From Lisbon to the Stars

[SteveW]

I've decided to hold back on my Sebastian of Portugal timeline for now whilst Gonzaga is doing his- partly as I'm very much enjoying his and don't want to be doing a similar POD at the moment!

But I have a new TL planned.

In 1147, in a highly unusual event, Afonso I, the first King of Portugal, laid siege to Lisbon, then under Moorish control. I say strange as he was helped by a huge group of crusaders.

Now, the siege began on 1st July and ended in October. In the meantime, Afonso had a few problems: the Moors destroyed all his siege engines, and he suffered a revolt amongst some of the Crusaders.

So the POD is this: Afonso's initial attacks will be more effective, and he will break the siege earlier, losing fewer men and being spurred into ploughing on towards the Algarve.

Thoughts?

First posting to come soon.

 

[SteveW]

The End of the Siege Begins

The Siege of Lisbon had been grinding on for a month when the breakthrough finally came.

After a month of capturing the surrounding territories, and of seeing his siege engines being picked off one by one by the Morrish defenders, King Afonso I of Portugal was personally supervising battle on 4th September 1147 when one of the Portuguese mangonels finally managed, by accident, to have an effect.

A fire pot cleared the ramparts of the city, almost by accident. Landing on a straw roof below, the flames rapidly swallowed an entire house and began to spread further. The defenders began to panic, and rushed to try and put the fire out.

Spotting the smoke, and noticing the clear panic on the ramparts, the Fleming Arnold of Aerschot ordered his men forward. He had only a small window of opportunity to act. With his archers guarding them, troops poured forward with the battering ram and slammed into the nearest gate, unmolested by the defenders. The smell of acrid smoke was already causing them some trouble, but they succeded in punching a hole roughly two feet by one before being forced back by desperate Moors.

By dusk that day, Afonso was aware of what had occured. At the gate itself, the Portuguese had been forced to withdraw by heavy assaults by the defenders above them.

But the damage was done. Afonso ordered his mangonels to "spit fire, night and day" at the gate.

 

[SteveW]

Fire and Force

By dawn, the advantage was clearly with the crusaders and reconquistadores. The mangonels had been flailing wildly all night, although only around 5% of their shots had even come close to hitting the target. But the defenders were being worn down by the effort through the night. One mangonel had even managed to miss and hit a second mangonel, killing its crew.

Shortly after dawn, a pair of soldiers from Cologne pushed a bale of hay into the breach in the gate and set it alight, one dying in the process. This spread chaos yet again.

Afonso ordered an advance. By lunchtime, force and fire had smashed a gash three feet wide in the gate. The game was up.

 

[Gonzaga]

What a pity you decided to stop your TL about Sebastião, I was enjoying it.

But, in the other hand, I've never read a TL about medieval Portugal! So go on, I'm looking forward the next installment!

 

[Condottiero]

You'll have to take into account that the Reconquista could not have been done in fast leaps due to demographic problems (and wars between them). The christian kingdoms had to settle acquired lands with reliable population.

 

[SteveW]

What a pity you decided to stop your TL about Sebastião, I was enjoying it.

But, in the other hand, I've never read a TL about medieval Portugal! So go on, I'm looking forward the next installment!

I'll come back to it in time, worry ye not. But like you say, I don't recall a medieval Portuguese TL either.

 

[SteveW]

You'll have to take into account that the Reconquista could not have been done in fast leaps due to demographic problems (and wars between them). The christian kingdoms had to settle acquired lands with reliable population.

Yep, will do. The Reconquista will just take a different turn in this TL. It might take a bit longer in parts but not as long elsewhere. But needless to say, Iberia will look very different when this is all settled.

 

[SteveW]

The Siege is Broken

Around 9 in the evening of 5th September 1147, the Christian breakthrough came. The defenders were utterly exhausted by this point after nearly 24 hours of constant hand-to-hand combat and bombardment from mangonels. They were even running out of boiling oil to throw, and were getting every more desparate. Accounts claim that one Flemish mercenary was killed by having his skull shattered with a clay tagine.

Finally, at this hour, the first Portuguese soldier forced his way through the gap in the gate and managed to buy enough time for his fellows to follow in before he was slain. According to legend, Martim Moniz was the man who forced the gate open to the besiegers.

The gates were open within half an hour. King Afonso ordered an immediate advance. Thousands of Portuguese, Flemings, Englishmen, Germans and others poured through into the city- although casualties were severe until the ramparts were scaled and the defenders above killed.

By midnight, the invaders were marauding the area. The Flemish and Rhenish mercenaries were particularly enthusiastic in their pillaging. It is estimated that several hundred Moorish inhabitants were murdered that night, despite Afonso's entreaties not to do so.

At dawn on the 6th September, King Afonso declared Lisbon to be Portuguese, and named his newly-born son Henrique to be Prince of Lisbon. Moniz was knighted as Conde Moniz of Santarem.

It is said that Iberia has never seen such a movement of people, nor such bloodshed, as in the three days after the battle, when the Moorish inhabitants were expelled. [1]

[1] OTL, it was similar, but with less bloodshed. And of course, the siege ended nearly 2 months later IOTL.

 

[SteveW]

Aftermath

With the Moors expelled from the city (and their displacement wreaking havoc in Moorish territory to the south and east), Afonso had an empty city to rule, and one that needed severe repairs and rebuilding.

