Fall of Ubeda

In August 1212, the major Andalusian city of Úbeda was besieged and captured by an army of crusaders led by Alfonso VIII of Castile. The conquest came as an aftermath of the crusader victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.^[1] The Muslim inhabitants of the town negotiated a peaceful surrender of the town to which Alphonso initially agreed. However, the other leaders of the crusade persuaded him to abandon the agreement and sack the city, leading to a violent massacre and mass enslavement of the inhabitants.^[5]

Fall of Ubeda (1212)
Part of the Reconquista and Almohad wars in the Iberian Peninsula
Date August, 1212 Location Ubeda, Spain Result Crusader victory[1]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Castile Knights Hospitaller Portuguese crusaders French crusaders German crusaders Italian crusaders	Almohad Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Alfonso VIII of Castile Peter II of Aragon[1]	Unknown
Strength
12,000–14,000[2]	70,000 inhabitants[3]
Casualties and losses
Very light	60,000–70,000 killed or enslaved[3] (exaggerated)[4]

Aftermath

The Crusaders managed to capture a huge amount of booty from the city's fall. The 13th-century Moroccan historian Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi wrote;

Alfonso -- God curse him! -- ... then descended on Úbeda, where many of the defeated Muslims, and the people of Baeza, as well as the town's own population, had collected. He invested it for thirteen days, and then took it by force, killing and capturing and plundering. He and his men set aside as prisoners enough women and children to fill all the Christian territories. This was a greater blow to the Muslims than the defeat in battle.^[6]