Edessa

The Siege of Lisbon

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• published: 10 Jun 2015
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The Siege of Lisbon, from July 1 to October 25, 1147, was the military action that brought the city of Lisbon under definitive Portuguese control and expelled its Moorish overlords. The Siege of Lisbon was one of the few Christian victories of the Second Crusade—it was "the only success of the universal operation undertaken by the pilgrim army," i.e. the Second Crusade, according to the contemporary historian Helmold—and is seen as a pivotal battle of the wider Reconquista. The Fall of Edessa in 1144 led to a call for a new crusade by Pope Eugene III in 1145 and 1146. In the spring of 1147, the Pope authorized the crusade in the Iberian peninsula. He also authorized Alfonso VII of León and Castile to equate his campaigns against the Moors with the rest of the Second Crusade. In May 1147, the first contingents of crusaders left from Dartmouth in England for the Holy Land. Bad weather forced the ships to stop on the Portuguese coast, at the northern city of Porto on June 16, 1147. There they were convinced to meet with King Afonso I of Portugal. The crusaders agreed to help the King attack Lisbon, with a solemn agreement that offered to the crusaders the pillage of the city's goods and the ransom money for expected prisoners. The siege began on July 1. After four months, the Moorish rulers agreed to surrender on October 24, primarily because of hunger within the city. Most of the crusaders settled in the newly captured city, but some of the crusaders set sail and continued to the Holy Land. Lisbon eventually became the capital city of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1255. The traditional start of the Reconquista is identified with the defeat of the Muslims in the Battle of Covadonga in 722.[2] After the First Crusade in 1095-1099, Pope Paschal II urged Iberian crusaders (Portuguese, Castilians, Leonese, Aragonese, and others) to remain at home, where their own warfare was considered just as worthy as that of crusaders travelling to Jerusalem. The Fall of Edessa in 1144 led to a call for a new crusade by Pope Eugene III in 1145 and 1146. In the spring of 1147, the Pope also authorized a crusade in the Iberian peninsula, where "the war against the Moors had been going on for hundreds of years." Eugene encouraged Marseilles, Pisa, Genoa, and other Mediterranean cities to fight in Iberia. He also authorized Alfonso VII of León and Castile to equate his campaigns against the Moors with the rest of the Second Crusade. On May 19, 1147, the first contingents of crusaders left from Dartmouth in England, consisting of Flemish, Frisian, Norman, English, and Scottish crusaders, and some from Cologne, who collectively considered themselves "Franks". No prince or king led this part of the crusade, England at the time being in the midst of The Anarchy. The fleet was commanded by Henry Glanville, Constable of Suffolk. Other crusader captains included Arnold III of Aerschot, Christian of Ghistelles, Simon of Dover, Andrew of London, and Saher of Archelle. Redirected efforts According to Odo of Deuil there were 164 ships bound for the Holy Land, and there may have been as many as 200 by the time they reached the Iberian shore. Bad weather forced the ships to stop on the Portuguese coast, at the northern city of Porto on June 16, 1147. There they were convinced by the bishop, Pedro II Pitões, to meet with King Afonso of Portugal. The king, who had reached the Tagus River and conquered Santarém in 15 March, had also been negotiating with the pope for the recognition of his title of King. He was notified of the arrival of a first party and hastened to meet them. The undisciplined multi-national group agreed to help him there, with a solemn agreement that offered to the crusaders the pillage of the city's goods and the ransom money for expected prisoners. For the city, "they shall have it and hold it until it has been searched and despoiled, both of prisoners for ransom and of everything else. Then, when it has been as thoroughly searched as they wish, they shall turn it over to me..." Afonso promised to divide the conquered territories as fiefs among the leaders. He reserved the power of advocatus and released those who were at the siege and their heirs trading in Portugal from the commercial tax called the pedicata.