| rdfs:comment | - Since the middle of the 13th century, the Marinid Dynasty was emerging as a new power in Morocco, ruled by Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq. The Marinids had established contact with the Muslims of Al-Andalus and offered soldiers to the King Muhammad II de Granada in his bitter struggle against the Reconquista of the Christian kingdoms to the north. On April 12, 1275, a massive Moroccan army disembarked in Algeciras and commenced marching towards the cities of Sevilla, Jaén and Córdoba. From Castile, Ferdinand de la Cerda, who circumstatially governed the kingdom in the absence of his father, Alfonso X of Castile X, found himself being interviewed by the pope in Bercayre, could do no more than contain the invasions. Nuño González de Lara, who controlled the frontier of Cordoba, left from th
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| abstract | - Since the middle of the 13th century, the Marinid Dynasty was emerging as a new power in Morocco, ruled by Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq. The Marinids had established contact with the Muslims of Al-Andalus and offered soldiers to the King Muhammad II de Granada in his bitter struggle against the Reconquista of the Christian kingdoms to the north. On April 12, 1275, a massive Moroccan army disembarked in Algeciras and commenced marching towards the cities of Sevilla, Jaén and Córdoba. From Castile, Ferdinand de la Cerda, who circumstatially governed the kingdom in the absence of his father, Alfonso X of Castile X, found himself being interviewed by the pope in Bercayre, could do no more than contain the invasions. Nuño González de Lara, who controlled the frontier of Cordoba, left from the city and gave battle against the Morocco, dying the action, but also obliged the Muslims to withdraw from their advance. Due to the constantly threatened nature of the Castilian borderlands, the infante Fernando left Burgos in August to gather an army but became deathly ill and died a little while later at Ciudad Real. His brother, the infante Sancho, who would later become Sancho IV eventually marched to Córdoba to finally counter the Marinid threat. After strengthening their positions in the area, Sancho marched to Sevilla from where he planned to command future operations and troop movements in the campaign. The other son of the king, also named Sancho, the Archbishop of Toledo, went to join the fight in Jaén, but not wanting to wait for Lope Diaz de Haro, Lord of Biscay, died in combat shortly thereafter. His body was beheaded and his right hand cut off. The next day, the Lord of Biscay, together with a young Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, defeated a coalition of African-Andalusian forced and obliged them to withdraw. Under these circumstances, the Muslim forces were not able to advance further into Castilian territory. In 1276, they signed a two year truce with the Kingdom of Castile. Nevertheless, the Marinids under Yusuf did not return to Africa and maintained control in force of Algeciras and Tarifa, having a large troop presence in both cities. In the meantime, the Castilians busied themselves with issues of succession to the crown. Alfonso X decided to pass the privilege on to his son Sancho, even though he was under considerable pressure from the nobility and from his wife, Violante, that he pass the crown on to the children of the dead heir, Fernando.
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