Duarte de Menezes , 3rd Count of Viana Dom Duarte de Menezes , ( Lisbon , 1414 – near Tétouan , Morocco , January 20 , 1464 ) was a 15th - century Portuguese nobleman and military figure . Duarte de Menezes ( sometimes modernized as ' de Meneses ' ) was the 3rd Count of Viana do Alentejo , 2nd Count of Viana ( da Foz do Lima ) , Lord of Caminha and the first Portuguese captain of Alcácer - Ceguer . Family . Duarte de Menezes was an illegitimate son of Portuguese nobleman D . Pedro de Menezes , 1st Count of Vila Real and first governor of Ceuta , and Isabel Domingues , an unmarried woman known as " a Pixegueira " . Although Pedro de Menezes had numerous daughters , legitimate and otherwise , Duarte was his only son . In March 1424 , Pedro managed to secure from King John I of Portugal a royal letter legitimizing Duarte to enable him to inherit his titles . Ceuta . Duarte de Menezes stayed with his father during his tenure as governor in Ceuta , and was given hands - on training in governorship and the military arts . Already at an early age , Duarte distinguished himself in numerous engagements and skirmishes with Moroccan fighters , and was already knight ed by 15 . In 1430 , Pedro de Menezes took an extended leave in Portugal , leaving Duarte , at the age of 16 , as captain of the Portuguese garrison in Ceuta , with the guidance of his older brother - in - law , Ruy Gomes da Silva , alcaide of Campo Maior . His father returned in 1434 , but continued to rely on Duarte as his lieutenant . In 1436 - 37 , preparations were underway in Portugal for a resumption of the North African campaign with expedition to seize Tanger . In 1436 , Duarte personally led a Portuguese party to attack and raze the Moroccan citadel of Tétouan , to prevent it from becoming a threat to future Portuguese operations . The Portuguese expeditionary force under Prince Henry the Navigator finally arrived in Ceuta in August 1437 . Henry appointed Duarte de Menezes to command the Ceuta troops in the center of the overland march to Tangier . Duarte de Menezes helped lead the way , carrying the royal standard in his father ' s place ( Pedro de Menezes , the " alferes - mor " ( standard - bearer ) of the realm , was too ill to accompany the march ) . The siege of Tangier had only started , when Duarte received the news that his father ' s illness had taken a turn for the worse . Duarte rushed back to Ceuta , just in time to receive his father ' s blessing before he expired on September 22 . For the next few days , Duarte de Menezes remained in Ceuta organizing his father ' s affairs and forwarding cannon and supplies to the siege of Tangier . He was already back in Tangier when the full force of the Marinid army fell upon the besieging Portuguese expeditionary force , and turned the tables around . The Marinids starved the Portuguese siege camp at Tangier into submission . To save his army from destruction , Prince Henry the Navigator agreed to a treaty that promised to restore Ceuta to the Marinids . Rather than return to Lisbon , Henry proceeded immediately to Ceuta , ostensibly to instruct Duarte to prepare to evacuate the garrison , but Henry ended up barricading himself in his rooms in a deep depression . In the end , the Portuguese refused to honor the treaty , and decided to hold on to Ceuta , leaving the royal hostage Ferdinand the Saint Prince to die in Moroccan captivity . Portugal . Back in Portugal , despite his father ' s efforts and his own illustrious military record , Duarte de Menezes was only able to inherit his family title of Count of Viana do Alentejo . The crown - granted titles of Count of Vila Real , " alferes - mor " of the kingdom and governor of Ceuta went to Duarte ' s legitimate sister Brites de Menezes and her consort Fernando de Noronha . Duarte de Menezes left Ceuta shortly after , passing the garrison over to Fernando de Noronha , and returned to Portugal by July 1438 . King Edward of Portugal quickly regretted his decision , and personally apologized to Duarte for failing to appoint him to Ceuta and tried to make up for it by appointing him alcaide of Beja and other benefices . After Edward ' s death in September , 1438 , Duarte de Menezes , re - appointed as " alferes - mor " , personally carried the royal standard during the acclamation of the young King Afonso V of Portugal . In the