Editing Almanzor (section)

== Campaigns against Christians ==
=== Raids ===
[[File:Map Almanzor campaigns-es.svg|thumb|450px|Military campaigns of Almanzor. In dark green, territories conquered by the Arab military, while arrows depict the main campaigns of Almanzor and the dates on which they were carried out.]]

==== General characteristics ====
Since the death of [[Ramiro II of León]] in 950, his kingdom along with the kingdom of Pamplona and the county of Barcelona had been forced to recognize Cordoba's sovereignty through an annual tribute, with default resulting in reprisal campaigns.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=150}} Almanzor began carrying these out in 977 and he continued to do so until his death in 1002,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=214}} although most were concentrated in his later years when he was most powerful.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=150}} In parallel with the Maghreb campaigns, Almanzor was devoted to the war against the Christian kingdoms of Iberia. Although the various sources are in conflict on the precise details, it is estimated that he made about fifty-six campaigns,{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=151}}{{Sfn|Valdés Fernández|1999|p=34}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=577}} twenty of these being in the first period from 977 to 985.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=152}} In these offensives, Almanzor balanced attacks on centers of political and economic power with those against sites of religious importance.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=159}} The famous raids, cavalry strikes and ''aceiphas'', literally "summer campaigns" and called by the Christians ''cunei'', had as their tactical and economic objective the taking of captives and cattle from the enemy; strategically they sought to generate a state of permanent insecurity that prevented Christians from developing an organized life outside of castles, fortified cities or their immediate vicinity.{{Sfn|Cardaillac|2002|p=341}} Their main feature was the short duration of the campaigns and the remoteness of the points reached by them.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=159}} In spite of the military success of the many incursions, they failed to prevent in the long term ruin of the state.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=120}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=211}} Although they halted the advance of Christian repopulation and dismantled important fortresses and cities, they failed to significantly alter the boundaries{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=62}} because Almanzor rarely occupied the territories he plundered.{{Sfn|González Batista|2007|p=117}}{{efn|He did disrupt, albeit temporarily, the Leonese repopulation effort south of the [[Duero]]. In the Portuguese portion, the Leonese lost [[Viseu]], [[Lamego]] and [[Coimbra]] and further east, the repopulated land around the [[Tormes]]. At the eastern end of the Duero, Almanzor seized a series of important fortresses such as [[Gormaz]], [[Osma]], [[Clunia]] (San Esteban) and finally the Castilian outpost of [[Sepúlveda, Segovia|Sepúlveda]].}}

The region most affected and vulnerable to the campaigns was the [[Douro]] valley.<ref>Maíllo Salgado, Felipe (1993). "Sobre la presencia de los muslimes en Castilla la Vieja en las Edades Medias". ''Seminario, repoblación y reconquista: actas del III Curso de Cultura Medieval''. Aguilar de Campoo: Centro de Estudios del Románico, septiembre de 1991. Coordinación por José Luis Hernando Garrido & Miguel Ángel García Guinea, pp. 17–22, {{ISBN|84-600-8664-X}}.</ref> This was the destination for Christian settlers who were driven to repopulate it due to demographic pressure in [[Asturias]],{{Sfn|Menéndez Bueyes|2006|p=36}} the heartland of the kingdom.  This area was protected by the [[Cantabrian Mountains]], a narrow strip of land{{Sfn|Baró Pazos|Serna Vallejo|2002|p=452}} that nonetheless could defend itself—unlike Leon or Galicia, which were more vulnerable to Moorish cavalry raids.{{Sfn|Escalera|1866|p=53}} In fact, Almanzor's campaigns reached all of Christian Spain with the exception of the Cantabrian coast, and contributed to León and Galicia coming more solidly under the sovereignty of the [[Astur-Leonese dynasty|Asturian Crown]],{{Sfn|Escalera|1866|p=53}} but still with great autonomy, due to the weakness of the kingdom's expansion.{{Sfn|Baró Pazos|Serna Vallejo|2002|p=452}}

