Siege of Setenil


The siege of Setenil was military engagement between the Castilians and the Moors of Granada. The Castilians besieged the town of Setenil, near Ronda. The siege lasted for 20 days and ended in failure for Castile.

Background

In 1407, the Castilian regent Ferdinand prepared a crusade against the Granadans. However, in June, he fell ill, and the campaign had to be postponed. In September, Ferdinand was healed. He began preparations; he entered the chapel of the kings and took the sword from the hand of the statue of Ferdinand III of Castile. His campaign aimed to capture Ronda, which was the heart of a network of adjacent castles.
On September 26, the Castilians laid siege to Zahara de la Sierra. Using three large cannons, they breached the walls. Four days later, the town surrendered and the Granadans were allowed to depart unharmed. After this, Ferdinand dispatched a force to scout Ronda; however, after they returned, they reported the city was well fortified. Ferdinand wanted to attack, but his nobles argued against that; instead, they turned to Setenil de las Bodegas.

Siege

Ferdinand arrived at Setenil on October 5, and he began setting the guns to bombard the fort. The cannoneers had difficulty finding the range; some projectiles missed their targets, and others created friendly fire, wounding Castilians. Within a few weeks, the Castilians ran out of stones, so each man had to carry a limited number of stones to fire. The Granadans held out, repairing damages done to the walls. The Castilians then assaulted the walls using wooden towers; however, just before it reaches the walls, the wheels of the towns catch in a ditch, unable to move. Many began deserting due to lack of payment and food. As winter was approaching, Ferdinand decided to raise the siege on the 25th, taunted by the Moors.

Aftermath

Despite being warmly welcomed, the campaign was a failure, with such a large army and quantities to assault Ronda, yet the Castilians were bogged down at the walls of Setenil. This was due to delay of the campaign, shortage of supplies and money, and lack of coordination between the nobles.