The War of Barbastro (also known as the Siege of Barbastro) was an international expedition, sanctioned by Pope Alexander II, to take the Spanish city of Barbastro from the Moors. A large army composed of elements from all over Western Europe took part in the successful siege of the city (1064). The war was part of the Reconquista, but in its international and papal character it presaged the Crusades of the next two centuries. Ramón Menéndez Pidal famously described the expedition as "a crusade before the crusades".