Battle of Alcácer-Quibir
Battle of Alcácer-Quibir (representation from 1629)
| date | August 4, 1578 |
|---|---|
| place | A river course near Alcácer-Quibir , Morocco |
| output | Moroccan victory |
| consequences | The Portuguese attempt at conquest fails. The losses in the battle weakened Portugal decisively in the next few years. |
| Parties to the conflict | |
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| Commander | |
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| Troop strength | |
| 24,000 (16,000 Portuguese, 2,000 European auxiliaries, 6,000 Moroccans), 40 cannons | 40,000 (25,000 Moroccans, 15,000 Ottoman Janissaries ), 34 cannons |
| losses | |
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15,000 prisoners and 8,000 dead (including Sebastian I and Abu Abdullah) |
unknown |
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The battle of Alcácer-Quibir took place in 1578 between Portuguese troops under the command of King Sebastian I and Moroccan troops under the command of Sultan Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik at Alcácer-Quibir ( Arabic القصر الكبير, DMG al-Qaṣr al-Kabīr ; Spanish Alcazarquivir ) in what is now Morocco . The battle ended in a devastating Portuguese defeat.
prehistory
The Portuguese royal family in the 16th century
In Lisbon in 1557 Sebastian I had after the death of his grandfather Johann III. ascended the throne. Since he was still a minor at the time, he was initially under the reign , but then took over the government himself in 1568. The young king lived in a dream world filled with anachronistic medieval knightly ideals. His main goal was to expand Portugal to include a large North African empire. Sebastian felt himself to be the successor of the Crusaders and the finisher of the Spanish Reconquista with the mission to finally “liberate” Morocco from the Saracens . Sebastian's predecessor - Johann III. - had started to annex over a dozen forts and cities on the Moroccan Atlantic coast . These bases, known as the Algarve on the other side of the sea , were almost all lost again after 1541.
Portuguese crusade plans
With the discovery of the sea route around Africa to India, Portugal had also looked for the legendary kingdom of the Priest King John . Since the Council of Florence , the Portuguese saw Ethiopia as the successor kingdom to the priest-king and hoped to be able to undertake a crusade against Egypt together with Ethiopia, which under Emperor Zara Yaqob had even agreed to a church union in 1450. After the Portuguese had established themselves at the exit of the Red Sea (1505 Socotra , 1513 Aden , 1520 Massaua ), Afonso de Albuquerque drew up the daring plan in 1516 to conquer Mecca in order to be able to exchange it for Jerusalem. In fact, in 1543, Ethiopians and Portuguese under Vasco da Gama's son Christoph successfully fought together against a Muslim invasion from the Sultanate of Adal . But in the meantime the Turkish Ottomans had taken control of Jerusalem, Egypt and Mecca and finally recaptured Aden in 1548 and Massaua in 1557.
Jerusalem was Sebastian's ultimate destination too. He firmly believed that he had been chosen by God to liberate Jerusalem, and was determined, after the conquest of Morocco, along the North African coast under the protection of the Portuguese or an allied western fleet to the Holy Land, which was now controlled by the Ottomans punch through.
Spanish-Ottoman struggles for supremacy in the Mediterranean
The battle of Alcazarquivir can also be seen as part of the great dispute between the Ottomans and the Christian riparian states for supremacy in the Mediterranean that took place in the second half of the 16th century. As early as 1511, the Spaniards had failed in their attempt to conquer the Tunisian island of Djerba . In 1529 they also lost their outposts at the port of Algiers . In 1534 Tunis fell (for the first time) to the Ottomans and - although the Spaniards were able to recapture Tunis with Portuguese help in 1535 ( Tunis campaign ) - in 1551 also Tripoli. The landing operation of the Ottoman fleet on the island of Malta , however, ended in 1565 with a victory for the Christian defenders and brought about a new crusade initiative throughout Europe, which also inspired the Portuguese King Sebastian. The naval battle of Lepanto of 1571 gave the Spaniards, in alliance with the Republic of Venice, a chance to recapture the islands in the Aegean Sea (e.g. Rhodes ) and in the eastern Mediterranean ( Cyprus ) that had already been lost to the Ottomans , but this did not succeed. Shortly after the victories of Malta and Lepanto, Tunis finally fell into Ottoman hands in 1574.
Ten years of preparation
Portugal began preparing for an intervention in Morocco as early as 1568. This offensive policy was not only wanted and supported by the Portuguese trading masters, who hoped for advantages in trade with the African empires in the center of the continent. The Portuguese nobility also fully supported these plans. Until then, Portuguese military action in North Africa was limited to small expeditions and raids. In 1574, Sebastian carried out his first successful attack on Tangier , which encouraged him to go to war against the new Saadian ruler of Morocco.
Thomas Stukley preparing for an invasion of Ireland
Immediately before the events in Morocco, King Sebastian had agreed on a daring undertaking with the Irish rebel Thomas Stukley, which was to have the conquest of the island of Ireland as its goal, which is why around 2000 mercenaries and adventurers from the Kingdom of Castile , Flanders , Germany were already for this purpose and Italy came to Portugal. But England was considered a traditional ally of Portugal. The available mercenary contingent was instead - in the hope of rich booty - immediately ready to take part in the campaign to Morocco. Stukley was also able to persuade Sebastian in the end, as Morocco was an ally of Stukley's enemy England.
