WI: Reverse Reconquista

In 1340, a Nasrid-Marinid army (The former a glorified puppet of the latter) faced a Castillian-Portuguese army in the Battle of Rio Salado. OTL, the Spaniard coalition won.

WI the Muslim league absolutely crushes the Spaniard coalition, what happens next? Could we have a twin thrust into Christendom by the Ottomans (already a rising power) and the Marinids?
 

Zlorfik

Banned
A victory at Rio Salado will give them a lot of breathing room to establish themselves firmly in southern hispania.

The marinids are, however, based in north africa, and are forced to prioritise their interests there. As such are going to be at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the portugal, castile, aragon after these all recover.

They aren't too popular with the nasrids, but are found preferable to christian domination.

Nearby France is too busy with its own affairs to care either way. It may even prefer iberia to be more disunited

Assuming the Marinids consolidate their new territory well, and avoid getting too distracted in africa, and overcome all three iberian christian powers (who will almost certainly form a coalition) plus european volunteers, then they will have until the end of France's hundred years' war to remake Al-Andalus.

After that, they are going to be threatened with absolutely massive revanchist crusades. I'm not sure if coordinating with the Ottoman empire would work all that well, as the nearest major power is France, which was wholly uninvolved in the Habsburg-Ottoman wars (for obvious reasons) and which will absolutely be involved in Spain.

France will have an excellent opportunity to expand into "heathen Spain" and grab a decent chunk of it, under the guise of liberating the christians there, who will almost certainly help them.

The Marinids will eventually fracture or be distracted by N. African events, and the French and/or their Spanish puppet states will expand into Al-Andalus again.

That said, maybe the Marinids form common cause with England and together cripple France before the HYW ends. That requires a lot of foresight, though, as well as some luck
 
Reverse Reconquista

In 1340, a Nasrid-Marinid army (The former a glorified puppet of the latter) faced a Castillian-Portuguese army in the Battle of Rio Salado. OTL, the Spaniard coalition won.

WI the Muslim league absolutely crushes the Spaniard coalition, what happens next? Could we have a twin thrust into Christendom by the Ottomans (already a rising power) and the Marinids?

The Muslims failed to take advantage of their victory at Alarcos over a century earlier. This battle really is no different.
 
I think the reversing the Almohads' disaster at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa would have made a far greater difference in stalling Al-Andalus' fall to the Reconquista. They had Alarcos to build on reversing the Reconquista and had the outnumbered Christian alliance lost at Las Navas de Tolosa, the Almohads might have retaken a lot more Andalusian lands. Instead, IOTL, their army was severely gutted, and the Moors ceased to be a viable force to contest the Christian reconquest thereafter.
 
Top