==== First campaigns with Ghalib ====
The first eight campaigns were carried out with the support of his father-in-law Ghalib.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=66}} Among them were three in the Salamanca lands (two in 977 and one in 978), another against [[Cuéllar]] (the same year), one against Pamplona and Barcelona (the long summer campaign of 978), one against Zamora (or maybe Ledesma, according to other authors, in the spring of 979) and one against Sepúlveda (in the summer of 979, which he could not take, although he razed its surroundings).{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|pp=67–73}} The eighth was one in which he accompanied to Algeciras the forces destined to Maghreb, between September 979 and early 980.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=73}}

The ninth campaign, in the spring of 980, was that during which the rupture between Almanzor and Ghalib took place and is known as "the one of betrayal" for Ghalib's surprise assault on Almanzor's son-in-law at Atienza.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=74}} The confrontation followed a short raid through Castilla.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=74}} The next four offensives (one in the fall of 980, two in the spring{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=77}} of the following year and one in the summer{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=78}}) took place during the conflict between the two rivals.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=75}} During the last campaign – that of Almanzor's victory over Ghalib, he regained control of the fortresses of Atienza and [[Calatayud]], held by partisans of his rival.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=79}}

==== Weakening of León and harassment of the Castilian border ====
[[File:Weeks Edwin Lord Interior of the Mosque at Cordova.jpg|thumb|right|Call to [[jihad]] in the [[Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba|mosque of Córdoba]], from a nineteenth-century painting. Almanzor presented himself as champion of [[Islam]] in his numerous campaigns against the peninsular Christian states and used this image to justify his political power.]]
As a result of the defeat of Ghalib in the summer of 981, Almanzor's forces continued their advance, looting and destroying the lands around Zamora{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=80}}{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=14}} at the end of the summer.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=79}} Later, they defeated Pamplona, León and Castile at the [[Battle of Rueda]]{{Sfn|Repiso Cobo|2008|p=310}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=85}} (or [[Roa de Duero|Roa]]{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=504}}) and recovered [[Simancas]],{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=85}} which was razed.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=152}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=503}}{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=15}}{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}} The loss of Simancas disrupted the Christian defensive line along the Duero, which later campaigns eventually dismantled.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=86}} These losses, along with Almanzor's support for rivals to the Leonine crown, first [[Bermudo II of León|Bermudo]]{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=506}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=218}} against the weakened [[Ramiro III of León|Ramiro III]]{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=152}} and later rival counts, one of which briefly took the throne, plunged León into a political crisis that it submitted to Almanzor for arbitration.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=86}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=153}} In general, Almanzor supported the noble families opposed to the monarch of the moment to take advantage of intra-Leonese squabbles.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=156}} From 977, he launched attacks into León's territories almost annually.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=504}}

The Galician and Portuguese counts, hostile to Ramiro III as they had been to his father, sought to appease Almanzor after the [[Trancoso, Portugal|Trancoso]] and Viseu campaign{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=81}} of the beginning of the winter of 981{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=81}} and for this they sought to impose a new king, Bermudo II,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=87}} crowned in October 982{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=88}} in Santiago while Almanzor pillaged{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=15}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=84}} the outskirts of León.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=505}} Castile and León, continually exposed to Cordoban assaults, on the other hand, supported Ramiro.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=506}} In 983, Almanzor plundered the area surrounding Salamanca in the fall, after failing to take it,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=86}} and [[Sacramenia]] at the beginning of winter,{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=506}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=87}}{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=17}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=248}} slaughtering the men and taking the rest of the population captive.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=507}} In his attempt to halt the Christian advance south of the Duero, he continued assailing the Leonese and Castilian positions in this area and the most important points of repopulation, such as Zamora (984){{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=18}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=87}} or Sepúlveda the same year,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=89}} razed before he fell on [[Barcelona]].{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=508}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=249}} The destruction of Sepúlveda forced Ramiro to submit to Córdoba in 985, the year of his death{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=88}} due to natural causes, as Bermudo had done before.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=509}} Bermudo's submission had been accompanied by that of other Portuguese and Galician counts.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=510}} This imposed the presence of Cordoban forces on the Leonese kingdom, as a protectorate, which it remained until 987.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=88}}

