The Epic of the Cid

Born in Santarem (present-day Portugal), Ibn Bassam died in 1147. Various details in his account suggest that he wrote the following some time in the first decade of the twelfth century; his work is thus one of the very earliest documents referring to the Cid.

Ibn Bassam views Rodrigo in a very negative light. This reminds us that heroism and villainy are very much a question of viewpoint. The narrator’s hero is the other side’s villain, and vice versa. It is thus not surprising that the description of the Cid by a Muslim portrays the Christian hero as an infidel invader, a marauder, and a perpetrator of atrocities. What is surprising, however, is that even this sworn enemy will acknowledge admiration for the Campeador’s prudence, courage, and martial accomplishments.¹

… A certain Abu Tahir² lived long enough to witness the downfall of all the princes of those petty dynasties of Al-Andalus, and the calamity that overtook Valencia, a calamity brought about by that tyrant, the Campeador—God tear him limb from limb! This Abu Tahir was thrown into prison in the month of Safar of the year 487.³ From his prison, he wrote the following letter to a friend:

“I write to you in the middle of the month of Safar. We have been imprisoned after a series of misfortunes so disastrous that no man has ever seen the like. If you could only see Valencia (may God favor her again and shed his divine light upon her!), if you could only see what fate has done to her and her people, you would pity her, you would weep for her misfortunes. For calamity has stripped her of her beauty, leaving no trace of her moons and stars! Do not ask me how I suffer, nor how many are my troubles, nor how complete is my despair!

At the moment, I am obliged to buy back my freedom by payment of a ransom, after having faced dangers that almost cost me my life. There remains to me no other hope than in God’s goodness, that He has always bestowed on us, and that He in His benevolence has guaranteed us.…”

… Seeing that we have spoken of Valencia, we must now make known the calamity that overtook her, and say something concerning the war of which this province was the theater—a war whose headlong course lasted only too long for Islam, and which the great and unstinting efforts of justly frightened men were powerless to prevent. We must also set forth an account of all the crimes committed during this war, and of all the woes we Muslims were destined to endure, naming those who trod the path of this war, and also those who entered and left through the gateway of its pitched battles.

… later we will say a few words concerning the manner in which Alfonso (whom God tear to pieces!)—that tyrant of the Galicians,⁴ that infidel folk—conquered the city of Toledo, the finest pearl of our necklace, Islam’s highest tower in this Peninsula. We will then explain how Alfonso came to power in that city, that furnished him so snug a bed, as he so easily manipulated its inhabitants, who ever after resembled so many docile camels once he had established his residence within its high walls.…

… Later, in the year 479,⁵ the princes of our country established relations with the Emir of all the Muslims (whom God look upon with favor!)⁶ … and this man won that glorious victory against the tyrant Alfonso….⁷ Alfonso (God curse him!) then returned to his own country, resembling a bird whose wings have been broken, or a sick man who has trouble breathing….

But, as we have already said, the internecine ill will among the Muslim princes grew more poisonous by the day, and mutual calumnies crept stealthily among them. God then permitted the Emir of all the Muslims to thwart their intrigues, to cure the ills that provoked their jealousies, and to deliver all the Muslims from the consequences of their wicked actions and hateful machinations.

This the Emir began to do, as we have indicated, in the year 483. His authority was recognized in all the provinces, and the criers proudly called out his name in public prayers. Through the remainder of the year 483, and throughout the following year, he continued to oust the kinglets from their thrones, in the way that the sun drives the stars before him, causing their brightness to fade away without a trace….

When al-Musta’in⁸—who governs to this day over the province of Saragossa—perceived that the soldiers of the Emir of all the Muslims were charging forth from every mountain pass, and that from every watchtower they were spying out his borders, he set upon them a Galician dog named Rodrigo, nicknamed the Campeador.

This was a man who made a vocation of throwing prisoners into chains. He was the scourge of the country, having engaged the Arab kinglets of the Peninsula in several battles and inflicted on them every kind of misery. The Banu Hud⁹ were the ones who raised him from obscurity; they had made use of his support to carry out their atrocities and put into effect their vile and despicable plans. They had handed over to him various provinces of the Peninsula, enabling him to roam about the plains as a conqueror and to raise his banner over the fairest cities. Thus it was that his power had grown very great indeed, and there was scarcely a country in all of Muslim Spain that he had not plundered.

