Let us leave the siege of Toledo to one side and consider what King Pedro was doing in the meantime. While he was in Seville, he was kept fully informed of everything that his brother had achieved ever since entering the kingdom up to laying siege to Toledo. He was deeply troubled at this, yet he devoted himself solely to fortifying the township of Carmona as much as possible. But when he learned that Toledo was under siege, he negotiated with the Emir of Granada, urging him to come to his aid with as many troops as he could muster. The Moorish sovereign was very pleased at this and came with a vast army, for he brought with him 9,000 light horsemen and 80,000 foot soldiers, of whom 12,000 were crossbowmen. In addition, King Pedro had 1,500 men on horseback and 6,000 on foot, so that the total body of men came to 98,500. With this combined force, King Pedro laid siege to the city of Córdoba, which was not on his side and was waging vigorous war against him.

In the city, there were many valiant noblemen, along with ample forces with which to maintain their defence. Believing that the Moors would just fight with them at the barricades, they prepared no defences on the city walls. Yet the vast numbers of Moors swept towards the city to the point where the volleys from the crossbows were so great in one place that Aben Faluz, a Moorish captain, captured the rampart known as Calahorra. They seized the old fortress and cut six breaches in it, and a number of Moors surged onto the walls with their banners. The resulting disarray in the city was so great that the people thought that they had broken into the city itself. Seeing the confusion, the ladies and the maidens who were there poured into the streets and squares, weeping and dishevelled, pleading with the lords and knights to take pity on them and not to let them be dishonoured and taken into captivity by the Moors. They shed so many tears, screamed so loud and uttered such words that no man who heard them could avoid having great pity and sympathy for them, such that the men inside the walls summoned up great courage and headed boldly to the place where the Moors were to be found.