The expulsion of the Cordoban troops from León{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=21}} by Bermudo triggered the 988 campaign against Coimbra{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=153}}{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=22}} and the torching of the [[Monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza]] in the first retaliatory campaign in 986,{{efn|Castellanos Gómez places the looting of this monastery and of Sahagún during a different campaign: Almanzor's thirty-first against Astorga.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|pp=98–99}}}} in which he also took León,{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=251}} Zamora,{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=251}} Salamanca and [[Alba de Tormes]]{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=95}} before attacking [[Condeixa-a-Nova|Condeixa]].{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=95}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|pp=512–513}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=250}}

{{clear}}
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | '''Campaigns of Almanzor'''
|-
|
:'''977'''
::1. [[Baños de Ledesma]]
::2. [[Cuéllar]]
::3. [[Salamanca]]
:'''978'''
::4. [[Barcelona|Pla de Barcelona]] and [[Tarragona]]
::5. [[Ledesma (Salamanca)|Ledesma]]
:'''979'''
::6. [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]]
::7. [[Sepúlveda, Segovia|Sepúlveda]]
::8. [[Maghreb]]
:'''980'''
::9. [[Medinaceli]]
::10. [[La Almunia de Doña Godina|Almunia]]
:'''981'''
::11. [[Canales de la Sierra]]
::12. Rota de los Maafiríes
::13. [[Calatayud]]
::14. Zamora
::15. [[Trancoso, Portugal|Trancoso]]
:'''982'''
::16. 'The three nations'
::17. [[Toro, Zamora|Toro]] and [[León, Spain|León]]
:'''983'''
::18. [[Simancas]]
::19. Salamanca
::20. [[Sacramenia]]
:'''984'''
::21. Zamora
::22. Sepúlveda
:'''985'''
::23. [[Barcelona]]
::24. [[Algeciras]]
:'''986'''
::25. Zamora, Salamanca and León
::26. [[Condeixa-a-Nova|Condeixa]] and [[Coimbra]]
:'''987'''
::27. Coimbra
::28. Coimbra
:'''988'''
::29. [[Portillo, Valladolid|Portillo]]
::30. Zamora and Toro
::31. [[Astorga, Spain|Astorga]]
|
:'''989'''
::32. [[Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma|Osma]]
:'''990'''
::33. Toro
::34. Osma and [[Alcubilla del Marqués]]
::35. [[Montemor-o-Velho]]
:'''992'''
::36. Castile
::37. [[Kingdom of Pamplona]]
:'''993'''
::38. Al Marakib
::39. [[San Esteban de Gormaz]]
::40. al-Agar
:'''994'''
::41. San Esteban de Gormaz, [[Pamplona]] and [[Clunia]]
::42. Astorga and León
:'''995'''
::43. Castile
::44. Batrisa
::45. [[Monastery of San Román de Entrepeñas]]
::46. [[Aguiar de Sousa|Aguiar]]
:'''996'''
::47. Astorga
:'''997'''
::48. [[Santiago de Compostela]]
:'''998'''
::49. Maghreb
:'''999'''
::50. Pamplona
::51. [[County of Pallars|Pallars]]
:'''1000'''
::52. [[Battle of Cervera|Cervera]]
:'''1001'''
::53. Montemor-o-Velho
::54. Pamplona
::55. [[Baños de Rioja]]
:'''1002'''
::56. Canales de la Sierra and [[San Millán de la Cogolla]]
|-
| colspan="2" align="center" | ''Según Echevarría Arsuaga pp. 243–245, Molina pp. 238–263 y Martínez Díez.''
|}

==== Attacks on Pamplona and the Catalan counties ====
In 982, he launched the "campaign of the three nations' possibly against Castile, [[Kingdom of Navarre|Pamplona]] and the [[Girona]] [[Franks]],{{Sfn|Bramon|1994|p=127}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=247}} that forced the [[List of Navarrese monarchs|king of Pamplona]], [[Sancho II of Pamplona|Sancho II]] to give to Almanzor a daughter,{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=501}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=82}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|pp=377–378}} who would take the name Abda.{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=120}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=218}} This union would produce the last of Almanzor's political dynasty, [[Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo]].{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=501}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=421}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=120}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=218}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=82}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=378}} In 985, exploiting the subjugation of León and Castile, he [[Sack of Barcelona (985)|attacked]] Barcelona,{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Bramon|1994|p=127}}{{Sfn|Seco de Lucena Paredes|1965|p=19}} which he managed to take in early July, treating it harshly.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=510}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=90}} Almanzor had previously attacked the region in the summer of 978,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=70}} when for several months he ravaged the plains of Barcelona and parts of [[Tarragona]], conquered by the Barcelona counts some decades earlier.{{Sfn|Bramon|1994|p=125}} In an almost three-month-long campaign,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=89}} he captured the city with the help of the fleet, imprisoned [[List of Viscounts of Barcelona|Viscount]] Udalard I and Archdeacon Arnulf and sacked the monasteries of [[Monastery of Sant Cugat|Sant Cugat del Vallés]] and [[Sant Pere de les Puelles]].{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=90}}

