"Your Majesty William, the great conqueror, Lord of the Norman King, Lord of All Britain, England and France, on behalf of the Ruling Emir of the Republic of Córdoba, Mehmed Mohammed, requests you to conclude a close and friendly alliance with you.

For the sake of friendship between the two countries and respect for His Majesty, the Ruling Emir of Muhammadae would like to present you with gold and silver coins worth 60,000 pounds of silver. "The Grand Vizier Youssef of Córdoba, the equivalent of Prime Minister Ladolph on William's side, was humbly prostrate at William's feet, respectfully pleading.

"Don't be busy, Lord Youssef, let me guess what is the reason why Córdoba needs to ask for help from me, a heretic." William waved his hand and said to Yusuf with a smile: "Is it the Sultanate of Murabit?" His Excellency Youssef the Grand Vizier. ”

Looking at Yusuf Grand Vizier's sweaty face, William knew that he had guessed correctly, I am afraid that the Sultanate of Murabit intended to attack the Republic of Córdoba to the north and seize the city of Córdoba, the capital of the former Umayyad dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I can't tell you the truth, a month ago, the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Córdoba in the Sultanate of Murabit received information that Yahya IV, Sultan of Murabit, wanted to conquer my Córdoba across the sea.

But neither Badajoz, Toledo, Sevilla nor Grenada believed that the Berbers of Mulabit would go crazy and want to attack Córdoba.

Both Badajoz and Toledo have been taken over by hatred, and they are not dissuaded from being dissuaded and marching north with most of their forces to join the war.

Therefore, we hope that you will send us a former county to support us and help us defend against the attack of the Sultanate of Murabit. The Grand Vizier of Córdoba confessed.

The Mulabits coveted the rich Iberian Peninsula, and William knew this for a long time, otherwise there would not have been a history in history where the emir of Toledo would have gone north to fight Alfonso after asking for help from the Mulabits.

However, what is unexpected is that Murabit planned to launch a war of aggression against the emir state of the Iberian Peninsula so early.

However, William thought about it, and there was indeed such a possibility, the main ethnic group of the Murabit Sultanate was the Berbers, and in the south of Spain, there were a large number of Berbers. Many countries, including the southern powerhouses of the Emir State of Grenada and the Emirate of Cádiz, were founded by Berbers.

Therefore, the kingdom of Mulabit, founded by the Berbers, had to attack Iberia and Corvado in order to recover the Berbers.

Granada is an emir state established by the Berbers, and who knows if this country has secretly colluded with the Murabit Sultanate, colluded with each other, and even completely surrendered to the Murabit Kingdom.

Since the two emir states of Badajoz and Toledo were at war and could not support Córdoba, Seville was the only country that could defend Córdoba.

Unfortunately, however, the estuary of the Guarda Kivir River, which flows through the city of Córdoba, was controlled by the Berber emirate of Cádiz, which meant that the troops of the Murabit Sultanate could either land on the coast of Grenada and head north to the city of Córdoba, a short distance away, or break through it directly from the mouth of the Guarda Kivir River in the Emirate of Cádiz, and travel upriver up the river to the city of Córdoba.

The Guadalquivir River is the fifth longest river in Spain, after the Tagus and Ebro rivers, and the longest river in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.

The 657-kilometre-long Guadalquivir River originates in the Cazorla Mountains in the province of Jaén, flows through the cities of Córdoba and Seville, and empties into the Bay of Cádiz in a small fishing village near Sanlucar de Barrameda.

The Guadalquivir River is the only navigable river in Spain, and in the days of the Roman Empire, the waterways of Córdoba were passable, so the army of the Sultanate of Murabit had the advantage of the wide and convenient Guadalquivir and the city of Córdoba.

What frightened the Governor of Córdoba and the Grand Vizier and others even more was that a large number of people and many forces in the city of Cordoba were attached to the Sultanate of Murabit because of Berber relations.

This is extremely dangerous, as it means that if the Murabit kingdom besieges the city, the Berber factions in the city can at any time offer the head of the ruling Cordoba to the army outside the city.

The emir states of Badajoz, Toledo, Grenada, and Seville, as well as the inhabitants of Córdoba, were no longer reliable, and the only way to report Córdoba was to ask for reinforcements from Christian countries.

Christian nations including William's Norman kingdom, Ferdinand I of Castile, Barcelona, Aragon, and Navarre were among the people they asked for help.

There was a precedent for recruiting Christians to serve them, and the most famous of them was the Spanish hero Cid Rodrigo. Diaz. Morality. Vivar, after being expelled by King Alfonso of Castile, went to the court of Zaragoza to serve the Emir Ahmet of Zaragoza.

Later, many of the armies that Cid conquered Valencia were *** troops who admired Cid.

It was also forbidden to ask for help or form alliances with Christian countries, such as Byzantine Akletius and later Muningkos, who had formed alliances with the Sultanate of Rûm.

Not to mention that Córdoba is a republic governed by citizens, so there is no pressure in this regard.

However, even the words of the Grand Vizier Youssef of Córdoba could not impress William.

"Unfortunately, Your Excellency Grand Vizier, I cannot grant your request." William shook his head and refused.

The strong can only ally with the strong, and the relationship with the weak is only to conquer and be conquered, vassal and vassal, which has always been the creed of William and the Normans, so it is impossible for him to agree to an alliance with Córdoba.

"Your Majesty William, can I hire a Norman mercenary force of five thousand to go to Cordoba and help us defend the city? If you say yes, the 60,000 pounds of silver and gold will be yours. The Grand Vizier Yusuf retreated and pleaded with William.

"I can grant your request to send my Nordic Guard to help you defend Córdoba, and I will send officers to train you and provide military assistance." William nodded, and then made a few more requests: "But I ask Córdoba to transfer to me the treasured ancient texts and works of art, and at the same time reduce the customs and other taxes and fees to the Norman kingdom, allow the Normans to use your trade routes, and establish a trading post in the city of Córdoba." ”