Alfonso VI of Castile (1040-1110) was the king of Leon from 1065 to 1110, succeeding Fernando I of Leon and preceding Urraca of Leon, and the king of Castile from 1072 until his death in 1110, succeeding Sancho II of Castile and preceding Urraca. Alfonso was an intelligent and powerful ruler who killed his brother Sancho to unite the Christian kingdoms of Spain, captured Toledo from the Moors, and established law and order in both Leon and Castile, but he is also famous for his 1086 defeat at the battle of Sagrajas and his status as the last male ruler of the House of Jimenez.
Biography[]
Alfonso as a prince
Alfonso was the son of Fernando I of Leon and Sancha of Leon, and he was born to the House of Jimenez. In January 1066, he was crowned King of Leon on his father's death, but his brother Sancho II of Castile considered himself the ruler of all Spain due to being the firstborn son of his father. Alfonso and Sancho got into a fight with daggers in a crypt at their father's funeral, as Sancho was angry at Alfonso for taking the title "King of Leon and Galicia" and dividing the kingdom. Sancho wanted the triple crowns as the firstborn son, and Sancho would have killed Alfonso, had it not been for the intervention of their sister Countess Urraca of Zamora. Alfonso was sent to the dungeon of Zamora by his brother, but the knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (better known as "El Cid") ambushed the thirteen knights escorting Alfonso and helped him escape, saying that they were going against God's law. El Cid decided to take Alfonso to his sister at Calahorra, and he stayed in her care, cowering behind her walls. When Sancho arrived, he came with a large army, threatening to attack the city if Alfonso was not released by dawn. Urraca responded by sending Vellido Adolfo to assassinate Sancho, and Sancho was murdered that day, 6 October 1072.
King of Castile[]
Alfonso as king
Alfonso then became King of Castile and Leon, and his interest was in law and order. While he drew his kingdom closer to the popes and gained the support of French crusaders during the Reconquista, he was on friendly terms with the Moors at times. Alfonso conquered Tulaytulah (Toledo) in 1085, but he was badly defeated at the Battle of Sagrajas the next year by Yusuf ibn Tashfin. He would face more issues due to his rivalry with El Cid, who made alliances with the Moors and Christians alike to carve out his own domain. Alfonso exiled El Cid many times, but El Cid gave Valencia to him, becoming his vassal and submitting to Alfonso's rule. Alfonso regretted his mistreatment of El Cid, calling him "the purest of knights" and leading a prayer for him when he died in battle in 1099. The rest of Alfonso's rule would be as troubled as the start of it. In 1108, Alfonso's son and heir Sancho Alfonsez and his magnate Garcia Ordonez were both slain at the Battle of Ucles by the Moors, forcing Alfonso to let his daughter Urraca of Leon succeed him as ruler of Castile. Her death would end the House of Jimenez and lead to the rise of the House of Ivrea, as there were no male members of the Jimena dynasty to succeed her.