==== New campaigns against León and Castile ====
In 987, he made two campaigns against Coimbra, conquering it during the second on 28 June.{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=251}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=513}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=96}} Unlike previous offensives, focused on looting and destruction, this time he repopulated the area with Muslims, who held the area until 1064.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=514}} In 988 and 989, he again ravaged the Leonese Duero valley.{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=514}} He assaulted Zamora, [[Toro, Zamora|Toro]], León{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}} and Astorga, which controlled access to Galicia,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=99}} and forced Bermudo to take refuge among the Galician counts.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=98}}

After concentrating most of his attacks on León, he went on to launch his forces against Castile from 990, previously the object of only four of thirty-one campaigns.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=517}} The west of León would, however, suffer one last attack in December 990, in which [[Montemor-o-Velho]] and Viseu, on the defensive line of the [[Mondego River]], were surrendered, probably as punishment for the asylum that Bermudo had granted to the Umayyad "Piedra Seca".{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|pp=104–105}} The failed collusion of his son Abd Allah and the governors of Toledo and Zaragoza triggered a change of objective.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=517}} Fearing his father's anger over his participation in the plot along with the arrested governor of Zaragoza, Abd Allah had fled to take refuge with count [[García Fernández of Castile]].{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=520}} As punishment and to force the surrender of his son, the chamberlain took and armed Osma{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}} in August.{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=253}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=100}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=521}} The broad raid achieved its goal and on 8 September, the Castilian count returned to Abdullah to his father{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=103}} in return for a two-year truce.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=522}} Moving on from Castile, the following year he attacked the kingdom of Pamplona.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=524}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=107}} Sancho II tried to appease the Cordoban leader with a visit to the capital of the Caliphate{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=82}} at the end of 992,{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=421}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=107}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=219}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=381}} but this failed to prevent his lands from being subject to a new foray in 994.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=525}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=257}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=109}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=383}} The last half of the decade saw general submission of Pamplona to the Caliphate along with its repeated attempts to avoid any punitive Cordoban campaigns.{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|pp=384–385}}

In 993 Almanzor attacked Castile again, for unknown reasons, but failed to take [[San Esteban de Gormaz]],{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=258}} simply looting its surroundings.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=109}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=530}}  He succeeded in taking it the following year, along with [[Clunia]].{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=258}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=530}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=111}} The loss of San Esteban dismantled Castilian defenses along the Douro, while the taking of Clunia endangered lands south of the [[Arlanza (river)|Arlanza]].{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=533}}

At the end of 994, on the occasion of the wedding between Bermudo II and a daughter of the Castilian count,{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=155}} Almanzor took León{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=533}} and Astorga,{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}} the Leonese capital since 988, and devastated the territory, perhaps also intending to facilitate a future campaign against [[Santiago de Compostela]].{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=116}} In May 995,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=125}} the Castilian Count Garcia Fernandez was wounded and taken prisoner{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=219}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=535}} in a skirmish near the Duero and, despite the care of his captors, he died in Medinaceli.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=155}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=422}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=118}} He was succeeded by his prudent son [[Sancho García of Castile|Sancho]],{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=120}} who had fought with Córdoba against his father{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=219}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=112}} and managed to maintain an informal truce{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=120}} with the Caliphate between 995 and 1000.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=155}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=556}} The ties between Castile and the chamberlain were sealed with delivery of one of the new count's sisters to Almanzor as a wife or concubine.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=155}} Urraca Sanchez, nicknamed "the Basque", adopted the Arabic name Abda after being given to Almanzor by her father Sancho II of Pamplona. Urraca and Almanzor had a single son, named Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo that became chief minister of Hisham II, Caliph of Córdoba. As retribution for the support of the former count by the [[Banu Gómez]], counts of [[Saldaña, Palencia|Saldaña]] and former allies of Córdoba, their seat of [[Carrión de los Condes|Carrión]] was attacked in a raid that reached the monastery of San Román de Entrepeñas.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=557}} At the end of 995, a new incursion against [[Aguiar de Sousa|Aguiar]],{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=123}} southeast of [[Porto]], forced Bermudo II to return the former Umayyad conspirator "Piedra Seca."{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=557}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=123}}

