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The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (variant spellings are legion: Alcácer-Quivir, Al Quasr al-kibr, Alcazarquivir, Alcassar and so on, meaning grand palace in Arabic), also known as Battle of Three Kings, was a major battle fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir between Tangier and Fez, on 4 August 1578. The combatants were the army of King Sebastian of Portugal, and a large Moroccan army nominally under the Emir of Morocco, Abd Al-Malik of the Saadi dynasty. The militantly Christian king had planned a crusade that would eject the Moors from North Africa and place Portugal at the head of Catholic Europe. It was also an attempt to keep the Ottomans away from the southern shores of the Iberian peninsula. In the event his defeat led to the disappearance of Portugal as an independent nation for 60 years.
Background
The campaign After haranguing his troops from the windows of the church of Santa Maria in Lagos, Sebastian departed that port in his armada on 24 June 1578. He landed at Arzila, where Mulay Mohammed joined him with some additional forces, and marched into the interior. The Emir, who was gravely ill, had meanwhile collected a large army — sources put it at 100,000 men — and the two armies approached each other near Alcazarquivir, camping on opposite sides of a river. Although he had obvious superiority in numbers the Emir again attempted to negotiate a peace, but without success. Sebastian's army was low on provisions and in a poor tactical position as the Moors had occupied all the surrounding high ground, but he could not be persuaded to temporize or withdraw, even by Mulay Mohammed. The battle On 4 August, the Portuguese troops were drawn up in battle array, and Sebastian rode around encouraging the ranks. But the Moors advanced on a broad front and encircled his army. The Emir had 10,000 cavalry on the wings, and in the center he had placed Moors who had been driven out of Spain and thus bore a special grudge against Christians. Despite his illness, the Emir left his litter and led his forces on horseback. The ensuing battle ended in the total defeat of the Portuguese, with 8,000 dead, including the slaughter of almost the whole of the country’s nobility, and 15,000 taken prisoner; perhaps 100 survivors escaped to the coast. Thomas Stukley, commanding the Portuguese center, was killed by a cannonball early in the battle. The body of King Sebastian, who led a charge into the midst of the enemy and was then cut off, was never found. The Emir Abd Al-Malik also died during the battle, but from natural causes (the effort of riding was too much for him), and the news was concealed from his troops until total victory had been secured. Mulay Mohammed attempted to flee but was drowned in the river. For this reason, the battle was known in Morocco as the Battle of the Three Kings. The consequences Abd Al-Malik was succeeded as Emir by his brother Ahmad al-Mansur, also known as Ahmed Saali, who obtained great wealth for his lands through the ransoms of the Portuguese prisoners. For Portugal, the battle was an unmitigated disaster. Most of its outposts on the North African coast were abandoned. Despite the lack of a body, Sebastian was presumed dead, at the age of 24. In his piety, he had remained unmarried and had sired no heir. His aged, childless uncle Henry of Portugal, a Cardinal of the Roman church, succeeded to the throne as closest legitimate relative. His brief reign (1578–1580) was devoted to attempting to raise the crippling ransoms for the survivors of the battle held captive in Morocco. After his death, no legitimate claimant remained from the House of Aviz, which had ruled Portugal for 200 years. Philip II of Spain, a grandson of Manuel I of Portugal, invaded Portugal, defeating the troops of Anthony, Prior of Crato at the Battle of Alcântara and was crowned Philip I of Portugal by the Cortes of Tomar in 1581. Portugal and its Empire were de facto incorporated into the Spanish Empire, and remained a province of the Habsburgs until 1640. Despite his disastrous misjudgments, a cult of 'Sebastianism', with the young monarch as Portugal's "Once and Future King" who will one day, like King Arthur, return to save his nation, has ebbed and flowed in Portuguese life ever since, and was particularly strong in the later 19th century. For 40 years after the battle, a series of impostors attempted to claim that they were Sebastian returned from the dead. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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