Rodrigo Díaz had conquered the province of Valencia on June 17, 1094. El Cid had joined forces with Peter I of Aragon later that year in Burriana to cement an alliance with the end goal of doing battle with the Almoravids. Under this agreement, El Cid departed in December of 1096 with the aid of Aragonese troops to bring weapons, ammunition and general supplies to the castle of Sierra de Benicadell. The castle itself had beed retaken by "El Cid" in October of 1091 to control access to Valencia from the south via the interior route. That action had taken place in the course of the operations for the "reconquista" of Levante that the Cid had undertaken before the arrival of the North African Almoravids.