Battle of Moclín ( 1280 ) The Battle of Moclín , also known as the Disaster of Moclín , was a battle fought in the Granadian municipality of Moclín on June 23 , 1280 . The battle pitted the troops of the Emirate of Granada , commanded by Muhammad II , the Sultan of Granada , against those of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Leon who were composed mainly of mercenaries and of members of the Order of Santiago , being commanded by the contemporary grand master of the order Gonzalo Ruiz Girón and by the infante Sancho , son of King Alfonso X of Castile . Background . Between February and March of 1280 , Alfonso X of Castile and his council convened a meeting in the city of Badajoz to finalize preparations for waging war against Muhammad II and the Emirate of Granada . Most of the members of the royal family were present at this meeting , except the queen , Violant of Aragon , who had become estranged from the king . Alfonso X ordered his forces to be gathered in the city of Córdoba , from where they would commence operations into the Vega de Granada . Alfonso was struck with an eye ailment and was unable to accompany his army on the campaign and instead stayed in the city of Córdoba . Battle . In June of 1280 , the infante Sancho , eldest son of Alfonso X of Castile directed the incursion into the Vega de Granada accompanied by , amongst others , Gonzalo Ruiz Girón , Grand Master of the Order of Santiago . Sancho ordered Gonzalo to proceed along with his retainers , Gil Gómez de Villalobos , abbot of Valladolid , and Fernán Enríquez and protect the troops stockpiling supplies for the army with an expeditionary force whilst he stayed at Alcalá la Real and awaited reinforcements . Upon returning from the aforementioned expedition , the Castilian and Leonese forces were attacked by Muslim forces under the command of Muhammad II who had been waiting in ambush around the city of Moclín . Feigning flight , the Muslim troops stationed in Moclín , drew the Castilian - Leonese troops to the spot where they had set their ambush . The Christian troops pursued those of Muhammad II who proceeded to cut off their means of retreat . The Muslim forces then attacked , defeating the Christian forces and inflicting heavy casualties . The slaughter , referred to as the Disaster of Moclín , resulted in the deaths of over 2 , 800 Castilian - Leonese knights and soldiers and the deaths of most of the knights in the service of the Order of Santiago . The order ' s Grand Master , Gonzalo Ruiz Girón was mortally wounded in the action . When the infante Sancho heard news of the disaster , he ordered that the remaining troops under his command hold their ground , a move that prevented an overall rout and slaughter of all the Christian troops on the campaign . Once all the Christian troops had reorganized after the disaster , the infante Sancho passed through Moclín and proceeded into Granada to cut the valley in two . After a campaign of aggression throughout that area of Granada , Sancho returned to Córdoba via Jaén . The following Spanish language extract from Manuel González Jiménez ' chronicle reveals that by August 7 , the campaign had ended and Sancho had returned to Cordoba . Aftermath . Gonzalo Ruiz Girón , Grand Master of the Order of Santiago , died from his wounds a few days after the disaster . He was buried in a sepulcher in the city of Alcaudete . To avoid the extinction of the Order of Santiago due to the deaths of so many of its knights , Alfonso X of Castile integrated the members of the Order of Santa María de España into that of Santiago and named Pedro Núñez as Grand Master of the newly integrated order . The Order of Santa María de España , which King Alfonso X had founded himself , ceased to exist .