of tributes with the newcomers. A 17 year old Alfonso VIII of Castile tried to conquer the city, but after five months of siege, he had to retreat after the arrival of troops sent by the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf. Alfonso signed a 7-years truce but when, in 1176 the Cuencans occupied some Christian lands in Huete and Uclés, Alfonso intervened at the head of a coalition including also Ferdinand II of León, Alfonso II of Aragon and the Military Orders of Calatrava, Santiago and Montegaudio, besieging Cuenca for months starting from 1177's Epiphany. The city's commander, Abu Bakr, sued again the support of Yaqub Yusuf, but the latter was in Africa and did not send any help. After an unsuccessful Cuenca sortie against he Christian camp on 27 July, the besieged city was conquered by Alfonso's troops on 21 September 1177, while the Muslim garrison took refuge in the citadel.
The latter fell in October, putting an end to the Arab domination in Cuenca. Alfonso VIII granted the city a title, and it was considered to be "Muy noble y muy leal" (Very noble and very loyal). It was given a set of laws, the Fuero, written in Latin, that ruled Cuenca's citizens, and it was considered one of the most perfectly written at that period of time. The diocese of Cuenca was established in 1183; its second bishop was St. Julian of Cuenca, who became patron saint of the city.
During the next few centuries Cuenca enjoyed prosperity, thanks to textile manufacturing and livestock exploitation.The cathedral started to be built at that time, in an Anglo-Norman style, with many French workers, since Alfonso VIII's wife, Leonor de Plantagenet, was French.
During the 18th century the textile industry declined, especially when Carlos IV forbade this activity in Cuenca in order to prevent competition with the Real Fábrica de Tapices (Royal Tapestry Factory), and Cuenca's economy declined, thus losing population dramatically (5,000 inhabitants). During the independence war
