He wasn’t loyal to just one king
El Cid, as was previously said, only sided with Alfonso when Sancho passed away, but this wasn't the last time he changed sides. El Cid began fighting against the kingdom he had formerly been a member of and served the Moor after being banished. El Cid's banishment did not spell his demise, either physically or as a significant personality. He gained knowledge of Arabic legislation and local politics during this period.
El Cid served both Yusuf al-Mutamin and his son Al-Mustain II as a mercenary and offered his services to the Moorish ruler of Zaragosa in northeastern Spain in 1081. The kings of Barcelona, Ramón Berenguer II (1076–1082) and Berenguer Ramón II, Count of Barcelona (1076–1097), declined El Cid's offer of assistance. Then he traveled to Zaragoza, where he was given a warmer reception. Yusuf al-Mutamin (1081–1085), who held Zaragoza itself, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa, jointly dominated this Muslim area. El Cid joined al-army Mutamin's and successfully repelled the attacks of Ramón Berenguer II, Sancho I of Aragon, and al-Mutamdhir at Zaragoza.
In 1086, Alfonso called El Cid back from exile when the Berber Almoravids attacked the peninsula. El Cid voluntarily went back and contributed to the loss at Sagrajas in 1086. He only briefly enjoyed Alfonso's favor before being sent back into exile in 1089. El Cid departed the city to establish himself as an independent leader on the eastern Iberian peninsula after being banished from Alfonso's court for the second time. He battled the Muslim Taifas and exacted a hefty payment from them before taking Valencia on June 15, 1094. In 1094 and 1097, two Almoravid armies tried to overthrow him, but he repelled them both. The siege ended El Cid had established his kingdom along the Mediterranean Sea coast. He took control of Valencia and established a kingdom that was accessible to both Christians and Arabs.
