Battles During The Reconquista
The first military services of the Knights of Calatrava had been brilliant, and in return for the great services they had rendered they received from the King of Castile new grants of land, which formed their first commanderies. They had already been called into the neighbouring Kingdom of Aragon, and been rewarded by a new encomienda (landed estate), that of Alcañiz (1179). But these successes were followed by a series of misfortunes, due in the first instance to the unfortunate partition which Alfonso had made of his possessions, and the consequent rivalry which ensued between the Castilian and Leonese branches of his dynasty. On the other hand, the first successes of the Reconquista in the 12th century, soon met up with a new wave of Islamic warriors, the invasion of the Almohades from Morocco. The first encounter resulted in a defeat for Castile.
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