[1] In the 1080s, Berenguer Ramon's involvement in the internal strife in the Moorish taifa kingdoms brought him in conflict with El Cid, whose service had been refused by the count of Barcelona in 1081.
After the compromise in 1086, Berenguer Ramon and al-Hajib had ravaged the surrounding countryside and unsuccessfully besieged the city in 1088 and 1089,[2] but the freshly outlawed El Cid again stood in their way the following year.
After his release, Berenguer went to Zaragoza where al-Musta’in mediated a peace conducted by letter between him and El Cid who had withdrawn to Daroca to recover from his wounds.
[2][3] In 1089, Pope Urban II sought to recover the archbishopric of Tarragona from the Muslims, promising the remission of sins to anyone who participated in the restoration effort.
[4][5] Three years later, Berenguer Ramon launched an unsuccessful campaign against Tortosa to secure the territories surrounding the newly settled Tarragona and expand the county of Barcelona.
Still living under the accusations of his brother's assassination, the guilt of which may have been determined by trial by combat at the court of Alfonso VI, which he lost,[6] he joined his half-brother Raymond of Saint-Gilles in the First Crusade as a penance.