Editing Alfonso VII of León and Castile (section)

===War against Al-Andalus===
Alfonso was a pious prince. He introduced the [[Cistercians]] to [[Iberia]] by founding a monastery at [[Fitero]]. He adopted a militant attitude towards the [[Moors]] of [[Al-Andalus]], especially the [[Almoravids]]. From 1138, when he [[Siege of Coria (1138)|besieged Coria]], Alfonso led a series of [[crusades]] subjugating the Almoravids. After [[Siege of Oreja|a seven-month siege]], he took the fortress of [[Castle of Oreja|Oreja]] near [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] and, as the ''[[Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris]]'' tells it:
{{blockquote|…  early in the morning the castle was surrendered and the towers were filled with Christian knights, and the royal standards were raised above a high tower. Those who held the standards shouted out loud and proclaimed "Long live Alfonso, emperor of León and Toledo!"}}

In 1142, Alfonso [[Siege of Coria (1142)|besieged Coria a second time]] and took it.{{sfn|Powers|2010|p=432}} In 1144, he advanced as far as [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]]. Two years later, the [[Almohads]] invaded and he was forced to refortify his southern frontier and come to an agreement with the Almoravid [[Yahya ibn Ghaniya]] for their mutual defence. When [[Pope Eugene III]] preached the [[Second Crusade]], Alfonso VII, with García Ramírez of Navarre and Ramon Berenguer IV, led a mixed army of [[Catalan people|Catalans]] and [[Franks]], with a [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]]–[[Republic of Pisa|Pisan]] navy, in a crusade against the rich port city of [[Almería]], which was occupied in October 1147.{{sfn|Reilly|2003|p=60}} A third of the city was granted to Genoa and subsequently leased out to [[Otto de Bonvillano]], a Genoese citizen. It was Castile's first [[Mediterranean]] seaport.{{sfn|Riley-Smith|1990|p=48}} In 1151, Alfonso signed the [[Treaty of Tudilén]] with Ramon Berenguer. The treaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia in order to prevent the two rulers from coming into conflict. Six years later, Almería entered into Almohad possession. Alfonso was returning from an expedition against them when he died on 21 August 1157 in Las Fresnedas, north of the [[Sierra Morena]].{{sfn|Reilly|2003|p=60}}