1309 Reconquista siege where Castilian forces captured Gibraltar from Granada.
The First Siege of Gibraltar in 1309 was a Reconquista battle between forces of the Crown of Castile, largely from Seville, and the Nasrid Emirate of Granada. Led by commanders including Juan Núñez II de Lara and Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, the Castilian victory captured Gibraltar and boosted regional power.
The First Siege of Gibraltar in 1309 was a military engagement of the Spanish Reconquista fought at Gibraltar. Castilian forces of the Crown of Castile, with many troops coming from Seville, confronted the forces of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada. Commanders on the Castilian side included King Ferdinand IV of Castile, Juan Núñez II de Lara, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Fernando Gutiérrez Tello, Garci López de Padilla and Juan de Castilla el de Tarifa. The Granadan forces were led by Sultan Muhammad III and his brother Abu al-Juyush Nasr. The siege ended in a Castilian victory, which brought Gibraltar under Castilian control and significantly increased the regional power of Castile on the Iberian Peninsula. It was described as one of the few successful outcomes in an otherwise unsuccessful campaign. Gibraltar remained under Christian rule until 1333, when it was recaptured by Muslim forces during a later siege. The 1309 siege is also recorded as part of the wider Reconquista and the Battle of the Strait campaign. Today, ruins associated with the Moorish period at Gibraltar, such as the former Moorish prison, recall the era in which this siege took place.
