Alfonso II begins the Portuguese Reconquista push

1211

The young king of Portugal launched raids south into the Alentejo and Algarve, seizing castles from the weakening Almohad caliphate. His campaigns laid the groundwork for his son Sancho II to take Elvas and his grandson Afonso III to complete the Portuguese Reconquista within fifty years. The conquered lands were parceled out to military orders whose fortified castles still punctuate the Alentejo landscape.