Editing El Cid (section)

===Battle tactics===
During his campaigns, El Cid often ordered that books by classic [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Greek literature|Greek]] authors on military themes be read aloud to him and his troops, for both entertainment and inspiration before battle. El Cid's army had a novel approach to planning strategy as well, holding what might be called "[[brainstorming]]" sessions before each battle to discuss tactics. They frequently used unexpected strategies, engaging in what modern generals would call [[psychological warfare]]—waiting for the enemy to be paralyzed with terror and then attacking them suddenly; distracting the enemy with a small group of soldiers, etc. (El Cid used this distraction in capturing the town of Castejón as depicted in ''[[Cantar de mio Cid]]'' (''The Song of my Cid'').) El Cid accepted or included suggestions from his troops. In ''The Song'' the man who served him as his closest adviser was his vassal and kinsman [[Álvar Fáñez]] "''Minaya''" (meaning ''"My brother"'', a compound word of Spanish possessive ''Mi'' (My) and ''Anaia'', the basque word for ''brother''), although the historical Álvar Fáñez remained in Castile with Alfonso VI.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}