Expulsion of Andalusi Christians in 1126
The Expulsion of the Christians from Al-Andalus in 1126 was a medieval event in Spain that consisted of the mass deportation to North Africa of the native Christian population of Al-Andalus. It was ordered by Emir Ali ibn Yusuf, who ruled the Almoravid Empire.
In addition to being expelled from their homes, they were prohibited from migrating to the Christian kingdoms in the north, as many Mozarabic families had been doing for almost three centuries during the process of the Reconquista.
Background
Social Context
After the Umayyad conquest of Spain, the Muslim occupiers were a minority Arab-Berber elite ruling over a large mass of subjugated Christian inhabitants. The remoteness of the territory made it difficult to bring reinforcements to impose their religion. Thus, Muslim rulers established implicit pacts with Christian populations to avoid large-scale military confrontations with the native population. Under these terms, Iberian Christians were allowed to avoid conversion to Islam by agreeing to conditions negotiated by the Muslim occupiers. These conditions included granting a degree of religious tolerance to Catholics in exchange for paying heavy taxes and recognizing the authority of the Islamic monarch, who, as their lord, would grant protection to his Christian vassals—similar to the vassal-lord relationship found in all medieval monarchies.In practice, being a Christian in Al-Andalus meant living as a second-class citizen rather than in an ideal religious coexistence. However, a status quo existed in which Muslims managed military defense and international representation, even if Christians' individual rights were not recognized. Christians were acknowledged as a distinct social group called Mozarabs. Nonetheless, this status could be revoked at any time, as emirs had the power to annul Christian privileges if they deemed that the vassal pact had been broken.
Despite these conditions of coexistence, there were instances of mishandling and persecution against Christians almost from the beginning, as evidenced by the 9th-century martyrs of Córdoba or the persecution of 1099 in Granada, when Muslim emirs destroyed a Catholic church and severely mistreated the Mozarabic Christian community.
Political-Military Context
In 1124, Alfonso the Battler received messages from some Mozarabic communities in Muslim Granada, led by Ibn al-Qalas, requesting his intervention due to the internal chaos among the Taifa kingdoms. They convinced the monarch that the fragility of the Andalusi realm would make its conquest easy and its wealth attainable.These hopes stemmed from Alfonso's prior military successes—besides defending his territory from Muslim incursions, he had conquered Zaragoza, Tudela, Calatayud, and more, expanding through the Ebro Valley. This built great confidence in Alfonso, who, filled with warrior zeal, dreamed of completing the Reconquista and becoming emperor of all Spain, both Christian and Saracen.
So in September 1125, he set out with 4,000 knights from Aragon and Catalonia, and Mozarabs joined him as he advanced into Muslim territory. By January 1126, he had begun to besiege Granada. The local Mozarabic troops confessed they had staked everything on his campaign and knew that, if it failed, they would receive no forgiveness from Muslim authorities. The campaign did indeed fail, leading to Alfonso's retreat in June 1126—though not before saving around 10,000 Mozarabs who retreated with him and helped repopulate the Ebro Valley with Christians.
Events
After Alfonso the Battler's expedition in 1125, the Moors of Al-Andalus were enraged with the Christians. Muslim authorities believed the Mozarabs, having supported the Aragonese invasion, had violated their vassal pact with the Muslim rulers, thus forfeiting their rights under the Islamic state.The Qadi of Córdoba, Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad Ibn Rushd, traveled to Marrakesh to report to the Almoravid emir. He recommended drastic action.
Then, Ali ibn Yusuf—already considering jihad against Iberian Christians a priority—ordered the expulsion of Mozarabic Christians from his domains during Ramadan of 1126.
The order was executed by Ibn Rushd, through a legal ruling that demanded the Christians be deported to North Africa. He justified this on the basis that the entire community had incited and supported the Aragonese expedition.
These Mozarabs, mostly from Granada, Córdoba, and Seville, left with their political and religious leaders and settled around Meknes and Salé. They lost many of their former rights and were mistreated during the journey, often forced into hard labor.
Meanwhile, Ali ibn Yusuf hoped to transfer Mozarabic soldiers from Andalusia to help defend Morocco. He granted them the same protection they had lost in Spain—but only applied in Africa. He even authorized Catholic priests to build a church in Marrakesh, where they continued their religious duties. However, in exchange, the entire community was required to enroll in the military register, serving as the emir's personal guard and defending the Almoravids from the Almohads.
Consequences
Although further deportations took place in 1138 and 1170, the 1126 expulsion effectively wiped out the Mozarabic community in Granada, Córdoba, and Seville for the rest of the century. Public Christian worship ceased among those who remained in Al-Andalus. Many tried to avoid deportation by converting to Islam or fleeing to the northern Christian kingdoms, though Muslim forces tried to capture them.Those who remained were dispossessed, publicly humiliated, chained, or even martyred for their faith. Still, as of 1138, important Mozarabic communities survived in rural areas and smaller cities.
With the arrival of the Almohads and the expulsion of Jews from Al-Andalus in 1146, massacres and enslavements of remaining Mozarabs also took place. A chronicler wrote:
By 1162, they were nearly extinct, facing increased repression during Muslim dynastic struggles. The remaining former Mozarabs earned the hostility of the authorities.
Furthermore, Christian properties were confiscated by Muslims, and churches were converted into mosques.
Among those who stayed in North Africa, cultural activities thrived within the Christian community. Arabic translations of the Gospels were made, and a community of Christian soldiers in service of the Moroccan Muslims grew stronger. These soldiers continued serving under the Almohad Empire and later the Marinid Sultanate.
Thousands of exiled Mozarabs returned to Spain two decades later, settling in Christian Toledo. According to Francisco Javier Simonet:
Mozarab militias remained active in North Africa until around 1380, when King Juan I of Castile retrieved them and offered them land in his kingdom. They returned to Seville with the authorization of the then-Emir of Morocco.