The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (Arabic: معركة العقاب), takes place on 16 July 1212 and is an important turning point in the Reconquista and the medieval history of Spain. The Christian forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile are joined by the armies of his rivals, Sancho VII of Navarre and Peter II of Aragon, in battle against the Almohad Muslim rulers of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. The caliph al-Nasir (Miramamolín in the Spanish chronicles) led the Almohad army, made up of people from all over the Almohad Caliphate.
Navas de Tolosa (also called Las Navas) is a town and hamlet in southern Spain, in the municipality of La Carolina, in the province of Jaén, in the eastern part of the Sierra Morena region, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the border with the province of Ciudad Real.
