Depiction of the siege
The Siege of Brezonde was a sige of Brezonde and its castle in 1244, the last major engagement of the Christian Conquest of Brunant.
Background[]
In 1244 Christian troops under King Jaime of Aragon landed in Brunant to conquer the islands.
The siege[]
On 1st August 1244 a 10,000-strong attacking force camped outside Brezonde. The next morning they began to erect siege fortifications around the town as others were sent to find wood for siege weapons.
Digging in, the Aragonese soldiers were often harassed by archers and occasional raids in the night by Arab defenders. Eventually the attackers had fully enclosed the city and left the defenders unable to go out for any provisions. Messages had been sent long before calling for aid, but no such aid had come and the defenders, numbering just 3000, did not expect any at that point.
After a week of the siege the Aragonese had put catapults to use and were hurling rocks and dead animals. With some 20,000 inhabitants in the town, many were killed and disease spread among the people, with some 2,000 alone dying from that.
After about a month the defenders in the town were in miserable situation but still holding out. Meanwhile the Aragonese had sent some men to tunnel under a section of wall and were able to bring down a portion of the wall. Soon enough the Aragonese poured in and attacked the defenders in force, killing every Arab on site, as well as some civilians. On 9 September the castle was captured and resistance in the town was crushed. There was much looting, raping and damage to the town, and even the few Christians in the town were robbed.