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The raid on Silves was an attack by the German Crusade on the Almohad city of Silves in 1197.
| Raid on Silves (1197) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Crusade of 1197 | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| Holy Roman Empire | Almohad Caliphate | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Hartwig of Bremen Henry I of Brabant Henry V of the Rhine | Yaqub al-Mansur | ||||
| Strength | |||||
|
~44 ships ~3,000 troops | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||
In 1189, the Portuguese led by King Sancho I of Portugal, with the help of the crusaders from northern Europe who were joining the Third Crusade, captured Silves from the Almohads. The Almohads responded with a major campaign between 1190 and 1191, managing to retake Silves and other cities.[1] In 1197, the Emperor Henry VI launched a new crusade towards the Levant.[2]
One contingent of crusaders, approximately 3,000 strong, journeyed by sea towards the Holy Land. According to Arnold of Lübeck's Chronica Slavorum, the fleet had 44 ships.[3] It sailed in mid-May, stopping in Dartmouth and also in Normandy.[4][5][6] According to the Chronica of Roger of Howden, the crusaders were part of the emperor's army and came from Germany and "other lands".[5] They were led by Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen, Duke Henry I of Brabant and Count Henry V of the Rhine.[6] These crusaders may have preferred the sea route as preferable to crossing the Alps or else may have sought to distance themselves from the emperor.[7]
Arriving in Lisbon in mid-June, Hartwig was honorably received by Bishop Soeiro Anes.[8][9] After reaching the Gharb al-Andalus, the crusaders launched attack on Silves.[10] The only source for the raid on Silves is Roger of Howden, although the German sea crusade is also mentioned in the Chronica Regia Coloniensis and the Annales Stadenses.[5] There was no Portuguese involvement in the attack on Silves,[4] possibly because Sancho I had signed the peace treaty with Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur in 1196 following the battle of Alarcos.[9]
According to Howden, the crusaders completely destroyed the city, leaving no stone upon another, because they did not believe that the Portuguese could hold it.[5] There is no evidence, however, of any interruption in Almohad administration, so the claim is clearly an exaggeration.[5][11][12][13] The Almohad lands in al-Andalus had, however, not suffered such a temporary shock since 1189.[5] The crusaders stayed in Portugal no more than three weeks.[9] The raid can probably be considered an act of revenge for the crusaders of 1189, whose success had been so quickly undone.[14]
From Silves, the crusaders continued their journey to the port of Messina, where they arrived in the first week of August.[6][14] There they joined with the emperor's forces, but the emperor fell ill before the fleet departed for the Holy Land on 1 September. It landed in Acre three weeks later.[6]
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