The Spanish Reconquista: In the Battle of Moclín the Emirate of Granada ambush a superior pursuing force, killing most of them in a military disaster for the Kingdom of Castile.

The Reconquista or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian kingdoms waged against Muslim-ruled al-Andalus, culminating in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain.

The Battle of Moclín, also known as the Disaster of Moclín took place in the Granadian municipality of Moclín on 23 June 1280. The battle pitted the troops of the Emirate of Granada, commanded by Muhammad II, the Sultan of Granada, against those of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of León who were composed mainly of mercenaries and of members of the Order of Santiago, being commanded by the contemporary grand master of the order Gonzalo Ruiz Girón and by Sancho, son of King Alfonso X of Castile.

The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe.

The Kingdom of Castile was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile, as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Castilian counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from the Kingdom of León and became a kingdom in its own right. Between 1072 and 1157, it was again united with León, and after 1230, the union became permanent.