Editing Almanzor (section)

==== 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}}