Year Fifteen - 881
King Aznar of Navarra decided to renew his grandfather's war for the fertile lands of Zaragoza (Saraqusta) to the south. The kingdoms of Italy and Bulgaria agreed to send as many troops over to Navarra as they could, though Italy was beset by Tuscan rebels and at war with West Francia. Saaman and Jabir would have to prove their worth by defending against both the Navarrese and Asturians at once!
The Catalanese sellswords were ready to fight once again, and King Aznar had a convenient idea of how to fund these mercenaries:
Martin de Leyre was put in overall command of the army, though he was responsible for answering to me, King Aznar, as well as my cousin Lope Iniga, who both Martin's lieutenants, but in many ways his superiors in terms of prestige and upbringing. It is not necessarily an easy job to be the overseer of the actions of a king!
The siege of Zaragoza began on 25 March:
On 5 June, a large Umayyad army moved in, and Martin de Leyre abandoned the siege, already hampered by rampant smuggling, and took up defensive positions behind the Ebro river.
The Battle of Caspe 7 June 881 - 8 August 881
Circumstances: 3261 Iberian Muslim men-at-arms under Sami of Loule (10) attack 2677 Navarrese troops and Catalanese mercenaries under Martin de Leyre (20), aided by a company of Italians. The leader of the Italians, Count Maginfredo di Milano, a well-known flamboyant schemer, effectively managed to issue orders to the left flank of the Navarrese army in place of Lope Iniga, who was busy fighting on the front. Maginfredo also managed to rally a large number of mercenaries around him, and the Navarrese left flank was numerically the strongest and the outset of battle.
Battle: For weeks the Muslims tried to cross the Ebro in raiding parties. and it was not until 25 June that the forces of Emir Aslam of Beja crossed the river in numbers, and attempted to attack Maginfredo di Milano. The attack was poorly executed, and the Umayyad right flank was routed, dismaying the commander Sami, whose forces remained on the southern side of the river Ebro.
No other major river crossing were made, and strong incursions from the Navarrese forced Sami to withdraw as well, leaving the cavalry on the poorly-led Umayyad left. By 8 August, the Umayyads had fled the field, leaving behind 2314 casualties. The Navarrese, Italians, and Catalanese mercenaries had lost 682 men.
Aftermath: The Navarrese scouts south of Zaragoza saw a sizable army of Umayyad mercenaries approaching; clearly Saama had intended to reinforce the flagging Caspe campaign with sell-swords of her own, but they had gotten in the area too late. Once they realized the battle was lost, they ceased their advance toward Zaragoza, and began advancing on Albarracin, toward where the survivors of Caspe were retreating. The Navarrese chose not to pursue, and instead tentatively to resume the siege.
By September, a united Umayyad and mercenary army had crossed the Ebro to the southeast and were heading northwest, according to Navarrese scouts. Based on this information, Martin de Leyre cautiously decided to withdraw toward Upper Aragon. The Umayyad army chose not to attack the mountains, and left the area of Zaragoza entirely.
In late October, thinking the Umayyads had left the region, Martin de Leyre moved back to the Ebro river, but before crossing Navarrese scouts informed the army that the Umayyads and their mercenaries were returning to do battle again along the river. De Leyre hoped his forces could hold out again; this time retreat was not an option.
The Battle of Alagon 31 October 881 - 11 December 881
Circumstances: 2724 Umayyads (including a large company of their dreaded heavy cavalry) and mercenaries under Donnchad (10) attack an increasingly disorganized group of 2096 Navarrese, mercenaries, and a half-strength company of Italians, this time commanded by Duke Boson of Provence (10), who had used his influence to send the talented Martin de Leyre to fight on the front lines.
Battle: Raids and archery characterized most of the meetings between the armies on opposite sides of the river, and Boson of Provence himself was driven off of the battlefield as all of his Italians were killed in an enemy raid. The center, poorly commanded after Boson's cowardice, eventually was forced to withdraw in mid-November. On 21 November Emir Aslam, now commanding the Umayyad left, again tried to cross the river and was met with stiff resistance by the waiting troops under King Aznar's personal command. Despite Aznar's valiant try, he and his men were eventually routed by the superior numbers of Aslam. Lope Iniga was eventually forced to retreat on 11 December. The Navarrese ran for the mountains, leaving behind 1255 killed and wounded. The Umayyads and their mercenaries suffered 862 casualties in the successful river attack.
Aftermath: The Umayyads decided not to pursue the Navarrese into the mountains of Basque country. Meanwhile...a game-changer had stepped onto the scene.