History, Kingdom of Portugal

Afonso I, aided by military religious orders—crusading organizations of knights sworn to fight the Muslims—extended the border of the new kingdom as far south as the Tajo. These orders, including the Knights Templar and the orders of Calatrava and of Avis, were granted large feudal estates for assisting the monarchy during the reconquest. Afonso’s son, Sancho I, who reigned from 1185 to 1211, encouraged Christians to settle in conquered areas by establishing self-governing municipalities there. The Cistercians, a Roman Catholic monastic order, occupied the largely deserted lands along the southern frontier and promoted efficient farming practices. Muslim influence remained, however, in implements, textiles, architecture, and some local customs, and many Arabic words entered the Portuguese language.

In the late 12th century the Almohads, an Islamic dynasty from North Africa, temporarily halted the Christians’ southward movement. However, the Almohads suffered a crushing defeat in 1212 at the hands of Christian forces in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and the Christian reconquest continued. King Afonso III, who reigned from 1248 to 1279, completed the expulsion of the Muslims from the southernmost region of Algarve.