When therefore this al-Musta’in, of the clan of the Banu Hud, foresaw the fall of his dynasty and feared that his affairs would take a turn for the worse, he sought to put the Campeador between himself and the Emir’s advance forces. Accordingly, he provided Rodrigo the occasion of entering Valencian territory, and furnished him money and troops as well. The Campeador then laid siege to Valencia, in which city civil disorder had broken out, and where the inhabitants were divided into several warring factions….

Rodrigo desired more eagerly than ever to take possession of Valencia. He seized upon that city the way a creditor seizes upon a debtor; he loved it the way lovers love the places where they have tasted of love’s pleasures. He cut off the city’s food supply, killed many of her defenders, caused her all manner of woe, and showed himself to her from every hilltop. How many superb locales—that one could scarcely dream of visiting, places that moon and stars could not hope to rival in their beauty—did that tyrant not overwhelm and profane to their innermost recesses? How many charming girls—their blushing, milk-washed cheeks envied by sun and moon for their beauty; their teeth, like pearls in their mouths, rivaling coral itself for their whiteness—were wedded to his spear-points, crushed beneath the feet of his swaggering mercenaries!

Hunger forced the Valencians to eat the foulest vermin. The qadi Abu Ahmad, not knowing what to do, lost his head and appealed for help to the Emir of the Muslims, despite the fact that the Emir was very far from Valencia…. The fate of Valencia greatly concerned the Emir of the Muslims, but because he was far from there, and because destiny had decreed otherwise, he could not come to their aid at that time….

The tyrant Rodrigo then obtained the accomplishment of his despicable designs. He entered into Valencia in the year 487, by means of trickery, as was usual with him. The qadi had bowed down before him, recognizing the Campeador as his lord and obtaining a treaty from him. But this treaty was not honored for long. Abu Achmed remained by Rodrigo’s side for only a little while, before the Campeador tired of his presence and decided to bring about his downfall….

This terrible calamity was a thunderbolt for all the Muslims of the Peninsula, covering all classes of society with misery and shame.

The power of the tyrant grew evermore thereafter, becoming a heavy burden for the high country as well as the lowlands, filling with fear the hearts of noble and commoner alike….

A man once told me that he had heard it said … that once upon a time this Peninsula was conquered and taken away from a ruler named Rodrigo, and that another Rodrigo was one day destined to take it back—a prophecy that has filled all hearts with terror, and that has made men feel that what they feared and dreaded most would soon come to pass!¹⁰

And yet this Rodrigo Campeador, this scourge of his time, was, by virtue of his love of glory, his prudent resolution of character, and his heroic courage, one of the Lord’s miracles…. Victory always followed his banner (God curse him!); he subdued the barbarians; several times he fought against their chiefs … chasing their armies before him and killing many of their soldiers with the aid of his little band of warriors.

It is said that books were read aloud in his presence; that tales of the deeds of ancient Arabia’s most illustrious warriors were read to him; and that, thrilled and delighted by these tales, he was overcome with admiration …

1. Le Cid d’après de nouveaux documents. Reinhart Dozy (Leiden, 1860). Dozy’s translation at 13–25.

2. Ruler of the taifa kingdom of Murcia from 1063 to 1078; deposed in the latter year, he went into exile, settled in Valencia, and was later a witness to the Cid’s invasion of that city and kingdom (Fletcher, Quest, 99).

4. Galicians (people from the northwestern region of Spain) was the term used by Spanish Muslims to refer to the Castilians and Leonese.

5. Ibn Bassam, in mentioning the year 479, refers to the Muslim calendar. See Islamic Calendar in the Compendium of Proper Names.

6. Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader and commander-in-chief of the Almoravids (see the Compendium of Proper Names for entries on Yusuf and Almoravids).

10. The ruler named Rodrigo was Roderic, last of the Visigothic kings of Spain, legendarily defeated and killed in 712 in a battle with Muslim invaders.