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Alfonso XI of Castile

أدفنش ملك قشتالة (الطاغية)

Alfonso of Castile, called al-Taghiya in the Maghrebi chronicles; facing Sultan Abu al-Hasan al-Marini in the Tarifa campaign, his fleet won the Strait and cut the Muslim camp's supply, he gathered the Christian nations with Afonso of Portugal beside him, slipped a hidden force into Tarifa by night, and when battle joined in 741 the combined Maghreb-Andalus host broke in a great rout — the sultan's women and treasure falling into his hands.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Ruler · military-commander
Era
The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region
al-Andalus & Europe
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Alfonso, king of Castile, whom the Maghribi historians call "the tyrant", and who is Alfonso XI according to the museum's data. He took part in the battle of Tarifa. 1

Ibn Khaldun's account

Ibn Khaldun relates that he met Sultan Abu al-Hasan al-Marini in the battle of Tarifa. His fleet took control of the Strait of Gibraltar and cut off the supplies to the camp of the Muslims. 1

The nations of Christendom gathered to him, and the king of Portugal backed him. He sent an ambush force to Tarifa, and when the fighting broke out the camp of the Maghrib and al-Andalus was defeated in 741 AH, and he seized the sultan's concubines and treasures. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Participated in
Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims

People and things also explored

Abu al-Hasan al-Marini, sultan of the Maghrib· Sultan Yusuf I Abu al-Hajjaj al-Nasri· Tarifa· Battle of Tarifa and the Testing of the Muslims

Sources

  1. Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Alfonso XI of Castile”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/alfonso-xi-castile/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Abu al-Hasan al-Marini, sultan of the Maghrib

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman al-Marini, sultan of the Maghreb, who styled himself amir al-mu'minin, 'sultan of the two shores, guardian of both banks'; he copied three noble mushafs in his own hand for the three mosques to which journeys are made, endowed waqfs on them whose titulature the great chancery writer Ibn Nubata composed, and sent al-Nasir Muhammad 325 great rubies, 128 emeralds and 128 zabarjads — al-Maqqari himself saw the Jerusalem copy in finest workmanship; he ruled ten years and seven days before his son Abu Inan deposed him.