==== Santiago de Compostela and his later campaigns ====
In 996, he again launched a raid on León and destroyed Astorga{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=116}} to force them to resume the tribute payments.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=557}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=42}} In the summer of 997, he devastated Santiago de Compostela,{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=156}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=558}} after the Bishop, Pedro de Mezonzo, evacuated the city.{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=424}} In a combined operation involving his own land troops, those of Christian allies{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=127}} and the fleet,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=128}} Almanzor's forces reached the city in mid-August.{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=424}} They burned the [[Pre-Romanesque art and architecture|pre-Romanesque]] temple dedicated to the apostle [[James the Great]],{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=128}} and said to contain his tomb.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=483}}{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=156}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=424}} The prior removal of the saint's [[relic]]s allowed the continuity of the [[Camino de Santiago]], a pilgrimage route that had begun to attract pilgrims in the previous century.{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=423}} The campaign was a great triumph for the chamberlain at a delicate political moment, as it coincided with the breakdown of his long alliance with Subh.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=156}} The Leonese setback was so great that it allowed Almanzor to settle a Muslim population in Zamora on his return from Santiago,{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=424}} while the bulk of the troops in Leonese territory remained in Toro.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=561}} He then imposed peace terms on the Christian magnates that allowed him to forego campaigning in the north in 998, the first year this happened since 977.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=561}}

In 999, he made his last foray to the eastern borderlands, where, after passing through Pamplona,{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=562}} he sacked [[Manresa]] and the plains of [[Bages]].{{Sfn|Bramon|1994|p=128}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=133}} In April he attacked the [[County of Pallars]],{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=562}} governed by the kin of the mother of count Sancho García of Castile.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=132}} It is suggested that the attacks could have been triggered by the Pamplonan king and Catalan counts ceasing to pay tribute to Córdoba, taking advantage of Almanzor's distraction in crushing Ziri ibn Atiyya.{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=133}}

Also in 999, the death of Bermudo II in September produced a new minority in León through the ascent to the throne of [[Alfonso V of León|Alfonso V]],{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=562}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=425}} but this did not prevent the formation of a broad anti-Córdoba alliance that united not just the people of Pamplona and Castile,{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=219}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=387}} but also the ancient Christian clients of Almanzor.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=159}} Sancho of Castile, until then a faithful ally who had managed to avoid the incursions of Córdoba into his territory, joined the alliance{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=425}} and provoked Almanzor into launching an attack.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=568}} To his great surprise, the Castilian Count assembled a large force bringing together his own troops and those of his allies,{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=425}}{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=220}} who intercepted the Córdoban units north of Clunia{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=426}} in a strong defensive position.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=568}} In the hard-fought [[battle of Cervera]]{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=219}} (29 July 1000),{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=159}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=387}}{{Sfn|Molina|1981|p=262}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=134}} Almanzor's side gained the victory,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=134}}{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=374}} after the rout of much of his army{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=220}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=426}} through the intervention of eight hundred cavalry.{{Sfn|Echevarría Arsuaga|2011|p=178}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=427}}

After the victory, at the end of the year Almanzor made another strike at the western border, where he took Montemor-o-Velho on December 2, 1000,{{Sfn|Cañada Juste|1992|p=388}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=136}} after overcoming fierce resistance.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=572}} For its part, the kingdom of Pamplona suffered several attacks after the defeat of Cervera,{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=137}} in 1000 and again in 1001 and 1002.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=575}} After Cervera, Almanzor accelerated the number of strikes, despite being sick{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=220}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=427}} and needing to be carried on a [[Litter (rescue basket)|litter]] at times.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=575}}

