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.
Biography
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] He was defeated in 1173 at the hands of an Almohad party led by Ġanim 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]
Buresi, Pascal (2020). "Berber rule and the Maghribi Caliphate: the Almohads". In Fierro, Maribel (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Muslim Iberia.
Routledge. pp. 114–144.
ISBN978-1-315-62595-9.
García Fitz, Francisco (2001). Ministerio de Defensa de España (ed.).
"La Organización militar en Castilla y León (siglos XI al XIII)"(PDF). Revista de Historia Militar. Conquistar y defender: Los recursos militares en la Edad Media Hispánica. Número extraordinario. pp. 61–118.
ISSN0482-5748.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 August 2014.