimes not . Ermengol was back in Urgell by 13 March 1004 . A new bishop is recorded in Elne , in the records of the diocesan cartulary , on 11 October , a certain Frèdol . It is doubtful whether a new bishop could have been elected so fast if Berengar had died at the end of summer at a long distance from Elne , taking into account the time necessary for both news to travel and an election to be held and new bishop installed . The earlier date ( February ) coincides better with the timing of Berengar ' s death , which occurred at Albesa more certainly than Ermengol ' s capture . The presence of Berengar at the battle suggest that of his brothers , Bernard I of Besalú and Wifred II of Cerdagne , also . According to the " Crónica d ' Alaó renovada " , count Isarn I of Ribagorza died fighting the Moors at Monzón in 1003 . This suggests an offensive action far into Muslim territory , making it possible that he died at the battle of Albesa . Geography lends support to his presence , and that of Sunyer of Pallars , at Albesa . Probably all these had gone to aid Ermengol and his brother , Raymond Borrel of Barcelona , in their revolt . The marginality of al - Faraḍī ' s mention of the battle and the general accuracy of the history of Ibn Khaldūn ( his source , Ibn Ḥayyān , was a contemporary ) , suggest that the battle of Albesa was a separate event from the capture of Ermengol , which took place on Abd al - Malik ' s punitive expedition against Catalonia . Mahmud Ali Makki , the modern editor and interpreter of the Arabic poet Ibn Darrāȳ al - Qasṭallī , suggests that his poem 122 treats the expedition of Abd al - Malik as a response to certain Catalan penetrations of caliphal territory after the death of Almanzor . This accords well with the date of 25 February and with the dating of Abd al - Malik ' s campaign to the summer . The battle of Albesa was one of the incursions which prompted the latter . According to Carl Erdmann , the Muslims , after their defeat at Torà , retreated into their own territory , where the Christians followed them . A second battle was fought near Albesa , which was the end of the brief war , and possibly the campaigning season . The result of the battle is uncertain , but unlike the first battle was not favourable to the Christians . Albesa was first considered a Christian victory by Gerónimo Zurita .