His last campaign, also victorious, was made in 1002,{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Lévi Provençal|1957|p=427}} when he was mortally ill, having suffered from [[gout]]y arthritis for twenty years.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=577}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=137}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=580}} He aimed to avenge the quasi-rout of Cervera and punish the Castilian count Sancho, architect of the alliance that almost defeated him.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=578}} [[San Millán de la Cogolla]], dedicated to the patron saint of Castile and in the territory of Pamplona, allied with Sancho, was sacked and burned; in Pamplona, Almanzor ordered a retreat due to his worsening health,{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=579}} and he died en route to Córdoba before reaching the capital.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=577}}{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=24}}{{Sfn|Castellanos Gómez|2002|p=137}}

The victorious campaigns of Almanzor were due to his skills as a military tactician and the army he commanded, which was a highly professionalized force of a size that dwarfed any counterattack that the Christian kings and counts could mount to meet him: "rarely above 1000 knights or 2000 or 3000 men in total." They had few weeks in spring or summer to gather what was often no more than a few hundred knights and men.<ref>{{cite book| last=García Fitz| first=Francisco| year=2014| url=https://www.academia.edu/7551732 |article=La batalla de Las Navas de Tolosa: el impacto de un acontecimiento extraordinario"| title=Las Navas de Tolosa 1212–2012: miradas cruzadas|editor1= Patrice Cressier| editor2=Vicente Salvatierra Cuenca| isbn=978-84-8439-830-1|pages=11–36| publisher=Universidad de Jaén}}</ref> "The most frequent average seems to have been a knight for every two or three auxiliary riders (squires and others) and one of these for every two or three [[peon]]s."{{Sfn|Montaner Frutos|Boix Jovaní|2005|p=143|ps=: "La media más frecuente parece haber sido un caballero por cada dos o tres jinetes auxiliares (escuderos y otros) y de uno de estos por cada dos o tres peones."}} In those days an army of ten or fifteen thousand men – a third knights and the rest peons – was the maximum concentration of forces that a medieval ruler could muster when presenting battle.{{Sfn|Montaner Frutos|Boix Jovaní|2005|p=144|ps=: "Un ejército de diez o quince mil hombres se considera de todo punto excepcional y pocos historiadores estarían dispuestos a admitir que en alguna ocasión ese número fuera realmente alcanzado por una hueste durante una batalla."}} For example, Muslim campaigns had formations of only one thousand to ten thousand men.{{Sfn|Cardaillac|2002|p=341}} "An army of ten or fifteen thousand men is considered in every way exceptional and few historians would be willing to admit that on some occasion that number was actually reached by a host during a battle."{{Sfn|Montaner Frutos|Boix Jovaní|2005|p=144|ps=: "Un ejército de diez o quince mil hombres se considera de todo punto excepcional y pocos historiadores estarían dispuestos a admitir que en alguna ocasión ese número fuera realmente alcanzado por una hueste durante una batalla."}}

In his campaigns Almanzor emphasized cavalry operations, so much so that he had reserved the islands of the [[Guadalquivir]] for horse breeding.{{Sfn|Fletcher|1991|p=23}}{{Sfn|Vara|2012|}} These marshes around Seville, [[Huelva]] and [[Cádiz]] had suitable pastures for raising horses.{{Sfn|Fletcher|1999|p=39}}{{Sfn|Fletcher|2000|p=70}} Mules were imported from the [[Balearic Islands]] and camels from Africa, the latter raised in the semi-desert area between [[Murcia]] and [[Lorca, Spain|Lorca]].{{Sfn|Fletcher|1999|p=39}} According to Vallvé, "Normally participating in his campaigns were twelve thousand horsemen, enrolled in the military hierarchy and provided, in addition to that customarily due the usual soldier, with a horse with their harnesses, weapons, accommodation, payments and bonuses for various expenses, and fodder for their horses, based on their role."{{Sfn|Vallvé Bermejo|1992|p=125|ps=: "Normalmente participaban en sus aceifas doce mil hombres de a caballo, inscritos en la escalilla militar y a los que, además de la acostumbrada soldada, se les proporcionaban una caballería con sus arreos, armas, alojamiento, pagas y gratificaciones para diversos gastos, y forraje para las caballerías, según su categoría."}}

