Almexial, Battle of. Between the Spaniards and Portuguese in 1663. The Portuguese were commanded by Sanctius Manuel, count of Vilaflor, and the celebrated Count Frederick von Schomberg, the latter being the veritable hero of the day. The Portuguese gained a great victory; the Spanish army was commanded by Don Juan of Austria, son of Philip IV.
Almissa (Dalminium). City in Dalmatia, Austria; it was the ancient capital of Dalmatia, but was ruined by Scipio Nasica in 156 B.C.
Almogavares. See [Catalans].
Almohades. Mohammedan partisans, followers of El-Mehedi in Africa, about 1120. They subdued Morocco, 1145; entered Spain and took Seville, Cordova, and Granada, 1146-56; ruled Spain until 1232, and Africa until 1278.
Almonacid-de-Zorita. A town in the province of Guadalaxara, Spain, where the French defeated the Spaniards in 1809.
Almora. City in Bengal, which the English captured in 1815, and still hold.
Almoravides. Mohammedan partisans in Africa, rose about 1050; entered Spain by invitation, 1086; were overcome by the Almohades in 1147.
Alney. An island in the Severn, Gloucestershire, England. Here a combat is asserted to have taken place between Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great, in the sight of their armies. The latter was wounded, and proposed a division of the kingdom, the south part falling to Edmund. Edmund was murdered at Oxford shortly after, it is said, by Aedric Streon, and Canute obtained possession of the whole kingdom, 1016.
Alnwick (Sax. Elnwix). On the river Alne in Northumberland, England, was given at the Conquest to Ivo de Vesco. It has belonged to the Percies since 1310. Malcolm, king of Scotland, besieged Alnwick in 1093, where he and his sons were killed. It was taken by David I. in 1136, and attacked in 1174, by William the Lion, who was defeated and taken prisoner. It was owned by King John in 1215, and by the Scots in 1448. Since 1854 the castle has been repaired and enlarged with great taste and at unsparing expense.
Alost. A city in Belgium, captured and dismantled by Turenne in 1667, then abandoned to the allies after the battle of Ramillies, in 1706.