To this aim, he allowed all crusades who so wished to take any empty property in return for settling. Those with families would be strongly encouraged to send for them. For months to come, Europe's ports would see the famous "King's Brides" and their children leaving from Bruges, Calais, Weymouth, Honfleur, Marseille, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. In all, several hundred foreigners were to settle in the year after Lisbon's fall. One such eminent person was Arnold of Aerschot, raised to Conde Arnaldo de Aercoto (a medieval Lusitisation of Aerschot). He encouraged his men to stay, and mainly succeeded.

Afonso was extremely pleased and proud of what he had achieved. His neighbours to the north and east had taken notice of his achievements, and the Moors had as well. Now he looked to the east, and cast his eyes towards Moorish Evora. But the question was: were the crusaders still with him?

 

[ruisramos]

I. I'm from Portugal. I've enjoyed reading your TL from D. Sebastião. If you need any help or hints about Portuguese history please drop me a line. A question: where exactly is this leading to? A Portuguese space program? (I ask that because of the title).

 

[Thande]

I. I'm from Portugal. I've enjoyed reading your TL from D. Sebastião. If you need any help or hints about Portuguese history please drop me a line. A question: where exactly is this leading to? A Portuguese space program? (I ask that because of the title).

Maybe it's a reference to Santiago de Compostela?

 

[Archangel]

Hi SteveW!
It's a pity you interrupted your TL about Sebastian, but it's also interesting to see a medieval Portuguese TL.
Keep up the good work!

 

[SteveW]

Hi SteveW!
It's a pity you interrupted your TL about Sebastian, but it's also interesting to see a medieval Portuguese TL.
Keep up the good work!

Many thanks! It will be back, but not yet- Gonzaga's work on that time is excellent (and I must add, he's been very kind indeed in giving me advice on details of Portuguese history).

 

[Rockingham]

I'm looking forward to this

 

[SteveW]

A Welcome Addition

On the 14th November 1147, Afonso personally welcomed a welcome recruit to his cause. Having heard the stories of land available in return for service, the last month saw dozens of Basques and French arrive, hoping for glory and plunder (and all, to boot, in the name of the Church, thanks to Pope Eugene III). But now, a heavyweight had arrived in Lisbon for similar reasons.

Tired of the misery of the Great Anarchy in England, and vexed by losing his lands in Normandy, Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, had come with dozens of knights and landless men from his county, hoping for Moorish land and Papal gratitude.

Afonso was extremely pleased. His plans to strike east were getting ever more complete, and replacement mangonels were nearly ready to boot. More and more men would arrive in the coming weeks from all over Western Europe, all dreaming of taking land for themselves.

 

[SteveW]

The (Brief) Battle for Carregado

The first shots (or more accurately arrows) of the new campaign were fired on the 3rd December 1147. Afonso's men, swelled by new arrivals, descended on Carregado, several miles north-east of Lisbon. The Moors were already bracing themselves for the assault, and moved out of the town to confront the invader.

However, the victory was crushing for Afonso's men. The mangonels wrought a great deal of damage on the Moors, breaking holes in their defensive lines and causing panic. It was the Rhenish men who carried the day, charging head-long into the enemy lines at an opportune moment and fighting their way into the centre.

Carregado itself, bereft of defenders, was taken a day later by Robert de Beaumont, whom Afonso raised into Portuguese nobility as Conde de Carregado.

 

[Faeelin]

Ah well. I suspect the Almohads will not be able to save the day.

 

[SteveW]

Change of Heart

Afonso was not the only one enjoying success against the Moors.

In late November, Afonso VII of Castille and Crusader forces finally took Almeria, gaining a toehold on the Mediterranean. It was an encouraging sign. In all their Iberian taifas, the Almohads were now extremely worried.

Although Alfonso of Castille was no friend of Portugal, whom he regarded as a renegade province, he realised that the momentum was with Afonso. It was time to build bridges and work together for land; otherwise, he feared that Portugal would swallow it all.

 

[SteveW]

Wars and Crosses

Things were lookind rather bad towards the East. Having taken a pounding in October at the hands of the Seljuks, Conrad III's Germans were being harried backwards and were reliant on French help to keep going.

But for both Conrad and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, there was some good news. Their mutual enemy, Roger II of Sicily, had received some disturbing news in early December. Revolt had broken out in Malta in his absence abroad. And worse still, the Venetians were sniffing around- their new Doge, Domenico Morosini, was keen on any opportunity that might offer itself up. Roger was going to have to pull back to counter this. Conrad and Manuel were pleased: with luck, Roger would be enfeebled by this endeavour.

Not only that, Roger had lost face. He had to ask Pope Eugene III to be allowed to return to quell the rebellion, a request which was granted.

It was by now becoming clear that the Crusade in the West was showing signs of success, and that Afonso of Portugal was the crusader par excellence.

 

[SteveW]

Nemesis

The crusade in Iberia was gathering pace. Despite the Pope's entreaties, Afonso's promises of land for service were extremely attractive. Hundreds of men bound for the East instead disembarked at Oporto and Lisbon, hungry for war. Setubal fell on the 18th December, an excellent Christmas present for the King.

But of course in history, balance applies. The shortage of crusaders heading to the Levant was hampering all efforts in that theatre. Baldwin III, King of Jerusalem, was cursing the European kings for failing to control their men and bring them to the Holy Land.

But Manuel I Comnenus was less worried. On New Year's Day 1148, he ordered all Sicilian soldiers on Byzantine soil to be deported from his lands into the Kingdom of Armenia: those who did not co-operate would be killed. His revenge on Roger II of Sicily was to begin here.