Battle of Albelda (851)  The first Battle of Albelda took place near Albelda in 851 between the Muslim forces of Musa ibn Musa, chief of the Banu Qasi and governor of Tudela on behalf of the Emirate of Córdoba, and an army of the Franks and Gascons from France, probably allies of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias, inveterate enemy of Musa. The Muslims, who were probably the aggressors, were victorious. The battle is usually connected with a campaign of Ordoño I of Asturias to suppress a Basque revolt, and may be related also to the capture of certain Frankish and Gascon leaders. In the past it has been conflated with the Battle of Monte Laturce, also near Albelda, which occurred in 859 or 860. According to Ibn Hayyan, in 237 A.H. (851/2 A.D.), the same year that Íñigo Arista died, Musa ibn Musa defeated the Gascons ("Glaskiyyun") in battle under the walls of Albelda. On the first day of battle Musa suffered serious losses, and he himself received thirty-five blows of a lance. On the second day Musa counterattacked and forced the Gascons to retreat. According to Ibn al-Athir, the Muslims invaded Christian territory in 851 and had a great victory by "Albaida", the fame of which spread throughout al-Andalus. The "Chronicle of Alfonso III" records that Musa directed his forces against the "Franks and Gauls", killing many and razing many places. The Gascon presence at Albelda in 851 may be explained as an attempted reprisal for an attack by Musa north of the Pyrenees, since at that time Musa was allied with the Kingdom of Pamplona, Gascony's southern neighbour. In 851, the year after he succeeded to the throne, Ordoño I of Asturias suppressed a revolt of his Basque subjects. This done he marched to the other side of the river Ebro and, "with the help of God" according to the "Chronicle of Alfonso III", forced the "Chaldaeans" (an artful expression for the Muslims ) to flee. After this, the "Chronicle" adds, the Basques submitted. This encounter with the Muslims may be the same one as recorded by both Ibn Hayyan and Ibn al-Athir under the same year.