subsequent regency crisis , Duarte de Menezes , like much of the nobility , sided with the queen - regent Eleanor of Aragon against the king ' s popular uncle , Peter of Coimbra . But he eventually reconciled with the regent Peter , and was confirmed in his titles . Duarte de Menezes reputation and experience prompted Peter to appoint him to sensitive military posts . Duarte led Portuguese incursions in 1441 and 1444 , to assist the Crown of Castile against the rebellious Infantes of Aragon . At the request of John II of Castile , Duarte de Menezes was subsequently posted to serve on the frontier of the Emirate of Granada , but stayed only a few months . In August 1444 , regent Peter of Coimbra appointed Duarte de Menezes to the high office of " alferes - mor " ( standard - bearer ) of the realm . Duarte accompanied constable Peter of Portugal ( regent Peter ' s son ) in another interventionist incursion into Castile in July 1445 . The relationship between Peter and Duarte de Menezes ended abruptly when King Afonso V of Portugal reached majority in 1448 and dismissed the regent Peter . Afonso V immediately dispatched Duarte de Menezes as military governor of Pombal , a critical fortress on the borderlands of Coimbra , to keep a check on the dismissed regent ' s movements . Duarte de Menezes fought for the king against Peter at the Battle of Alfarrobeira in May 1449 . In reward for his loyalty , Duarte de Menezes ' royal pensions were expanded , and his crown - granted titles , including " alferes - mor " , confirmed inheritable in his family . Alcácer - Ceguer . In October 1458 , King Afonso V of Portugal launched a new operation against Morocco , the first since the disaster at Tangier in 1437 . The Marinid sultan Abd al - Haqq II , then laying siege to Tlemcen , heard the news of the massive Portuguese expeditionary force and presuming it was another attempt at Tangier , sent the bulk of his forces to that city . Instead , the Portuguese fleet swooped down on Ksar es - Seghir ( Port : " Alcácer - Ceguer " ) , seizing the city in a two - day assault on October 23 – 24 , 1458 . Afonso V appointed Duarte de Menezes as the first captain and governor of Alcácer - Ceguer . Duarte de Menezes first order of business was to prepare the defenses of the citadel for the inevitable reaction by the Marinids . The Moroccan army , led by Abd al - Haqq II , laid siege to the Alcácer - Ceguer in November 1458 . A Portuguese relief fleet was prevented from reaching the city , leaving Duarte de Menezes and the little garrison to hold out on their own against the Marinid siege for nearly two months . Duarte de Menezes is said to have engaged in singular heroics , leading several bold sallies to break up Marinid assaults . After 53 days , having taken enough damage from the sallies and the onset of disease , the Moroccan army lifted the siege on January 2 , 1459 . Six months later , the Marinid army returned and resumed the siege on July 2 , 1459 . Once again , Duarte de Menezes rallied the defenses of Alcácer - Ceguer and held out . Oddly , Duarte sent for his family from Portugal , who somehow managed to penetrate the siege lines and reach the city . The success of this venture helped lift the morale of the garrison . At length , on August 24 , 1459 , Abd al - Haqq II called off the siege . In April 1460 , having engaged in a few more skirmishes around the area , Duarte de Menezes felt the situation secure enough to return to Lisbon , leaving the garrison in the hands of his newphew , Afonso Teles . He was received with great pomp by Afonso V of Portugal , who promptly granted Duarte de Menezes the title of Count of Viana ( da Foz do Lima ) ( title had been vacant since the death of its first holder back in 1384 ) and Lord of Caminha . He also swapped the alcaideship of Beja for benefices in Redinha . Duarte de Menezes returned to Alcácer - Ceguer in 1461 . That very year , he is known to have led three raiding sorties to the outskirt of Tangier . In August , 1462 , Duarte de Menezes crossed the Straits of Gibraltar , to help the Castilians seize Gibraltar from the Emirate of Granada Tangier . In 1463 , Afonso V of Portugal decided to lead another expedition to Africa , this time to seize Tangier . Duarte de Menezes advised against the plan , urging greater reliance on the element of surprise . But the old