==== Loot and slaves ====
Almanzor's campaigns were a continuation of a policy from [[Emirate of Córdoba|emirate]] times: the capture of numerous contingents of Christian slaves, the famous ''esclavos'' or ''francos'', in [[Arabic]] ''Saqtïliba'' or ''Saqáliba'' (plural of ''Siqlabi'', "slave").{{Sfn|Lirola Delgado|1993|p=217}} These were the most lucrative part of the loot, and constituted an excellent method of paying the troops, so much so that many campaigns were little more than [[Slave raiding|slave raids]].{{Sfn|Isla Frez|2010|p=203}} From these came many eunuchs who were essential elements for handling harems; others were purchased already castrated in [[Verdun]] and disembarked in [[Pechina]] or Almería according to [[Liutprand of Cremona]].{{Sfn|Vallvé Bermejo|1992|p=61|ps=: ". . . surtían los gineceos de la familia real y de la aristocracia como concubinas y esposas legítimas."}} However, the most valuable take was the beautiful girls, selected according to "the predilection they had for the blonde and redhead Galicians, Basques and Franks,"<ref>Holgado Cristeto, Belén (2010). "Tras las huellas de las mujeres cristianas de al-Ándalus". En ''Actas del Congreso Conocer Al-Ándalus: perspectivas desde el siglo XXI''. Edición de María Mercedes Delgado Pérez & Gracia López Anguita. Sevilla: Alfar, pp. 110. {{ISBN|978-84-7898-338-4}}. ". . . la predilección que tenían por las rubias y pelirrojas gallegas, vasconas y francas."</ref> usually also described as having blue eyes, large breasts, wide hips, thick legs and perfect teeth<ref>Bellido Bello, Juan Félix (2006). "El cuerpo de la mujer en la literatura andalusí". En ''Sin carne: representaciones y simulacros del cuerpo femenino: tecnología, comunicación y poder''. Barcelona: ArCiBel, pp. 342. Edición de Mercedes Arriaga Flórez, Rodrigo Browne Sartori, José Manuel Estévez Saá y Víctor Silva Echeto. {{ISBN|978-84-935374-2-5}}.</ref> that "the [[Gynaeceum|gynaecea]] of the royal families and the aristocracy supplied as concubines and legitimate wives."{{Sfn|Vallvé Bermejo|1992|p=61|ps=: ". . . surtían los gineceos de la familia real y de la aristocracia como concubinas y esposas legítimas."}} As in the case of the eunuchs, some slaves were bought from pirates attacking the Mediterranean coast, others came from [[Slavs|Slavic]] or [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] populations passing through several hands from [[Vikings]], and there were also blacks imported from Sudan.{{Sfn|Ríu Ríu|1989|p=39}} Most of these slaves, however, were children who would be Islamized and assigned to work at court, including the work of eunuchs.{{Sfn|Vallvé Bermejo|1992|p=61|ps=: ". . . surtían los gineceos de la familia real y de la aristocracia como concubinas y esposas legítimas."}} Jews and, to a lesser extent, Muslims were involved in this lucrative trade, thanks to their ability as interpreters and ambassadors.{{Sfn|Vallvé Bermejo|1992|p=61|ps=: ". . . surtían los gineceos de la familia real y de la aristocracia como concubinas y esposas legítimas."}}

During the rule of Almanzor's Amirí regime, the already-rich Al-Andalus slave market reached unprecedented proportions. For example, the Moorish chronicles mention that after destroying Barcelona in July 985, Almanzor brought seventy thousand chained Christians to the great market of Córdoba{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=225}} and, after destroying Simancas in July 983, he captured seventeen thousand women{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=503}} and imprisoned ten thousand nobles.{{Sfn|Martínez Díez|2005|p=504}} Obviously, these figures must be carefully evaluated, but likewise given the enormity this type of trade reached during his tenure, Almanzor is described as "the slave importer".{{Sfn|Bariani|2003|p=225}} The commoners of Córdoba even asked his successor to stop the trade since, to get a good husband for their daughters they had to raise the dowries to exorbitant levels because the young Christian slaves were so numerous and cheap that many men preferred to buy them instead of marrying Muslims.{{Sfn|Martínez Enamorado|Torremocha Silva|2001|p=168}}