Sancho Jiménez, Sancho Jimeno o Sancho Ximeno (died 1173), nicknamed 'Hunchback' (El Giboso) by Christians and Abū-Barda’a by Muslims,[1] was a militia leader in 12th-century Iberia. Captain of the militias of Ávila, he distinguished by his unrelentless attacks and plundering expeditions in Muslim-controlled territory.

Sancho Jiménez participated in at least 25 battles between 1140 and his death in 1173. The official Almohad chronicler, Ibn Şāhib al-Salāh, said of him that "he made the Muslims drink a bitter cup of suffering",[2] although the Almohad historian also described him as a "courageous and tireless leader".[3] These plundering expeditions by Christian town councils were typically led by local leaders and consisted of reduced contingent of cavalry, that—if successful—obtained the likes of cattle and slaves as booty.[4] His figure has been sometimes likened to that of a successor to Muño Alfonso, governor of Toledo who also came to lead the militias of Ávila.[5]

Between 1157 and 1158 a party led by Sancho Jiménez raided the territory around Seville.[6][7] In 1173 in the battle of Calatrava, he was defeated at the hands of an Almohad party led by Ghanim ben Muhammad and his brother Hilăl in the vicinity of Caracuel.[8] He was returning from a razzia carried out in territories controlled by Seville, in which the Ávila militias had reportedly obtained a booty of 50,000 sheep, 1,200 cows and 150 Moorish slaves.[8] His chopped-off head was ensuingly sent to Seville on 5 April 1173, to be exhibited at the city gates.[9]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Buresi 2004, p. 53.
  2. ^ García Fitz 1998, p. 82.
  3. ^ Torres Balbás 1957, p. 37.
  4. ^ García Fitz 2001, p. 105.
  5. ^ Powers 1988, p. 5.
  6. ^ García Fitz 1998, p. 335.
  7. ^ Linehan 2008, p. 34.
  8. ^ a b Tuliani 2009, p. 12.
  9. ^ Buresi 2020, p. 133.

Bibliography

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