veteran ' s advice was set aside , in large part on account of the jealous intrigues of his cousin , Pedro de Menezes , 3rd Count of Vila Real ( then governor of Ceuta ) who persuaded the king that Duarte merely sought to prevent anyone but himself from achieving glories in Africa . The expedition set out in November , 1463 , and met a disastrous storm , which sunk several ships and scattered the remainder . Duarte de Menezes , from his perch in Alcácer - Ceguer , caught sight of the king ' s sail and set out with some vessels to escort the remainder of the fleet safely to Ceuta . The king ' s council assembled , Afonso V insisted on the scheme to attack Tangier . He would send the captain of the fleet , Luíz Mendes de Vasconcelos , with a seaborne contingent to scale a relatively low stretch of wall on the seaward side of the citadel of Tangier , while he would himself lead an infantry column overland and blockade the city on the landward wide . Once again , Duarte de Menezes objected to the plan , once again he was overruled . The assault came to naught - bad weather and Tangier artillery kept the naval squad away , and the king , thinking the guns signalled success of the sea landing , attacked impetuously , before realizing his error . The king is said to have chided his companions for persuading him to ignore the counsel of Duarte de Menezes . King Afonso V returned to Ceuta , dispatching his brother , the Infante Ferdinand , with some troops to Duarte in Alcácer - Ceguer in December , while contemplating his next move . But without awaiting the king ' s instructions , and against the strenuous objections of Duarte de Menezes , in January 1464 , the Infante Ferdinand decided to assault Tangier by himself . It failed . He tried again a week later , and it failed again , with great casualties . By this time , Afonso V had decided upon abandoning the enterprise , but was determined not to return to Portugal without some glorious feat of arms . In late January 1464 , Afonso V decided to personally lead a raid inland . Once again , Duarte de Menezes , who happened to be visiting Ceuta , advised the king against it , but the king insisted and set out on a raid south . Duarte de Menezes , and several other nobles , reluctantly accompanied him . In the Benacofu hills south of Tétouan , King Afonso V ' s party was lured and ambushed by a Moroccan party . The monarch seemingly doomed , Duarte de Menezes threw himself forward to fight off the attack . Duarte de Menezes held his position long enough to allow the king to slip away , but was himself eventually cut down . The rattled Afonso V scrambled back to Ceuta and thereupon back to Portugal . The remains of Duarte de Menezes were never recovered from the Benacofu hills . A single finger ( or a single tooth ) , alleged to have belonged to Duarte de Menezes , eventually turned up . Upon that sparse relic , his wife Isabel de Castro commissioned the erection of a mangificently - carved effighy tomb for Duarte de Menezes , embedded in an arcosolium at a Franciscan cloister in Santarém , Portugal . In 1928 , the tomb as a whole was moved from the cloister to the nearby museum - church of São João de Alporão in Santarém . Shortly after his return to Portugal in 1464 , King Afonso V instructed the royal chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara to drop his other tasks and write down the life and feats of Duarte de Menezes ( Zurara had already written a hagiography of his father , Pedro de Menezes ) . For research , Zurara spent a full year in Alcácer - Ceguer , interviewing his companions and soldiers , visiting the sites of Duarte ' s battles , and , surprisingly enough for the time , also interviewing his Moroccan enemies . Zurara ' s " Chronica do Conde D . Duarte de Menezes " , the longest and best - researched of Zurara ' s chronicles , was finished around 1468 ( although no complete manuscript copy has yet been found - it is estimated around a third of it has been lost ; Zurara ' s chronicle - riddled with gaps - was first published in 1793 ) . In 1627 , Agostinho Manuel de Vasconcellos probably drew upon Zurara ' s account to compose his own " Vida de Don Duarte de Meneses " . Descendants . Duarte de Menezes married twice . While a bachelor , Duarte de Menezes also had an illegitimate son from the unmarried D . Beatriz Dias :