Moroccan controversy for the throne
The pretext for the Portuguese incursion into Morocco was a dispute over the throne in the Sultanate of Fez . Abu Abdallah al-Mutawakkil had turned to the Portuguese king because his uncle Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik had been appointed the new Sultan of Morocco, thereby depriving him of his claim to the throne. Abu Abdallah himself was too weak to be able to oppose his uncle militarily with his own supporters. The ambassador of Abu Abdallah disguised this plan by referring to a threat to the Portuguese bases and the Portuguese maritime trade, which the new sultan would attack as a declared enemy of Christianity.
course
The campaign began on June 24, 1578 with an auspicious address by the Portuguese king in front of the assembled troops, after which they sailed with 500 ships to Arzila , an important base in the Portuguese-occupied part of Morocco, where Abu Abdallah with his Moorish followers and another 6,000 were at the same time Allied troops arrived.
On the other side, the Moroccan sultan, who had not escaped the war preparations of his opponents, gathered all the available troops, reinforced by Ottoman Janissaries, and declared the Holy War . At this inconceivably unfavorable time, the Sultan fell seriously ill.
The two armies approached each other near Alcácer-Quibir, and encamped on either side of a river. On August 4, 1578, the allied Portuguese and Moorish troops lined up there in battle order . On the other hand, the Sultan had set up 10,000 horsemen on the wings, the center of his troops were Moors, who were descended from Muslims expelled from Spain and who were united by a particular hatred of Christians. Despite his illness, the sultan stayed among his troops.
The battle began with the usual cannonade , followed by the rifle volleys of the musketeers . Thomas Stukley, the commander of the Portuguese center, was killed by a cannonball. The Ottoman Janissaries began the second phase of the battle with a frontal attack on the Portuguese ranks. The flanks of the Portuguese army were attacked at the same time by the Moorish horsemen and finally the center of the Alliance forces was encircled. The fight was over after about four hours and led to the total defeat of the Portuguese and the allied forces of Abu Abdallah . They recorded over 8,000 deaths, including many prominent Portuguese nobles. Only 1,000 Portuguese managed to escape to the coast, and most of the armed forces, around 15,000 men, were captured.
King Sebastian died in the fierce fighting, Abu Abdallah tried to escape, but was pushed back into the river and drowned. Sultan Abd al-Malik also died during the battle, probably a natural death. Heart failure was assumed to be the possible cause of death.
Historians assessed the outcome of the battle as the result of a hasty and haphazard strategy by the Portuguese king, who was still inexperienced in the war. The main problem of this armed force was the lack of communication between its units, which could not carry out joint and coordinated operations, but above all the complete underestimation of the combat strength and the will of the enemy to fight. The fact that the battle took place in midsummer was also a problem. Heat and thirst paralyzed the fighting strength of the Europeans.
Effects
- With the death of Sebastian, Henry I was crowned King of Portugal as the last scion of the Avis family . With his untimely death, Portugal fell into the hands of the Spanish Habsburgs , who succeeded him, and Portugal lost its independence to Spain for 60 years .
- In order to release the numerous prominent prisoners, a significant part of the Portuguese state treasure had to be given to the Moroccans. This weakened the previously flourishing economy enormously.
- The 500 or so sailing ships that were used to transfer troops to Africa were also lost, so that the prerequisites for the colonial development of the overseas territories of Portugal were lacking, as the country could not build replacements of ships of this size at short notice.
- A significant part of the aristocratic elite, bleeding to death on the battlefield, was absent from the Portuguese social structure. The trauma of the battle turned into a national disaster.
Others
- In Portugal, the death of the young king became the cause of myths and legends. Since his corpse remained missing, it was said that he would continue to live in another world in order to come to the aid of the Portuguese again in later times of danger, see Sebastianism . The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos monastery in Lisbon's Belém district is the burial place of the Portuguese kings. The “grave” of Sebastian shown there bears the inscription: Conditur hoc tumulo, si vera est fama, Sebastus, Quem tulit in Libycis mors properata plagis. Nec dicas falli Regem qui vivere credit, Pro lege extincto mors quasi vita fuit.
- The battle is also known as the "Battle of the Three Kings", because in addition to Sebastian, the Saadian sultan Abu Marwan and the pretender Al Mutawakkil, supported by Sebastian, lost their lives.
- Moulay Bousselham , who came from Egypt, is said to have been killed in the “Battle of the Three Kings” . His body was allegedly buried in the place of the same name on the Moroccan Atlantic coast.
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Zöllner : History of the Crusades , page 244. Berlin 1978
- ^ Mary Vincent, Robert Stradling: Spain and Portugal - Bildatlas der Weltkulturen , page 88.Bechtermünz Verlag 1997
- ↑ Monastero Hieronymus Belem. In: Blog Elettra Stamboulis. Retrieved December 5, 2010 . (Italian) Translation: In this grave lies, if what you say is correct, Sebastian; an untimely death in Libya's fields took him away. But do not say that it is wrong to believe that the king is still alive - in view of the destroyed order, death was, as it were, life.
literature
- António Henrique de Oliveira Marques : History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 385). Translated from the Portuguese by Michael von Killisch-Horn. Kröner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-520-38501-5 .
- Armin M. Brandt: The Maghreb until 1830 . In: history with a kick . Issue 1. Sailer Verlag, 1990, ISSN 0173-539X , p. 52 .
- Armin M. Brandt: Portugal: Kingdom between land and sea . In: history with a kick . Issue 7. Sailer Verlag, 1988, ISSN 0173-539X , p. 52 .
- Luís Costa de Sousa: A Batalha dos Alcaides 1514: no apogeu da presença portuguesa em Marrocos . In: Batalhas de Portugal . tape 26 . Tribuna da História, Lisbon 2007, ISBN 978-972-8799-65-6 , p. 100 .
- Luís Costa de Sousa: Alcácer Quibir, 1578: visão ou delírio de um rei? In: Batalhas de Portugal . tape 31 . Tribuna da História, Lisbon 2009, ISBN 978-972-8799-60-1 , p. 136 .