Gerald the Fearless (Geraldo Sem Pavor) had…

Gerald the Fearless (Geraldo Sem Pavor) had assembled a private army (a mesnada) around 1162, and had rapidly developed tactics that prove remarkably successful in seizing Muslim strongholds, though his technique—nocturnal surprise in wintry or stormy weather, stealthy scaling of walls by picked commandos, cutting down of sentries and opening of town gates to the larger force stationed without—is not adapted for siege warfare.

The town of Évora, which had been wrested from the Moors through a surprise attack by Gerald in September 1165, comes under the rule of the Portuguese king Afonso I in 1166.

The same year (or soon after), Gerald takes Cacéres, Trujillo, Montánchez, Lobon, Moura, Monsaraz and Alconchel.