Battle of Estercuel The Battle of Estercuel took place on 6 July 975 between the forces of the Kingdom of Viguera , under king Ramiro Garcés , and those of the Caliphate of Córdoba , under the " kaid " of Zaragoza , al - Tuyibi . The battle , a typical skirmish of the Christian – Muslim frontier , was a victory for the Caliphate . Several leading Navarrese magnates were killed and Ramiro was injured . The " kaid " of Zaragoza had been a participant in the campaign of Galib ibn Abd al - Rahman in the spring , but he appears to have left the expedition before the victory at the Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz in 978 . The forces of the Kingdom of Pamplona , under Sancho II Garcés Abarca , Ramiro ' s half - brother , were also engaged at Gormaz , where they were defeated alongside the Castilians under García Fernández . The " kaid " was on the road to Zaragoza when he encountered a Christian army under Ramiro Garcés . The chief source for the encounter is the " Muqtabis " of Ibn Hayyan , whose account of these years is derived directly from the so - called " Anales palatinos " ( " palatine annals " ) of Isa ibn Ahmad - Razi : . . . upon separating from the army [ of Galib ] on Tuesday , 22 Sawall [ 5 / 6 July ] , he [ al - Tuyibi ] ran into the train of the pig Ramiro ibn Sancho , and he followed said train , sending to tell the chief of the advance posts about the mountain Bárdena , on the other side of the river Ebro : " Carefully keep watch for a large troop of cavalry that , at dawn , will cross in the direction of the river " . In effect , little time passed before the alarm was given that the enemy had appeared beside the town of Estercuel ( a half a day ' s ride from the city of Tudela , on the royal road that comes up from Zaragoza ) and before some Christian cavalry forces had scattered throughout the region , to the right and to the left , in the manner of a raid , and were going about seizing whatever booty they encountered and taking captive five men who were out fishing in those valleys . The disorderly Christians crossed the river Ebro at a ford and soon had lost four men and one captured . From the captive the " kaid " learned that the Christian army numbered some 500 cavalrymen who had marched from Sos , Ramiro ' s chief castle , thinking that the governor of Zaragoza was away in Gormaz . Surprised by the Muslim presence , Ramiro made for the Christian castle of al - Qastil , harassed by the Muslims all the way . According to Ibn Hayyan , the Muslims pursued the Christians until the " asr " , the afternoon prayer . Probably this chase took place over the semiarid Bardenas mountains , terminating in the wooded valley of the river Aragón , in the region of Carcastillo , Murillo el Fruto , and Santacara . The site of Estercuel was to the southeast of Tudela , today uninhabited . Although Ramiro made it to safety , thirty - three of his men were killed , among them Fortún Mahunis , Fortún López , Jimeno Fortún , and the " adalides " ( captains ) Íñigo Velázquez , Íñigo Galíndez , and García ibn Salit . Another forty - seven were captured and , among Ramiro ' s baggage , were found a silver - plated horn for calling the troops and a banner . Ramiro ' s younger brother , Jimeno , appears as a hostage at the court of al - Hakim II in Córdoba later in 975 . It has been speculated that he may have been exchanged for the liberty of Sancho II , who may have participated in and been captured at the battle of Estercuel .